through correspondence with officials who are responsible for the administration of Federal grants. The facts are summarized here for use by those who desire to have information about Federal assistance for education, presented as a unit. The statements about Federal aids for education are arranged and grouped in the bulletin by the Federal agencies which administer the grants. NATIONAL SUMMARIES OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR Opportunities to learn more about Federal programs of education have been afforded recently by special reviews or surveys of all Federal activities in education. One of these, conducted by the Hoover Commission and presented in the Task Force report on public welfare, prepared by the Brookings Institution, was reported in the preceding issue of this bulletin. A summary table showing the Federal funds provided during the 1948-49 school year was analyzed and discussed. It indicated that the Federal appropriations for educational activities that year amounted to approximately 3.7 billions of dollars. Another comprehensive survey of Federal activities in education has recently been prepared in the Legislative Reference Service, Library of Congress, by Charles A. Quattlebaum. Data were obtained by means of a brief questionnaire sent to all Federal departments, agencies, and offices by the Bureau of the Budget. Responses were received indicating that there may be approximately 275 separate and distinct Federal activities in the field of education. Appropriations were listed for 255 of the programs for the 1949-50 school year and an analysis of this number is given in table 1. Among the 255 programs, approximately 30 can be selected that account for more than 99 percent of the Federal funds for education. The Federal interest in education is apparent from a review of the activities described in the reports submitted by the Hoover Commission and the Legislative Reference Service of the Library of Congress. Actual numbers of Federal offices having interests in the field of education cannot be stated accurately because of the variability of the types of educational programs which they operate. Some programs are very specific. They are carefully described in the congressional enactments, regulations are provided for their operation, and definite appropriations are made. At the other extreme are educational services which are incidental to the opera The Brookings Institution. Functions and Activities of the National Government in the Field of Welfare. A report with recommendations prepared for The Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government. Washington, U. S. Government Printing Office, 1949. 590 p. 5 Quattlebaum, Charles A. Federal Educational Activities and Educational Issues Before Congress, Washington, U. S. Government Printing Office, 1951. Vol. I, 135 p.; Vol. II, 228 p.; Vol. III, 210 p. tion of a Federal office and are provided only as a means to the accomplishment of some other purpose. They have an administrative rather than a legislative basis. Among these are some programs which may not be reported as educational. Out of the total list of 275 educational activities of the Federal offices are 44 that are frequently mentioned. They account for the major part of the Federal expenditures for education. These activities are listed here in two arrangements. In the first, they are grouped by the Federal offices responsible for their administration, and in the second, they are listed by the types of educational services offered. Federal Educational Programs Grouped by Federal Offices Atomic Energy Commission Children Near Atomic Energy Commission Sites Fellowships Research Grants Department of Agriculture Agricultural Experiment Stations Merchant Marine Academy Air Force Technical Training Navy Training Schools Reserve Officers Training Corps Department of the Interior Education of Indians and Natives Revenue from Grazing and Mineral Lands Department of Labor Apprentice Training Program Educational Exchange Program Department of the Treasury Coast Guard Schools Federal Security Agency American Printing House for the Medical Research Columbia Institution for the Deaf *Education in Federally Affected Areas Howard University *Office of Education-Administra- Public Health Teaching Program *School Facilities Survey Surplus Property Utilization *Vocational Education Vocational Rehabilitation Veterans Administration Education of Veterans Rehabilitation of Veterans Other Federal Offices Economic Cooperation Administration Technical Assistance Government Printing Office Apprenticeship Training Library of Congress Public Schools of the District of Teachers Colleges of the District • These programs are administered by the Office of Education. *These programs are administered by the Office of Education. From the list of Federal activities in education presented in the report by the Legislative Reference Service of the Library of Congress, 255 have been selected on which there were Federal financial obligations for the 1949-50 school year. The numbers of such activities are listed in table 1 segregated both by the Federal agencies responsible for administration and by the types of educational services rendered. Amounts of Federal funds appropriated for these 255 programs for the 1949-50 school year have been summarized and presented in table 2. By far the largest amount is expended by the Veterans Administration. It amounted to more than 81 percent of the total for 1949-50. This is slightly less than the approximately 85 percent for this agency given by the Hoover Commission's Report for the 1948-49 school year. Figures for both years indicate that the Office of Education administers less than 1 percent of the Federal funds expended for education. Table 1.-NUMBERS OF FEDERAL EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES, FOR THE 1949-50 SCHOOL YEAR · Summarized from the Legislative Reference Service report of the Library of Congress. Educational Activities and Educational Issues Before Congress. Charles A. Quattlebaum, 1951. 45 (14) 6 53 Federal 1 Figures for the Office of Education are also included in the totals for the Federal Security Agency. Table 2.-FEDERAL FUNDS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES, FOR THE 1949-50 SCHOOL YEAR* [Thousands] Federal Other agencies... *Summarized from the Legislative Reference Service report of the Library of Congress. Educational Activities and Educational Issues Before Congress. Charles A. Quattlebaum, 1951. 1 Figures for the office of Education are also included in the totals for the Federal Security Agency. This is for the National Scientific Register. All amounts reported for the Office of Education are for both administration and research. EDUCATION AND RESEARCH Frequently a distinction is made in reporting Federal activities in education. Some programs have been reported as research activities rather than educational services. Similar considerations have been given to Federal programs to be included in this report. Both of the national reviews of Federal activities in education, the one conducted by the Hoover Commission and the more recent one by the Legislative Reference Service of the Library of Congress, have reported research activities along with other educational activities. Apparently these major efforts to review educational activities found no serious conflict. The learning of facts, whether they be new or old, was accepted as a part of the definition of education. Discovery of the new facts may be an educational activity for the researcher and the new facts are then available to be used in educational programs for other learners. Activities described as research were segregated and reported in column 5 of tables 1 and 2. They account for less than 3 percent of the Federal expenditures for education. Federal research funds, with the exceptions noted below, have been excluded from the remaining 51 tables of this report. One exception is the tabulation of allocations to the States for Agricul tural Experiment Stations presented in tables 23 and 24. This program has been included because the funds are allocated to educational institutions. Another exception is the appropriation to the Office of Education which is reported in table 7. Federal funds for research granted to colleges and universities by the Atomic Energy Commission, the Department of Defense, and some other agencies, were omitted because the information about the allotment of funds is not easily separated from other funds allocated to the Commission for administration and program development. However, references to these research programs are made in the text. FEDERAL INTEREST IN EDUCATION Traditionally, State and local communities have assumed the major responsibility for education in the United States. The Federal Government has also been interested in promoting the cause of public education. Without desiring to modify State and local control, the people have agreed that congressional appropriations and the powers of the Federal Government might achieve some educational objectives that could not be attained by the States and communities. This is the basis for future growth in the Federal interest in education. Reasons for a national interest in education are stated in the Federal legislation and some of them are itemized here for further examination. They need to be studied by citizens and public administrators as well as educators as a basis for determining reasonable proportions of financial support to be provided by the |