Education Commons^™

Reaching Tomorrow's Hispanic Leaders, Sister Thérèse Higgins

New England Journal of Public Policy

High school-age Hispanics have a 50 percent drop-out rate. College-age Hispanic youth account for only 3.9 percent of the United States college population. A report of the Commission on Minority Participation in Education and American Life challenged college planners to do something about the neglect of young minority students. However, Regis College had already developed a four-week residential summer program to enable Hispanic ninth-graders to complete high school and prepare for college. The anticipated outcome of this College Awareness Program is that the dream of higher education and empowerment for two hundred gifted young Hispanics will be realized.

Providing Access To Power: The Role Of Higher Education In Empowering Women Students, Margaret A. Mckenna

New England Journal of Public Policy

Access to education opens the doors to future economic power — but are opportunities for women limited by the very way that institutions of higher education think about women students? Women comprise the majority of college students today, but the institutions they attend may not be serving their educational needs. This article explains that women's needs are different from those of men and illustrates how educators can respond to that difference, offering a "feminist environment" in which female students can meet their own educational goals.

Why Not A Fifty-Fifty Goal? Increasing Female Leadership In Higher Education, Sherry H. Penney, Nancy Kelly

New England Journal of Public Policy

One of the key factors determining the economic status and success of women is their level of education. Women have been turning to education in ever increasing numbers, and they now comprise the majority of students in our institutions of higher education. Yet women hold only 10 percent of the most senior positions — college and university presidencies. Clearly if institutions are to be responsive to the needs of all students, that percentage must change. Those who make up the ranks of this elite achieved their professional standing by overcoming inequities that linger in the academy even as we enter …

The Academic Workplace: Perception Versus Reality, Sandra E. Elman

New England Journal of Public Policy

Why are faculty becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the quality of the academic workplace? What accounts for burnout and low morale among so many college and university faculty? Is work life for professionals any more satisfying in the business world? What can academic leaders learn from business executives who work vigorously to reenergize their enterprises? Are corporate strategies aimed at enhancing the quality of work life applicable to improving satisfaction and productivity in our colleges and universities?

These concerns were addressed by a number of education leaders at a conference on faculty work life jointly sponsored by the New England Resource …

The Search For A Massachusetts Chancellor: Autonomy And Politics In Higher Education, Richard A. Hogarty

New England Journal of Public Policy

Political scientists have not devoted much attention to the politics of higher education. Their reluctance is hard to explain since the material for study is close at hand and the subject offers ample research opportunities. The search for a chancellor conducted by the Massachusetts Board of Regents in 1986 aroused considerable public attention and controversy. This case study examines that controversy along with the tensions that arise when academic and political forces collide. Few searches in academia are perfect and none is a morality play. This one proved to be no exception. This article is an attempt to reconstruct the …

Introducing Aids Education In Connecticut Schools, William Sabella

New England Journal of Public Policy

Most of the nation 's schoolchildren are not infected with the AIDS virus (HIV). Since AIDS is a preventable disease, no one need become infected. In order to protect themselves, everyone, including children, must understand exactly how HIV is and is not contracted. The message of prevention, however, is controversial, since it must include advice on safer sex and drug use.

In 1984, Connecticut was forced to face the issue of a child with HIV infection entering school. The state responded by creating guidelines for prevention of disease transmission in schools and by subsequently developing an AIDS curriculum. Obstacles to …

The Public-Private Forum: Good Intentions Randomize Behavior, Robert Wood

New England Journal of Public Policy

Public and private institutions of higher learning coexist throughout the United States in a pattern of diversity that is unknown in any other postindustrial society — and Massachusetts is a prime example of U.S. pluralism in education. In an era of scarce resources and mounting costs, the contrary instincts for cooperation and competition are at work. This article is an account ofa voluntary attempt among private and public colleges and universities between 1973 and 1976 to forge a fragile partnership — the Massachusetts Public-Private Forum — which first flourished, then foundered. Tracing the course of its early successes and final …

Boston School Desegregation: The Fallowness Of Common Ground, Robert A. Dentler

New England Journal of Public Policy

This essay scrutinizes the book by J. Anthony Lukas, Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families, to assess whether it presents a valid and reliable account of the issues, people, and events it chronicles. The substantive core of the book is shown to be the politics of Boston public school desegregation. The parts played by the three families in this event are dramatically portrayed but cannot be corroborated and are not interpreted. The parts played by five major policy leaders, when tested against other evidence, are found to be distorted, questionable legends woven in …

Public Education In Boston, Joseph M. Cronin

New England Journal of Public Policy

Historically, Boston schools have been a source of pride and educational innovation, yet they have also been fraught with problems that are typical of urban education. Both the success achieved and the problems encountered in Boston schools bear analysis. In looking at such areas as overall quality of education, funding, and compliance with federal guidelines, specific recommendations for the future of public education in Boston can be offered. In addition, the impact of Boston's success or failure in implementing new ideas through the school committee and the mayor is not limited to the city itself. This article' s outlining of …