This book provides a concise and informative survey of what the U.S. Catholic bishops have said about crucial public issues such as world hunger, nuclear armament, military conscription, conscientious objection, multinational corporations, national health insurance, capital punishment, abortion legislation, and public aid to non-public education.…

State educational policy-makers are showing increasing interest in using statewide educational assessment and evaluation programs (1) to evaluate student thinking skills and affective learning as well as traditional academic achievement, (2) to evaluate teachers at all stages of their careers, and (3) to assess the impact of school reform efforts.…

Educational research and evaluation have had less impact on policy and decision making in education than hoped for, since research and evaluation represent fundamentally different kinds of endeavor than policy and decision making do. Evaluation has more impact than research because it is a more administrative activity and is more integral to…

Appropriate for secondary school social studies or community programs, this publication considers the issue of taxation in America. The first of five sections, "Taxing Matters," considers the growing perception that the present tax code is unfair and in need of drastic reform. Alternative solutions to the problem are considered. "The Loophole…

The attractive features of various strategies for resolving a simulated commons dilemma (a paradox in which a long-term benefit requires the individual to forego immediate gain) were determined in conditions where 40 groups of college age participants (total number = 136) were acting as a world policy making body or local advisory group when there…

The American Nurses' Association's "First Position on Nursing" (1965), one instance of attempted reformation in American nursing education, recommends that nursing education should take place in institutions of higher education. Failures of this suggested reform seem to relate directly to the reform's incongruence with the continued or…

This Digest reviews the historical background on grade retention and promotion and examines research, criteria, and policies concerning these options. The historical overview points out changes in attitudes toward mastery-based promotion and social promotion practices in the schools. Valid and invalid approaches to research on grade retention are…

The dimensions of the social problem of street children in developing countries is being recognized and the need for social action is being addressed. The tone of recent policy papers, however, is one of sympathy rather than of empathy. This sympathetic stance is prone to distortion and misrepresentation and may result in social action which is…

Since there has been little research in the area of children in long-term foster care, it is not clear how these children differ from those who successfuly move out of care. A study was undertaken to discover which factors account for the phenomenon of long-term foster care. Four organizations were involved: (1) private social services agency…

The paper reviews the programmatic efforts of the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) targeted for learning disabled delinquents. The history of research projects with this population is traced, and current grant programs designed to make key officials aware of learning disabilities are reviewed. The need for training and…

A historical overview is provided of 60 significant events in the development of the Academic Senate movement in California's community colleges. Beginning in 1963, when the State Assembly passed a resolution giving legal recognition and specific jurisdiction to Academic Senates, the paper offers brief descriptions of legislative enactments…

The Research in Teacher Education (RITE) study is currently examining in depth two selected state-mandated induction programs for beginning teachers. The sample includes 16 first year teachers (along with the teachers, administrators, and other educators selected to work with them) situated in 13 schools in 4 districts in 2 states. Data were…

Patterns in responses of colleges to fiscal stress were assessed. Attention was directed to the responses over a 10-year period, of 23 four-year colleges and universities that were observed in "A Report on the Financial Conditions Project" (1981) by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the National Association of College and University…

Intended to help clarify issues surrounding the right of publicity (protection against the unauthorized commercial appropriation of a person's name, likeness, achievements or characteristics), this paper provides explanations of how the right developed, what it protects, how it has been applied in various jurisdictions around the country, and the…

An overview of basic information needed for exercising educational leadership is provided in this handbook. The first section reviews demographic influences, economic influences, social and political forces, and what all of these influences mean for policy makers. The optimum conditions under which students learn are discussed in the second…