(1990). Federal Legislation To Eliminate Sex Discrimination in Vocational Education: "The Impossible Acts," 1976 and 1984. This project is a detailed history of two pieces of legislation that sought to eliminate sex discrimination in vocational education: the Vocational Education Amendments of 1976 and the Carl D. Perkins Act of 1984. The report explains why they happened and the results as seen by those most involved. It looks at the key individuals and groups that made a difference; what really happened during the legislative process; and how agencies, programs, and students were affected by the changes mandated under the new laws. The study collected qualitative information from those who created federal legislation, subsequent reports and studies on that legislation, and the National Assessment of Vocational Education. The study covers the 10-year period from 1977 to 1987. Information for the study was obtained by conducting personal interviews, making contacts, and reviewing legislation and national survey data. The following five chapters are included in this report: (1) the legislation–hearings…
(1990). Due Process in Student Discipline in Non-Public Schools. A study to determine the status of disciplinary procedures in nonpublic high schools in Nebraska and Kansas is described in this report. A two-part questionnaire to assess schools' written policies and actual practices was administered to 68 out of 72 private schools, a 94 percent response rate. Findings indicate that the majority of nonpublic schools in the two states under study provide students with procedural due process in disciplinary situations involving suspension and expulsion, although compliance is not legally required. A majority of the schools had written student discipline policies, provided student access to evidence, and empowered the principal as decision maker. Appendices include the questionnaire, correspondence, and survey results. (13 references) (LMI)…
(1990). Literacy, Human Rights and Peace. Literacy Lessons. International Literacy Year, 1990, is intended to alert readers to the persistence of illiteracy. The challenge of illiteracy can only be met by concerted action on the part of all those concerned, acting together to conquer ignorance, eliminate poverty, promote peace, and assert the solidarity and interdependence of nations and peoples. As early as 1946, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization began promotion of basic education. From 1960 to 1985, the rate of illiteracy among adults was reduced from 39.3 percent to 27.7 percent worldwide. This reduction was primarily due to the expanded enrollment of children in school rather than to any progress in the struggle against adult illiteracy. The absolute number of illiterate adults is steadily increasing, with the figures having risen from 740 million in 1970 to 889 million in 1985. Progress in schooling is offset by the effects of population growth. The average illiteracy rate conceals disparities between…
(1986). President's Committee on Mental Retardation: A Historical Review 1966-1985. Recommendations of the President's Committee on Mental Retardation to encourage collaboration among government, voluntary, individual, community, and private sector efforts are reported in this publication which presents a historical review of the Committee from 1966 through 1986. The background and establishment of the Committee are discussed in the first section, covering appointment of a panel (1961), a national advertising and awareness campaign (1963), a White House Conference (1963), and major legislation for mental retardation planning, program development, and construction (1963). The Committee's initial work (1966-1972) is described in the second section, including information on early leaders, major publications, concern for native Americans, goal setting, and the legal rights movement. The work of the Committee from 1973-1980 is discussed in the third section, covering such areas as White House activities, emphasis on community programs, and prevention of mental… [PDF]
(1986). The Constitution in the Twentieth Century: Implications for Citizenship Education. A major constitutional issue in the twentieth century is the extent to which the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted to fit changing times and circumstances. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, the Supreme Court dispensed a "mechanical jurisprudence" based on an "objective" interpretation of the Constitution and the "original intent" of its authors. In the twentieth century, the Court has tended to respond to changing social conditions with flexible and expansive interpretations of basic constitutional principles. The "popular will" became a factor in decisions which has troubled "legal purists" who believe that the courts should be above public opinion as judges apply legal logic and precedents to reach their conclusions. The "purists" believe the task is not to keep the Constitution in tune with the times, but rather to keep the times in tune with the Constitution. In contrast, "pragmatic…
(1984). Equality Now! Report of the Special Committee on Visible Minorities in Canadian Society. This report presents 80 recommendations for governmental, institutional, and organizational cooperation to amend inequities of race and ethnicity in Canada. According to a general introduction, most non-white minorities are not participating fully in Canadian society: their opportunities are being denied because they are frequently believed to be from a different culture that will not "fit" the structures of public and private institutions in Canada. The government is called upon to consciously remove all obstacles preventing the full participation of all citizens in employment, education, and politics. The introduction describes how institutions, often unintentionally, can restrict the life chances of non-white individuals through a variety of seemingly neutral rules, regulations, and procedures. The introduction also gives a brief account of the creation by the House of Commons of the Special Committee on Visible Minorities, and tells how witnesses appearing before the…
(1984). Response of the Government of Canada to "Equality Now!"=Response du gouvernement du Canada a l'Egalite, ca presse!. In 1984, Canada's Special Parliamentary Committee on Visible Minorities in Canadian Society issued a set of recommendations which challenged government at all levels, institutions, organizations, and individuals to commit themselves to the full development of a dynamic and socially harmonious multicultural and multiracial society. This document lists 80 recommendations presented in the Committee Report and briefly describes the action the government has taken, or promises to take, in response to each recommendation. The recommendations are presented under six headings: social integration; employment; public policy; justice; media; and education. (KH)…
(1986). Toward a Theory of Cable Rights. Noting that the fundamental philosophical barrier to fashioning an appropriate model of cable television rights is the equitable balancing of individual and collective First Amendment claims against the medium, this paper offers an approach for such a balancing that is based on the underlying dimension of the inherent social utility in expression. Various models of cable rights (Print, Broadcast, Public Forum, Common Carrier, and Public Utility) are tested against the resultant standard and each is found defective on either practical or philosophical grounds. It is suggested that under current constitutional interpretation only the Print model of cable rights is logically acceptable and as such nearly every form of federal, state, and local control over cable violates the First Amendment rights of the cable operator. However, since this conclusion does not satisfy the proposed aim of constitutional balancing, there should be a reinterpretation of the pivotal "Tornillo v. Miami…
(1986). Improving Minority Retention in Higher Education: A Search for Effective Institutional Practices. Programs and policies at four-year majority white institutions with good minority retention rates are examined, and factors contributing to their success that are adaptable to other sites are identified. Identification of the institutions used in the study was based on an objective statistical procedure and expert nomination. The four institutions chosen were Boston College, California State University at Fresno, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Purdue University Minority Engineering Program. An introduction to the report provides a statement of the problem; review of the literature (student characteristics and behavior and environmental factors); and a summary of the study including descriptions of the two methods used to select the institutions and synthesis of results from methods one and two). Case studies focus on the following: Boston College (the institution, African American/Hispanic/Asian/Native American student programs, and conclusions); California State… [PDF]
(1983). Educational Policy for Linguistic and Cultural Minorities: The State and the Individual. The problem of educational policy for language minorities, particularly those minorities who might be considered oppressed, include the right to education in the minority language. Rights properly considered also carry with them obligations; in this case, minority language speakers would have obligations toward the language of the majority. Two considerations in the area of minority and majority claims and counterclaims relate to economics and to the concept of \mediating structures.\ Economic considerations relate to the costs and benefits of different policies, as evaluated by the different language groups. These evaluations affect the extent to which formally enunciated rights and obligations are honored in practice. With regard to policy, its aim should be to minimize the perceived costs of a pluralistic approach and to maximize the perceived benefits to all concerned. The second set of considerations on \mediating structures\ is shown to be relevant for policies governing the… [PDF]
(1989). American Indians in Graduate Education. CGS Communicator, v22 n2 p5,8 Feb. The number of American Indians enrolled in institutions of higher education is very small. Enrollment figures for fall 1984 show Indians made up .68% of the total enrollment in institutions of higher education in the country, but only 15% of them were in universities. Their largest representation was in two-year institutions, where 54% of Indian students were enrolled. This is probably due to the existence of 25 Indian run community colleges. Preliminary data from the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) 1986 enrollment survey show Indians comprise .4% of graduate students in CGS institutions. The historical experience of American Indians with education provides a background for such underrepresentation in higher education, especially graduate education. Indian people in the past have had education used as a means of forcible acculturation to American society. Though many Indian parents value education for their children, expectations of the results are often vague because they… [PDF]
(1984). Who Will Get Merit Pay? Who Goes up the Career Ladder? A Legal Perspective. This discussion on merit pay and career ladders focuses on legal questions about evaluation fairness. If the concern of teachers for fairness is heeded, policymakers must include in enabling legislation for teacher incentive programs procedures designed to minimize the impact of bias for or against particular individuals or particular teaching methods. Existing constitutional and legal requirements for due process, or for hearings, are not adequate, and new law is needed. Teacher incentives may be a good idea, but if they are based on the wrong criteria or poor evaluations, they will backfire. If a commitment to developing and paying for a good system is lacking, these programs should be tabled. Everything depends upon the development of criteria that truly measure good teaching, and a fair and workable evaluation system. (JD)…
(1984). Pulpit Responses to Contemporary Issues: The On-Going Rhetoric of Dr. Martin Luther King. Many theoreticians have indicated that a major task of the nonpresumptive rhetor is to gain presumption, thereby shifting the burden of proof to the opposition. Rhetorically, Martin Luther King, Jr., sought to effect this shift in the burden of proof through the use of hierarchies of values. At the top of his value system was the love of God. The next level was the love between humans. A set of morals, established from this love, were then utilized as the criteria for defining justice, and justice was the authority for laws. Most of King's rhetoric attempted to take advantage of the fact that a religious hierarchy of values was predominant in the minds of most Americans. Another characteristic of King's rhetoric was the initiation of a proposition with a fact or truth, mediated with a transitional metaphor, and argued from a value stance. Not only did the rhetoric of Martin Luther King, Jr, address a myriad of propositions of fact, value, and policy, but it was also directed toward…
(1981). The Mentally Retarded and the Educational System in Denmark. The history of educational services for mentally retarded persons in Denmark is traced, along with the evolution of attitudes toward the population from a protectionist philosophy which promoted segregation to current thinking about normalization. The role of the national parents' association in influencing service review and reform is stressed. The relationship between the objective of normalization and the working methods of integration and segregation is considered. Changes in Danish laws to guarantee equal rights to mentally retarded persons are reviewed, as are conditions surrounding and influencing the changes. The effects of the normalization principle on housing and work of mentally retarded persons, including adults, are discussed. (CL)…
(1981). My Neighbor Is a Battered Woman. This book is intended as a general introduction to the problems of battered women. The format for part 1 consists of the presentation of facts about wife beating, i.e., who are victims, characteristics of batterers, the environment in which family violence exists, and services for battered women. These facts are illustrated by the presentation, on alternating pages, of a fictional wife battering situation. Part 2 of the booklet provides advice for the victim before, during, and after the attack and presents information on the role of the police, going to court, criminal and civil charges, and restraining orders. The decision about whether a battered woman should stay with the man or end the relationship is also discussed. Part 3 of the booklet includes a suggested reading list and a resource list of shelters and other family violence programs and resources in New Mexico. Although the information about legal matters and resources for battered women is geographically specific to New…