The Clinton Administration's national service proposal, and its ramifications for federal student loan programs, are outlined. It is proposed that college officials can be most constructive by helping to design the program's in-college component, where their expertise and attention are most needed. (MSE)

Since the U.S. has no strong centralized educational program, the drive for systemic change is proceeding more slowly and unsystematically than in Japan or France. Systemic reform strategies must emphasize building schools' capacity for self-renewal. Getting from uniformly high standards to diverse delivery systems is the challenge. Marshall…

Racism surfaced in the 1980s at the very time Americans believed that equality and justice had prevailed. Yuppie racism refers to post-1960s born, post-Vietnam educated young people being led to believe that racial intolerance was over, shielding them from the need to examine their own attitudes and position in society. (CJS)

Issues that program planners should consider in developing performance standards for the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) older worker programs (OWPs) are reviewed. Using goal-setting theory and the results of a two-year evaluation of OWPs in Texas, the discussion covers approaches to developing standards for programs other states. (TJH)

Eliminating mandatory retirement for tenured professors will force institutions to reassess their relationships with older faculty. Institutions should not abolish or modify existing tenure policies, which might erode academic freedom, but should instead adopt and consistently apply performance review procedures. (Author/MSE)

In 1980, Colorado legislators repealed the Bilingual-Bicultural Education Act and passed the English Language Proficiency Act. Interviews with legislators, policymakers, administrators, teachers, and parents suggest that this change resulted in greater focus on severely limited-English-proficient students, 2-year funding limits, more pull-out…

The West Virginia School Building Authority has arbitrarily emphasized economies of scale as a requirement for statewide facilities funding. This requirement has forced consolidation in sparsely populated areas with resultant "diseconomies of scale" related to transportation costs, increased dropout rates, and decreased parental and…

Critically examines recent market-oriented educational reforms in Ontario and their impact on socially disadvantaged groups. Argues that current trends lead toward a "marketization" of education in Ontario, as the rhetoric of cost-effectiveness and bureaucratic efficiency shifts the official agenda of educational reform away from equity…

An academician explores major issues in higher education labor law during the 1990s: union organizing by graduate teaching assistants, bargaining and workload issues, developments concerning grievance arbitration, and rights of individual faculty members within unions. Issues likely to arise in the next decade include alternatives to tenure,…

Describes factors affecting the life-span achievement of 15 highly accomplished African-American women. Participants perceived that civil-rights and affirmative-action polices opened doors if they were already qualified. Findings suggest cultural strengths plus high ability enabled simultaneous acknowledgment of discrimination and application of…

Specialized library collections and services are often not geared toward Indian nationals in Canada. Public libraries should serve ethnic minorities by providing staff with language abilities and sharing materials through interlibrary loan. Appendixes include a geographic overview of Canadian public library acts, sample initiatives for…

Federal law provides for special educational services for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and for all children with disabilities. Questions arise regarding special educational services for parochial school children. A brief introduction to the two major federal programs for compensatory and special education is followed by an analysis of…

This overview of telecommunications in Arizona discusses library telecommunications; state library activities; the Arizona State Public Information Network; higher education projects; community outreach; business and economic development; state telecommunications policy; the paradigm shift in the public's use of telecommunications; community…

Summarizes the major provisions of the Improving America's Education Act (IASA): (1) higher standards for all children; (2) a focus on teaching and learning; (3) flexibility to stimulate local school-based and district initiatives, coupled with the responsibility for student performance; (4) links among schools, parents, and communities; and (5)…

Postsecondary education in Australia has undergone major structural change in recent years, accompanied by increased awareness of and policy response to the needs of students with disabilities. The nature of these changes, legislative background, and policy initiatives directed at improving successful participation of these students are described.…