This comparative study modifies Cabrera and La Nasa's model to examine social and class stratification in students' college-choice outcomes in the USA and Taiwan, and compares the mechanisms that perpetuate this stratification between the two systems. Students' college-choice outcomes are defined by both institutional selectivity and control, in…

Canadians often assume that what is said about education south of the U.S. border applies north of it as well. However Canada's international rankings are consistently higher than those of the U.S., primarily because of different social conditions (less inequality, less child poverty, etc.) and different educational policies (more equitable…

Globally, fees and tuition are growing as an important source of income for most universities, with potentially significant influence on the market for students and the behavior of institutions. Thus far, however, there is no single source on the fee rates of comparative research universities, nor information on how these funds are being used by…

New methods of financing higher education used in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom are summarized and compared. The paper concludes that while these approaches are designed to improve efficiency, realize specific outcomes, and leverage additional funds from other sources, they may have unanticipated, unintended, and, in some…

This digest compares the efforts of the United States and of other member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to finance center- and facility-based preschool. In many OECD countries, public preschool is more widely available than in the United States. For example, in France, 100%, and in Italy,…

State and local tax performance in the United States and in the South and implications for the financing of public higher education are considered. It is suggested that despite apparent gains in state tax revenues, little overall growth in real terms has been experienced in the region and nation in recent years, nor can much be expected in the…

The data presented in this combined report--"Rankings & Estimates"--provide facts about the extent to which local, state, and national governments commit resources to public education. As one might expect in a nation as diverse as the United States--with respect to economics, geography, and politics--the level of commitment to…

A comparison study examined financial data and full-time student enrollment statistics (1987-88) from 10 Ontario universities with comparable U.S. schools (in eight Great Lake Region states, and California, Texas, and Florida) in order to establish the competitiveness of Ontario's university system in the North American context. Analysis revealed…

The first of a two-part series covers research published since 1970 that is directly relevant to interlibrary loan in the United States, with emphasis on studies of total volume, growth rate, nature of exchange relationships, characteristics of requests and types of material requested, users and uses, and financing. (47 references) (EJS)

Since the early 1990s, state governments have distributed billions of dollars in financial aid through merit-based college scholarships, most of which have no means tests. The model for most of these programs is Georgia's Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally (HOPE) scholarship. Given the high correlation between precollege academic achievement…

After a year of public hearings and not-so-private debate, the National Commission on the Future of Higher Education last year proposed six sweeping recommendations to improve "the less than inspiring realities of postsecondary education" in the United States ("A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher…

The use of demand-side financing mechanisms and vouchers for postcompulsory secondary-level education was examined through case studies of funding practices in the following countries: Austria; France; the United Kingdom; the United States; and Wallonia (the French community of Belgium). Different models of voucher use were identified in the…

In the midst of the global recession, how have national governments viewed the role of higher education in their evolving strategies for economic recovery? Demand for higher education generally goes up during economic downturns. Which nations have proactively protected funding for their universities and colleges to help maintain access, to help…

The study examined medical and social services to pregnant women, newborns and their families in 10 European countries and suggested implications for policy and practice in the United States. The 10 countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom) tend…

Earlier observations on U.S. infant health and survival as compared with other Western industrial democracies are extended in a study of preventive health services for children from infancy through adolescence and to the social benefit programs that support their families. This report looks at the condition of children in 10 European countries…