A survey of 100 principals known for their successful programs for obtaining community support brought many effective techniques to light. These methods fall into four categories: written and oral communications, community involvement in decision making, use of school volunteers, and encouragement of parent-faculty organizations. (PGD)

Issues emerging from recent Australian college mergers include: their necessity, forced by federal government; realism of the savings objectives; problems of merging institutions with separate traditions and missions; achieving new institutional identities; optimum strategies for integrating organizational structures and policies; and effects on…

Adding more funds to American education will not accomplish the needed reform. Needed are restoration of discipline, ending of drug and alcohol abuse, raising academic standards, encouraging good teaching, restoring parent and state/local government involvement, and teaching the basics. (MSE)

The purpose of this report is to better determine the level of general public trust in public higher education and the content of published articles in the press that may influence and reflect public confidence. By conducting a six-month media scan of four California newspapers, an overview is provided of the key concerns and issues facing higher…

A state superintendent of education discusses standards from the point of view of a policymaker, acknowledging both educational and political elements. The objective for the policymaker is to take the work of researchers and educational theorists and make it something that practitioners and ultimately the public can understand. The first thing is…

This document focuses on technologies that can be used to improve federal government services. Reference Point, a foundation based in New Jersey, was chosen by the Office of Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress to study the application of advanced information. The applications selected for the study were: Electronic Information…

This paper investigates a nationally publicized case in the debate over the best method of educating millions of children with severe disabilities. Using Fisher's narrative paradigm, the report analyzes four years of the extensive media coverage of the legal battles of Mark Hartmann's family over the education of an 11-year-old boy with autism.…

This report details results of the 1999 Nebraska Rural Poll, which asked rural Nebraska residents for their opinions on recent school finance legislation and on proposed consolidation of county offices and services. Survey responses were received from 3,036 residents of Nebraska's 87 nonmetropolitan counties. Recent school finance legislation…

The goal of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Civic Education Study has been to examine, in a comparative framework, the political socialization of adolescents as they prepare for their roles as citizens of democracies. Approximately 90,000 students from the modal grade for 14-year-olds from…

This issues brief discusses the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Specifically, it reports on the results of focus groups that explored where people stand on standards-based education and whether they are likely to support or abandon struggling schools. The focus groups consisted of more than 60 participants who represented a broad cross-section…

This paper examines changes in American higher education, using the metaphor of ocean tides. The tides of change in the 1980s included public demands for assessment and accountability; fairness and credibility in advantages and benefits; improved quality of education; effectiveness and efficiency; assurance that college graduates were personally…

UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs, and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. This report details the accomplishments and activities of UNICEF for the year 2000. The report begins with a timeline describing major…

A 5-year effort to project a new and more realistic public image and to bring about improvements in student recruiting and fund-raising for a small, private, liberal arts women's college is described. The changes included offering bachelor's degrees for the first time and building pride and support among alumnae. (MSE)

Now is the time for an image change in small school education. Based on the 1981 Coleman Report, small school education overflows with advantages: low student-teacher ratio, opportunity to view each student in a holistic way, and the ability to control the behavior of the student body as a whole. (LC)

Reexamines a well-known conflict between Unitarian reformer, Annette Akroyd, and Hindu liberal, Keshub Chunder Sen, over the administration of a private girls' school in 19th century India. Argues that previous interpretations stressing colonial ethnocentrism failed to take into account the complexity of the situation. (MJP)