Considers the effects on education and training of (1) global competition; (2) declining per capita/family incomes and concomitantly rising income inequality; and (3) workplace changes. Sees increased role for educators in retraining displaced workers; training students for full participation in work, social, and civic contexts; and teaching…

Partial text is presented of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching's recent report, "College: The Undergraduate Experience in America" concerning confused priorities and competing interests jeopardizing the college experience's quality and future. (MSE)

A large and growing part of American postsecondary education, proprietary schools, offer lessons for traditional institutions in attracting new students in a career-oriented market. Effective marketing is important since proprietary schools compete not only with each other, but also with public community colleges. Specific schools and agencies are…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Show Me the Money: Alliance Analysis Finds That States Could Generate Millions More in Wages by Raising High School…

The Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) has launched a new initiative entitled "Doing School Choice Right." Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates, Annie E. Casey, and Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundations, the initiative's goal is to help state and local leaders handle practical issues whose resolution can determine whether school…

The purpose of this field hearing was for the members of the Subcommittee on Select Education of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, to learn more about a variety of programs authorized and funded by Title VI. Continued Federal support for these programs reflects the significance and growing relevance of language and area studies,…

For all of the attention rising college costs continue to receive, it is striking how poorly informed many decision makers are when it comes to setting tuition and fees. And it's equally astounding that so many institutions are learning the consequences of pricing decisions undertaken solely by trial and error when a wrong judgment can affect…

In his recent bestseller The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman argues that countries like the United States can no longer compete in the global economy on the basis of making and selling commodities. Their competitive edge increasingly comes from how well they produce products, services, and technologies that are new . . . special . . .…

This study evaluates the initial effect of Washington, D.C.'s Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) on the academic performance of public schools and its effects on the opportunities that District students have to attend integrated schools. The OSP is a federally sponsored school voucher program that provides vouchers worth up to $7,500 for an…

In 1991, Massachusetts passed an interdistrict choice law that gave parents the option of enrolling their child in any district they selected. Six years later, David Armor and Brett Peiser conducted a study to examine the social, racial, and financial impact of the choice program on participating districts, and to determine if the thesis behind…

Despite some weakening in the 1990s, partly due to sluggish trend growth, the Swiss innovation performance has been very strong. There are, however, areas in which policy reforms could strengthen innovation further and help Switzerland maintain its lead in the face of a changing global environment. Boosting competition, simplifying administrative…

This report describes the findings of the New Zealand Council for Educational Research's 1999 national survey, in its series looking at the impact of educational reform on primary and intermediate schools. In 1989 reforms were enacted that abolished the Department of Education and began elections for boards of trustees who took responsibility for…

Amid unprecedented social, demographic, and economic changes, leaders must enhance performance and deliver desired results. The growing importance of managing the explosion in information requires attention to defining organizational missions and visions. The 37 chapters in this work are divided into 7 parts. Part 1, "On Leaders and…

This paper is the fifth in a series of yearly efforts to identify the top 10 public policy issues facing higher education. Each of the issues is presented, first as a brief summary and then discussed in some depth; each also includes a list of information sources. The issues identified are: (1) teacher preparation and the K-12 relationship (the…

The expansion of school choice and greater competition between schools is currently the centrepiece of government educational policy in the UK. There is an increasing emphasis on parents' right to choose their preferred schools, and whilst many parents may value choice itself, the advocates of these market oriented reforms usually argue that the…