This collection provides transcripts of remarks delivered by five participants in the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities' meeting at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. They include: (1) "The Catholic Intellectual Tradition" (Margaret O'Brien Steinfels), which focuses on the willingness of Catholic…

This paper discusses how Fort Hays State University (FHSU) in Hays, Kansas, is attempting to infuse elements of cultural diversity into its curriculum in order to increase students' sensitivities to and knowledge of other cultures. It reviews research and writings on cultural diversity in American society and in American higher education in…

This study sought to analyze the cultural literacy of a college of education faculty and compare it to the cultural literacy of undergraduate and graduate students at the same institution. A 100-item instrument, based upon a New York Times book review of "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know" (E. D. Hirsch, Jr., and…

Allegany Community College in Cumberland, Maryland, conducted an employer assessment survey of Somerset County businesses during the winter of 1995 in order to provide evaluation data for planning and curriculum development for the secondary and postsecondary educational institutions. The survey was mailed to 760 establishments, with a 29 percent…

Recent studies indicate that Americans have lost faith in public schools. Polls trace a steady decline of confidence in the educational system, a decline extending over the past two decades. The general trend masks two anomalies, however. First, several indicators associated with increased confidence in the schools are on the rise--students…

One factor thought to contribute to the underutilization of mental health services, especially among rural Americans, is the stigma attached to mental illness and the associated help seeking process. This study investigated the effects of an instructional unit on mental illness and related issues on rural adolescents' concept of mental illness and…

The passage of California's Proposition 187 has mandated political and cultural debate in composition curriculum thus exploding the de-politicized composition classroom myth. As this anti-immigration initiative of 1994 applied to education, it most directly affected K-12, but it also represented a huge financial impact to higher education. It made…

In-depth interviews were conducted with 23 deaf adults (ages 17 to 56) who had been educated in South Africa, to determine their impressions about the education system there. Ten of those interviewed had moved to the U.S. while the remaining 13 were still living in South Africa . The interviews were administered in sign language, with video…

During February-March 1991, 1,518 randomly selected Pennsylvania adults with listed telephone numbers were surveyed on political, educational, and health issues. With regard to education, respondents: (1) strongly favored limiting class size to 15 students in grades K-3, and funding public education through the state income tax (not local taxes);…

This book presents the views of 88 experts on adult education from 32 developed and developed countries, compiled through a mailed survey. (Respondents represent about 45 percent of the 195 experts who were mailed surveys; about 16 percent of the respondents were female.) The survey participants' answers to the following six questions are included…

Two diverse extension audiences in Polk County, North Carolina were surveyed to determine their levels of use of extension information and their preferred means for receiving information. Information was gathered through mailed surveys returned by 48 beef producers and 40 county government workers (about a 67 percent return for each group). Nearly…

Nearly all burley tobacco farmers in the mountains of North Carolina are small or part-time farmers who have limited time for seeking information. Although they desire accurate, user-friendly, timely, and relevant information, their willingness or opportunity to spend time in face-to-face contacts or grower meetings is becoming severely limited.…

Leaders in the field of enrichment programs for young children and their families often have difficulty when considering the nature and utility of evaluations of such programs. Decisions as to how much evaluation to do, how to choose instruments, and how to train testers, observers, and interviewers become crucial for establishing not only the…

A study examined the link between on-the-job training (OJT) and job performance in a randomly selected sample of 50 skilled maintenance craftpersons employed by the city of Chicago. The sample was identified from the training sheets signed by 160 employees who participated in OJT in a 1-month period. The majority of the employees agreed with…

This book addresses the issue of improving performance in higher education, not only from the perspectives of professors and administrators, but also from the perspectives of a wide array of stakeholders, including students, industry, parents, and political leaders. It proposes a performance improvement framework that is designed to help an…