This book is based on the premise that each person, in his organizational and institutional roles, is embraced by a network of policy decisions that influence his behavior. From an examination of the importance of policy studies, the author moves to an exploration of the nature of policy and distinguishes the similarities and differences between…

This study focuses on the school district decision to initiate an innovative program. A natural experiment in the identification of school districts interested in initiating serious innovation is used to study the differences between school districts that were and those that were not considering innovation in one specific decisionmaking period. In…

In February 1974 the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) commissioned a study regarding the role of the Corporation in the relationship between public broadcasting and education. Four task forces were formed to consider the areas of early childhood education, elementary-secondary education and teacher education, post-secondary formal…

This policy statement on job training for the urban poor explores ways of abating poverty, considers current manpower training and employment programs, and makes a number of recommendations for strengthening and improving them. In addition, concern is expressed for increasing the productivity of the national economy by making the labor force as a…

Five papers comprise this book of symposium proceedings. Philip Smith, in "Objectives for American Education," theorizes that the U.S. can afford a sophisticated, dedicated profession to run the schools, and that educational leaders must become dedicated or other leaders will replace them. Francis Chase, in "The Status of Educational Planning in…

The collection and analysis of data concerning teacher effectiveness will continue to be of very limited use to teachers and administrators until our models of the educational process become much more sophisticated. Teacher performance indicators appear more relevant for judging teacher effectiveness than certification, education, and experience.…

Regional and State inequalities in educational opportunity are reported from an extensive study based on data from the October 1965 Current Population Survey of the U.S. Bureau of the Census regarding the home and school environments of approximately 27,000 persons between the ages of six and 19 in a national sample of households. Major phases of…

This collection of 10 essays is concerned with the leadership and current trends in English language teaching. Specific topics of papers are (1) W. Wilbur Hatfield as "The Pattern Maker," by James Mason, (2) Hatfield as an innovator in the teaching of literature and language, by Irwin Suloway, (3) "Changes in English Teaching in the…

The analytical part of the Coleman report has such serious methodological shortcomings that it offers little guidance for policy decisions. The specification of the theoretical model is inadequate, and without the theoretical framework to provide order, and a rationale for the large number of variables, there is no way to interpret the statistical…

These hearings before the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs focused on ways to provide adequate nutrition to millions of children attending schools not participating in the National School Lunch and Child Nutrition Programs. Testimony was heard from the following witnesses: Mr. Sam Winer, past president, U.S. Jaycees; Mr. Robert…

Demands for urban decentralization and community control are indexes of the inaccessibility, irresponsibility, and unresponsiveness of the institutions of urban government in the 1970's. How and why these institutions have become the focus of such widespread dissatisfaction can be understood only in the total context of urban politics in America,…

This report contains a description and an analysis of the process through which Nebraska State government establishes policy for its public elementary and secondary schools. The report focuses on the role and the impact of the various actors, official and unofficial, who become involved at the State level in setting public school policy. The data…

This paper pursues the question: "When is conflict functional to a proponent of change?" Interview data from school desegregation controversies in 91 Northern cities is used. Four major findings from the data show ways in which conflict seems to both facilitate and hinder effects to obtain desegregation: On the one hand, cities with militant black…

The critical problems, needs, and issues in early childhood special education are formulated, and an overall framework is suggested for their solution. What is called for in early childhood special education is an expansion of the educational and child development data banks, the creation of a Child Early Warning System (CEWS), the funding of…

To what extent, if any, will workers in families receiving Government cash benefits reduce their hours of work? The papers by Irwin Garfinkel and by Glen Cain and Harold Watts review large numbers of studies on this question. These authors caution us against having great confidence in the detailed estimates of how workers will respond because…