The idea that organizations should have sense of their direction is a relatively new concept. The problem is that the concept of vision has always been ambiguous. This book clarifies the issues surrounding vision by providing a base conceptual framework for developing a school vision. Chapter 1 examines the nature and content of vision, explains…

Issues in development of public policy concerning telecommunications and advancement of information technology facing third world countries are examined, and the situations of two very different countries (Nigeria and Russia) are considered, focusing on the development of commercial media in each. The media environment in both countries is…

The Michigan Business Assistance Corps (MBA Corps) was established by the University of Michigan Business School in 1990 to assist emerging democracies in Eastern Europe in successfully negotiating the process of economic privatization, while at the same time providing Michigan Business School graduate students with a unique international…

Based on the assumption that basic science is the crucial building block for technological and biomedical progress, this paper examines the relevance for public policy of basic demographic and behavioral sciences research on children and families. The characteristics of basic research as they apply to policy making are explored. First, basic…

Homelessness has a devastating impact on children. School provides stability and a sense of continuity during an otherwise chaotic time, as well as access to other comprehensive services, both inside and outside the school, such as meals, health care, counseling, and recreation. But despite their desperate need, homeless children face high, often…

The United States is undergoing a transition as state governments reclaim responsibilities that the federal government had assumed earlier in the century. Sorting out which governmental body should take charge of various services is the subject of this report. It focuses on two critical issues in the relationship between state and local…

Millions of young children in the United States are cared for daily by someone other than their parents, and a growing number are cared for in child-care centers. This research and policy brief, a quarterly synthesis of issues addressed by investigators and affiliates of the National Center for Early Development & Learning, focuses on quality…

In August 1995, the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin (UW) System initiated a 10-month study to examine and address key challenges facing public higher education in Wisconsin during a time of competing demands for state resources. With participation by faculty, staff, students, elected officials, and the public, a series of draft…

This brief addresses the benefits and concerns raised by the use of high stakes testing as the centerpiece of new accountability systems. It offers some recommendations for policymakers seeking to incorporate such tests into state accountability systems. High stakes tests can clarify and establish challenging performance expectations for students,…

This report tells what has been learned about reporting on higher education performance in the last 10 years and describes the kinds of information being used to inform policymakers and the public about higher education in the member states of the Southern Regional Education Board. The report provides examples of how the information is linked to…

This report describes the development of student aid policies and explores the multiple purposes toward which various types of aid are now directed. The transformation of student aid has occurred over three periods, a national economic era from the end of World War II to the mid-1960s, a universal access era lasting through the 1970s, and a…

This paper describes how the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa Te Rau Herenga O Aotearoa (LIANZA) has mobilized the library and information profession in New Zealand to present key messages to the new government which describe a vision of how an integrated National Information Strategy (NIS) will help the government to…

Some observers of political phenomena are referring to the 1990s as the "age of accountability." Early in the decade of the '90s, articles in periodicals, professional journals and other sources were voicing warnings about increasing public policymaker frustration with higher education and the spreading development and implementation of…

This paper attempts to conceptualize, sort, and analyze national and state policies that have affected teacher education programs during the last 30 years. If teacher recruitment, preparation, licensing, and professional development are situated at the ropes center, then who is winning the tug-of-war over teacher education policy making. The paper…

This report discusses innovative uses of information technology by community based organizations, examining how to develop a comprehensive policy agenda for bridging the digital divide. It begins by presenting background information on the digital divide as context for understanding the organizational divide. Next, it discusses challenges facing…