A review of relevant available literature divides the functions of rural principals into six categories (instruction/curriculum leadership, personnel guidance, school/community relations, administrative responsibilities, evaluation, professional improvement) and provides suggestions on helpful material for each. Recent research on principals and…

Three papers pertaining to the General College Pilot Education Program (PEP), a retention effort undertaken by the General College, University of Minnesota, are presented. In "An Overview of the General College PEP Program in Its Second Year," C. P. Zanoni addresses the components of the program, evaluation efforts, and program costs.…

Results of participation in a Summer Bridge Program at the University of California, San Diego, in 1978 for 30 high-risk, minority group, and low-income students are discussed. The program is based on Tinto's (1975) theoretical synthesis of research on dropouts from higher education and is designed to increase a student's integration and…

Efforts to institutionalize Bloom's Mastery Learning Concept at the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) are described. Information on the City Colleges and the adaptation of mastery learning are presented, and the growth of the project in five phases beginning in 1972 is sketched. The optimal pattern for mastery learning consists of a series of small…

Research on ethnic minority participation in community college education is reviewed in eight sections. The first delineates the distinguishing features of the modern community college, such as its emphasis on occupational education, its diversity of programs, and the prevalence of non-traditional course-taking patterns. The second section…

A study was conducted to determine the optimum combination of selected social, academic, and demographic variables to maximally differentiate membership in the successful, unsuccessful, and withdrawal groups of first-year computer programming majors in Virginia community colleges. A questionnaire focusing on 18 selected variables was administered…

Information about the goals and goal achievement of Black and White community college students was obtained from a follow-up survey mailed in Spring, 1978, to all persons enrolled as first-time students in Maryland community colleges in Fall, 1974. Additional information on the Maryland community college system was included in the data analysis.…

A survey instrument eliciting demographic and needs information was sent to 4,600 disabled students who attended California community colleges during 1974-75; the response rate was 19.5% and not all respondents answered all questions. Students' ages ranged from 18 to over 56; approximately 66% were over 26, 50% of whom acquired disabilities at age…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…

The consequences of not graduating from high school are increasingly serious for both individuals and society as a whole. As a result, policymakers and the federal requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) have placed a new focus on increasing graduation rates and reducing dropout rates. While the dropout problem has generated research and new…

"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) Preparing, Recruiting, and Retaining Education Professionals: Senator Reed Proposes New $500 Million Bill to Improve…

In 1970, 55 percent of the US population over age 25 had completed high school or some college and 11 percent had completed 4 or more years of college; by 1999, those figures had reached 83 percent and 25 percent, respectively. A comparison between 1982 and 1992 high school seniors found more completing some postsecondary credits (from 53 percent…

This volume provides an overview of some of the outstanding features of the work of the Norwegian sociologist and comparative educationist, Jon Lauglo. After an introduction, "'It Ain't Necessarily So!': Theories and Observations in Jon Lauglo's World of Education and Training" (Se-Yung Lim and Klaus Schaack), essays and studies are…

Using 437 interviews with apprentices and trainees, teachers/trainers, and supervisors/managers, a study explored retention in apprenticeships and traineeships and factors that influence it. Apprentices and trainees were more likely to complete their contract of training (COT) if they developed an interest in the occupation and had medium- and…

A literature review examined educational research on school reform and vocational and technical education. The first area examined student risk factors in education, the state of the art in secondary vocational education (career and technical education or CTE), and the interplay of these new forms of CTE and other comprehensive school reform…