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Charter schools have generated support from politicians in both major American political parties, while stimulating intense debate among interest groups. We investigate whether and how public attitudes come to mirror interest group polarization or politician consensus in order to understand what drives public attitudes as policy debates mature and citizens learn information that drives advocates to opposite sides. Using survey experiments, we assess how views change in response to policy cues. Mirroring debates among advocates, we assess whether the role of private companies and non-union teachers polarize opinion. We find that the public responds to cues linked to unions and polarizes based on liberal and conservative ideology as well as attitudes toward unions. This helps to explain how ideological polarization can grow even in the absence of strong partisan sorting among top political leaders. The report includes a bibliography.

The troubled economy is driving school organizations to become more efficient and driving the business community to demand that schools produce graduates with different sets of skills. States are finally uniting around common student learning standards as the student population grows more diverse. And the new administration is pouring an unprecedented amount of money into education to support thoughtful innovation. To thrive, not just survive, in this new age, the very heart of schools--instruction--must undergo transformation. To harness the opportunities for large-scale instructional reform that these disruptions bring, it is the position of Learning Point Associates that states should lead the structural transformation of schooling, beginning with revolutionizing how they think about, prepare, license, deploy, and support educators. Many states have gotten a head start on improving the quality of instruction in America's schools by working to build a holistic system of educator talent management, recognizing that teachers are--and likely always will be--the critical school factor in student learning, followed closely by school leaders. Managing educator talent requires focusing on all the variables needed to successfully build human-capital capacity--preparation, recruitment, selection, induction, professional development, working conditions, compensation, and performance management--and noting where and how they intersect and build on one another. School officials in a few states are working toward implementing such an integrated system. In this white paper, the authors argue that the structural transformation of schools will necessitate a rethinking of each of the variables in the teacher career continuum and a revisualization of multiple career continua for different kinds of teachers. They further argue that states must support this process by giving schools the guidance and the flexibility to rewrite teachers' job descriptions to ensure that productive instructional transformation can occur. They begin by briefly describing what form the structural transformation of schools can take if states provide the right conditions. They then introduce the concept of neo-differentiated staffing with which forward-looking states will begin to experiment to propel and sustain the new system. Finally, they discuss how Learning Point Associates can help states stay surefooted during these tectonic times. (Contains 2 footnotes.)

This report describes a meeting of Canadian partners who had experience in workplace literacy and represented different sectors that was convened to develop two lists of priorities for possible projects--those of interest to all sectors and of interest to each sector. Participants identified six clusters of priorities across Canada: marketing/promotion (awareness, increased consciousness); vision and accountability; research, standards, and measurement; work force, learners, and learning culture; delivery, dissemination, and field development; and partnerships. For each priority, participants generated three or four issues in the form of questions that could generate results. Participants examined priorities for these individual sectors: labor, business, government, research, joint/national groups, and practitioner/coordinators. Each sector identified three or four priority issues that were specific to that sector. Again, the issues were in the form of questions that could generate results. Following the 10-page narrative, each sector priority issue is analyzed according to the following: (1) why this is an issue; (2) initial steps that would address this issue (including who is responsible and start and finish dates); and (3) what might hinder the implementation of these steps. Appendixes include two lists of needs--those participants believed had yet to be addressed across all sectors and those that had already been addressed across all sectors; consultation agenda; evaluation summary; and participant list. (YLB)

The cognitive processes of planning operationalize many of the metacognitive abilities necessary for transfer of knowledge. A telephone survey of 30 adults and Delphi methodology were used to explore the vocabulary and content of the mental representations of the nature and function of planning as perceived by experts in cognitive psychology (N=9), business (n=11), everyday life planning (lay people) (N=9), and teaching (N=10). The data confirm that there is a striking convergence, within and across the sampled populations, about what planning is used and the purposes for which it is used. Four excellent and precise definitions of planning achieved a solid consensus independently: 97% agreement on all components of the definition and their 145 descriptors, 89% on the function statements, and 95% for the 159 function descriptors. The results confirm that there is a strong commonality among groups of experts about the declarative and the conditional knowledge of planning. The findings suggest that the definitional difficulties within the domain literature may be artificially amplified and are not representative of more nonacademic, real-life practitioners of planning. Results also support the contention that planning may by underutilized as an umbrella vehicle through which to funnel the instruction in many of the other metacognitive skills. (Contains 5 tables and 64 references.) (Author/SLD)

Scholars of education policy have consistently found that the capacity, beliefs, and values of local actors affect the relative success or failure of policy implementation. This article examines stakeholders' perceptions of education policy in South Carolina to consider the relationship between interpretations of education policy and attitudes of advocacy. Findings include that not only is the education system failing children, but it also sets up stakeholders, who care about education, to fail. The authors conclude that state-level education policy implementation plays an increasingly important role in shaping the message of education policy and ensuring the understandability of policy messages.

This paper explores the topic of mentoring and its practical implications. Mentoring requirements have changed over time. Today's mentors are influential people who significantly help others reach major life goals. Mentoring has to address broad, dynamic goals in today's society. Benefits for mentors can include enhanced self-esteem, rejuvenated interest in work, assistance on projects, and friendship. National efforts are being made to encourage mentoring as a tool to help education meet its national goals. To achieve this, mentor programs must be well-organized, and mentors must be properly trained and monitored. Individual who serve as mentors differ according to the program. The importance of the mentor-mentee relationship is becoming pronounced in the United States today. Mentor-mentee relationships are formed in three ways: initiation by the mentee, initiation by the mentor, and serendipity. There are many different models that a mentoring program can use. This paper examines different types and forms of mentoring and their implications, focusing on business and industry mentor programs and educational mentor programs (which include programs for administrators, beginning teachers, and peers). Mentor programs have proven to be successful in all organizational facets where there is a desire to help someone achieve their maximum performance level in a given setting. (Contains 19 references.) (SM)

To explore goals for economics education and ways in which these goals might be improved, reconciled, and consolidated, a Delphi-like inquiry among more than 200 economics educators, economists, businessmen, other social scientists, and educational administrators was undertaken. Statistical data and comments as to respondents' views expressed in one questionnaire was relayed back to them with a successive questionnaire. The process was repetitive for the purpose of eventually developing a composite opinion shared by the respondents in the light of reactions of others. Key findings of the inquiry, considered important guides for more effective economics education, are that the goals of economics education differ widely, both within and among the groups surveyed and that respondents arrived at a general concentration on one or another of three possible goals. The need for the inquiry, its process, and findings are discussed. Recommended actions deal with specification of goals, explanations to business interests and educational administrators, and implications to trainers of teachers of social studies. Exhibits include four questionnaires and responses. (Author/KSM)

To develop a profile of inhouse, company teachers of technical communication, a six-page questionnaire was administered to technical writing teachers. Of the 52 respondents, 24 offered both formal inhouse courses and informal training while 22 conducted only formal courses. Titles, course outlines, and other survey comments revealed that many organizations tailored entire courses--rather than individual seminars--to their main businesses. Most respondents said that courses were aimed primarily at scientists, engineers, or managers of such professionals and dealt with a variety of topics, among them efficient writing, grammar problems, style, technical content, editing, strategies for giving feedback to writers, graphics, audience analysis, readability, proposals, and grantsmanship. Three primary teaching methods were used: lecture, in-class writing or other classroom exercises, and group discussion and analysis of writing samples. Sixty-five percent of the respondents said their courses were conducted during working hours--and only during those hours. Almost half said that executive management gave strong support to their programs and an almost equally large segment reported moderate backing. More than a few of the respondents had extensive experience in both teaching and writing. And most inhouse teachers said they continued to increase their proficiency in both formal and informal ways. (HOD)