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This publication is intended to provide readers with a broad perspective on education in Israel, based on the findings of participants in a two-week study mission to Israel. Part 1 consists of 17 short reports on various topics related to Israeli education. The majority of these reports deal with educational planning, policy, evaluation, and research; other reports focus on community and parent involvement, language policy, Arab education, instructional television, Sephardic-Ashkenazi differences, and women's status. Part 2 contains 18 brief reports by members of the study group on selected site visits in Israel and meetings with Israeli government officials and educational leaders. A copy of the study group's itinerary is also included. (Author/JG)

The seminar on "Innovation, Outcomes, and the State Budgeting Process" was a joint effort of seven organizations (Education Commission of the States, Legis 50/The Center for Legislative Improvement, National Association of State Budget Officers, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems at WICHE, National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Governors Conference), which share an interest in the issues of performance budgeting in postsecondary education. Along with a synthesis of the seminar, the agenda, and a list of participants, a report, "State Governments as Funders of Postsecondary Education: Catalysts for Improvement?" presented at the July conference in San Francisco, is provided. (KE)

The federal government has traditionally relied on a variety of private accrediting bodies and state chartering and licensing authorities for determining eligibility and exercising direct supervision and consumer protection in education. As Federal financial assistance directly to students has expanded (3 million students received $6.4 million in 1974), the diffuse and uneven system of approval and control of educational insitutions, programs, and student financial aid by "voluntary" agencies has become confused and overburdened. As an aid to legislators, the Eligibility Task Force of the Postsecondary Education Convening Authority synthesized numerous recent studies and dialogues in the field of eligibility and accreditation. This was done to define key terms, sort out the interests of the various parties involved, delineate the current issues, offer conceptual models of alternative eligibility systems, and summarize some proposed solutions, including revisions based on the present system, which places heavy reliance for determining institutional eligibility on private accrediting associations. This also includes plans to separate eligibility judgments from accreditation. Appendices to this summary of the Task Force findings include principal participants in the present eligibility system, a review of statistics pertaining to the Guaranteed Student Loan Program (GSLB) and the Basic Opportunity Grant Program (BOGS), and a list of issues discussed at the U.S. Office of Education National Invitational Conference on Institutional Eligibility. (JT)

This report reviews the findings of two projects funded by the National Institute of Education (NIE) ano conducted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The project reports, "Going Metric" and "Metric Inservice Teacher Training," document the impact of metric conversion on the educational systems of Great Britain, New Zeland, Australia, South Africa, and Canada in order to provide educators and other planners with guides for preparing a national conversion program. Three vital needs were identified for a successful conversion policy in the U.S.: (1) a broad-scale involvement of all major elements in early planning, (2) a committed government policy and firm schedules, and (3) continued communication and coordination as conversion progresses. Recommendations include: (1) the creation of a national evaluative body that would establish clear uniform standards for metric educational materials; and (2) a coordinated teacher training strategy, with direct communication links with teachers and provisions for feedback on metric curriculum materials. (JW)

The final report of the Postsecondary Education Convening Authority, a project of George Washington University's Institute for Educational Leadership and a program supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, is presented. The objective of the project was to bring about informed public policy in postsecondary education by enabling policymakers at the state and federal levels to become better informed on important issues. During its four-year history, the project focused on four issues: the licensure/approval of postsecondary institutions by states; the respective roles and functions of the states, the Federal Government, and the nongovernmental accrediting agencies in the governance of postsecondary education; the impact of government policies on improvement efforts in postsecondary education; and the emerging federal and state role in lifelong learning. Project objectives were largely carried out through convenings and publications. The convening authority was also a sponsor of research, an issue development process, a mediator, a provider of a neutral forum, a catalyst, a networker, and an innovator in conference design. Activities involving each of these functions are described, and project outcomes are outlined. The project director's final thoughts, a chronology of major activities and publications, and commentaries on the project by others are presented. (SW)

Educational Staff Seminar (ESS) is designed to assist professional staff members who are employed by the Executive and Legislative Branches of the Federal Government to obtain a more realistic understanding of current educational practices and problems and to improve communications between Washington educational staff members and educators in the field. This document is a compilation of reports descriptive of many of the programs ESS has sponsored. The compilation shows the range and variety of programs which ESS has presented in its first four years and provides, in one accessible compilation, some viewpoints on contemporary policy issues which may be useful to ESS participants and their federal agencies and organizations. The program descriptions are divided into the broad issue areas of education and government, governance in the schools, research and educational futures, technology in education, postsecondary education, education of children with special learning needs, and education in other nations. (Author/MLF)

The issues involved in institutional licensure, determination of eligibility for federal funds and private accreditation are complex. Each of these functions is undertaken by an element of the "triad" of postsecondary education governance -- the states, the federal Government, and the private accrediting agencies. These three elements comprise a system of checks and balances that result in the need for increased communication. To provide the opportunity for such communication the Postsecondary Education Convening Authority sponsored a retreat on governmental and private institutional approval. This synthesis of the Belmont retreat reflects the efforts underway by representatives of each element toward a cooperative effort in postsecondary education governance. Also included are a list of the Belmont participants and a poem that conferees agreed captures the essence of what went on there. (Author)

The seven radio program scripts deal with education provided to refugees in various parts of the country. Some of the programs are transcripts of actual lessons in English as a second language (ESL); others are discussions of aspects of refugee services, with emphasis on ESL. Some participants in the discussions are themselves refugees, while others are Americans who are providing services to the refugees. (AMH)

The four half-hour radio programs focused on federally provided public education for American Indians; boarding schools of the past and present and the change to Indian controlled schools; the problem of culture conflict for American Indian college students and graduates; and the special problems of urban Indians, including stereotypes, teacher insensitivity, and isolation from tribal culture. In brief interviews, Indian parents and students, teachers and counselors, administrators and school board members, and program directors and coordinators commented on such topics as course content, curriculum, drug and alcohol use among students, teacher motivation, school and program regulations, religion, myths about Indians, failure and drop out rates, cultural isolation, prejudice, and academic aspiration. The Laguna-Akama (sic) Combined Junior and Senior High School and the Laguna-Akama (sic) Elementary School, both in New Mexico, and the Navajo Community College in Arizona are featured in many interviews. (SB)