The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the ideas and proposals in 10 papers commissioned by the National Center for Education Statistics to identify issues in early childhood education which have major relevance to public policy. Part I offers a brief overview of the context in which the issues were raised, focusing on current trends,…

A review of the literature on school reform and successful restructuring efforts, with a focus on the decentralization of the Chicago public school system, is the purpose of this paper. Under new legislation, the Chicago Board of Education will be disbanded to encourage citizen control of schools, and will be replaced by a system of individual…

The study reported in this document was conducted to facilitate strategic recruiting and marketing plans aimed at enhancing enrollments of academically superior students at the University of Wisconsin-Washington County (UWWC). Data on college choice criteria, perceptions, evaluations, information sources, "influentials," and choice outcomes…

This book presents state-by-state information on 10 indicators of child and adolescent health, education, and social and economic well-being. Indicators were chosen because they represented measures generally comparable across states and widely regarded as reliable. Indicators were: (1) percentage of births with no early prenatal care; (2) infant…

This case study of the battle over public school education in Lowell (Massachusetts) chronicles the process of change taking place there, partly as a result of the emerging role of Southeast Asian parents who, in coalition with Latino parents, are demanding educational access and equity for their children. The following sections are included: (1)…

Recent research indicated that a field dependent cognitive style, often culture-based, can cause problems for learners of English as a Second Language (ESL). English language ability and learning styles, and field dependence (FD), and field independence, were tested in 157 adult Korean and Japanese ESL learners in university and…

This is a report of a statewide study of kindergarten practices in North Carolina in 1988 which involved classroom observations (N=103 randomly selected classrooms) and questionnaires returned by 218 elementary school principals (an 86% response) and by 375 kindergarten teachers (an 81% response). Several questions were addressed by the study. (1)…

This curriculum guide supplements the Alabama "Health Education Course of Study," which offers a comprehensive planned sequential curriculum for grades K-12. The largest section of the guide consists of classroom activities which are tied to specific student outcomes. A list of materials needed to carry out the activities is provided.…

This study of incumbent British Columbia school board members prior to election analyzes relationships between individual members' feelings of political efficacy and trust and their decisions to seek or not seek reelection. The 60 subjects, from 24 districts, represented candidates (those members seeking reelection) and retirees (members not…

Focusing on the family as a context for the development of life plans by youth, this report summarizes findings of a 14-year longitudinal study on the educational and occupational life plans and achievement of youth in rural low-income areas in six southeastern states. Specific attention is given to (1) how parental educational and occupational…

Intended for use by graduate students in educational administration and supervision as well as by practicing school administrators, this book is a guide to the most effective practices surrounding the school principalship. Ideas in the book reflect current views of good management, including systems approaches, participative and collaborative…

The use and significance of metaphors in 12 education policy reports are considered, including metaphors that involve conceptions of knowledge and its use (e.g., "knowledge as a landscape,""intellectual activity as a journey"). Some knowledge metaphors are linked to metaphors invoking business, wealth, and capital analogies.…

Data from a 1% sample of households in the 1980 United States Census of Population and Housing were used to identify personal and social characteristics associated with being poor or marginally poor in Colorado. The general hypothesis examined was that the more limited an individual's access is to participation in the nontraditional aspects of the…

Based upon the Mother-Infant Literacy Knowledge (MILK) program--in which imprisoned mothers are allowed to care for their children until they are one year old--a study investigated how placing parents in a print rich environment affects parental ability to provide their children with book oriented experiences. The study was conducted in a…

A study investigated the learning of consumer skills by adolescents, using two theoretical approaches--the social learning and the family communication pattern approaches. It was hypothesized that (1) assuming that parents are more experienced consumers than are adolescents, frequent discussion with parents on consumption matters are likely to…