This volume contains papers presented at a symposium on public policy and educating handicapped persons. Included are: (1) "Public Policy and the Special Education Task for the 1980s: Report of the Wingspread Conference" (M. C. Reynolds et al.); (2) "The Emerging System for Educating Handicapped Children" (L. E. Lynn, Jr.); (3) "Effectiveness of…

Representing the mobile facilities pattern of inter-district cooperation, the Northwest Multi-District case is one of four studies addressing access of rural students to vocational education through inter-school district cooperation. The report identifies essential features of this form of cooperation, details factors facilitating/impeding the…

Ten emerging issues in early childhood education (ECE) are explored. The first issue has to do with the societal purpose for early childhood education, the second with the problem of whether ECE personnel are professionals. The third issue concerns the conceptual world view that helps educators see what child development is all about. The fourth…

The Knowledge Network of Washington (KNOW-NET) Dissemination Project in Washington State from 1980 to 1985 is described prior to and following funding by the National Institute of Education. As a state capacity building project, KNOW-NET had five major components: (1) coordination/leadership; (2) building information resources; (3) building…

Four case studies conducted by the Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL) Rural Education Project examined four clusters of rural schools and their efforts to improve schooling by collaborating and sharing resources. The Mid-Missouri Small School Consortium involved five rural school districts in efforts to incorporate…

The subject of this panel presentation was a collaborative effort to improve writing instruction around the state of Kentucky, which resulted in the funding of several National Writing Project sites, regional workshops, and a competitive grants program to encourage middle and high school classroom teachers to develop innovative writing projects in…

Data for this review of Alberta, Canada's School Act by the Policy Advisory Committee for the School Act Review, included 200 written submissions from members of the public, community groups, and educational groups; oral presentations by 23 groups; discussion by committee members and others at 20 locations within Alberta; and the results of a…

Information is provided on Vocational Appraisal for the Handicapped, a system for the identification and selection of handicapped students who can most benefit from vocational education for handicapped programs. (Career investigation for handicapped persons is offered for seventh and eigth graders; vocational education for the handicapped persons…

The Career Intern Program (CIP), inititated by the Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America (OIC/A) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1972, is an alternative high school for dropouts and potential dropouts and for youth who are otherwise educationally and economically disadvantaged and unemployable. CIP operates with the endoresment of,…

This report recommends measures to improve elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education in Iowa while providing universal access to education. The proposal stresses unified goals throughout the state's educational system, while retaining local discretion over curriculum. Although the report emphasizes high school-to-college articulation, it…

Collaborations between urban schools and businesses, community agencies, cultural institutions, and universities have become a popular way to improve public education. Motives for collaborating include the following: (1) schools with a largely disadvantaged population need powerful, vocal support groups; (2) businesses need a highly educated and…

Evolving from a television library begun in 1962, the Agency for Instructional Technology (AIT) was established by American and Canadian educators in 1973 to strengthen education through technology, and in cooperation with state and provincial agencies, it develops and distributes instructional video and computer materials. It has been active in…

A study examined the effectiveness of Title III of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) in providing employment and training assistance for dislocated workers in Maryland. Four areas--participants, program content, funding, and performance--were assessed. Despite its imperfections, JTPA seemed to do a good job of establishing a partnership of…

Partnerships between higher education and public schools in rural areas can lead to improved education in both sectors. When launching a partnership, all concerned must convince a wide sector of the community that such programs are cost effective and will lead to more successful educational programming. By providing such a rationale early, the…

This is Volume II of a two-volume final report of a study on the exchange and use of knowledge for school improvement in three paired educational systems in Boston, Massachusetts. The pairings, which involved the collaboration of a college/university with one or more of the Boston public schools in carrying out school improvement programs, were…