Continuous improvement, a structured process for using data and research to improve educational programming, is an important component in creating and maintaining successful CTE programs. For practitioners to engage in continuous improvement--and to use data and research to go beyond accountability--they need to maintain an effective data…

As the number of publicly funded early childhood education (ECE) programs increases, policymakers will need empirical evidence to justify the taxpayer investment. Such justification will require a stronger understanding of the essential components of an ECE program's design, as well as solid evidence on which components, or constellations of…

Review of literature concerning the use of program review in higher education lists sources discussing the review process, focusing on the links between program review and other institutional processes, and addressing application of program review principles and practices to different higher education settings. Critical factors for successful use…

As educators across the nation launch into frenzied efforts to "do something" in response to the various recommendations of commissions on educational excellence, many are forgetting that knowledge of how to implement change is available. This paper focuses on three concerns that educators must face when fitting general recommendations…

This paper presents a model for turning research findings into prescriptions for practical action. The model contains the following five interactive elements: (1) clear, understandable research knowledge; (2) relevant knowledge, which is seen as meaningful to normal life and concerns; (3) images of actions which exemplify the knowledge; (4) a will…

Described is a model for teaching elementary school science based on the generative view of learning: that meaning is created by the learner through mental processing that involves relating new input to existing ways of viewing the world. How curriculum researchers can help teachers implement this model is also discussed. (RM)

Local schools and school districts lack organized information on school effectiveness to select programs and practices to meet their specific program improvement and implementation needs. Critical program features, implementation and training requirements, program costs, program-delivery systems, program impacts, and a host of other relevant…

This handbook provides information to help the policymaker or educator understand the research process in order to study problems and opportunities associated with the education of girls in Africa. In Africa, girls account for only 57% of the school-age population. They are more likely to drop out of school and to score lower on the examinations…

This kit contains a guide and materials for a workshop on the requirements of a schoolwide project under Chapter 1 (Hawkins Stafford Act of 1988). Included are the Presenter's Guide, nine transparencies, and one handout. Schoolwide projects are allowed to use Chapter 1 funds to upgrade the entire educational program of a school when several…

The Renewed Primary School project in Belgium is analyzed in this paper in terms of organizational response to a large-scale innovation, which is characterized by its multidimensionality, by the large number of participating schools, and by a complex support structure. Section 2 of the report presents an elaborated description of these…

Despite consensus on the administrative reforms needed in school effectiveness programs, policy problems are raised when administrators and school boards want to translate research findings on school improvement into practical terms. Although school systems are now using a number of organizational tools that lift standardized test scores (for…

A facilitator who was subsequently assigned to the principalship discusses the implementation of the Standards of Excellence model in Philips Elementary School (Denver, Colorado). In implementing the components of Standards of Excellence, principals were required to assume the role of instructional leader. Accordingly, assistance was rendered to…

To assist in local school improvement, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) has developed an approach in which teams of local educational leaders are made aware of the results of effective schooling research and are trained in the processes of change and improvement. Research reviews have shown specific elements of schooling at the…

This symposium report probes the barriers within special education that slow research utilization and examines positive influences on attitudes toward conducting research in practical settings. The first section presents five categories of barriers to technology implementation, outlined by Joel Mittler. Barrier categories include equipment,…

A three-year study examined the significant factors that affect the job placement rates of students completing a Home Economics Related Occupations (HERO) program. Other purposes of the study were to develop and pilot test a model that could be used to determine factors related to student placement in a variety of vocational education programs and…