The National Academy of Education (NAEd) undertook this consensus report on the evaluation and improvement of teacher preparation programs (TPPs). Specifically, this consensus report aims to (1) identify and disseminate best practices for evaluating and improving TPPs to promote teacher effectiveness and student achievement; (2) provide…

This paper reports the use of multi-attribute utility analysis for evaluating the goals and services of a state vocational rehabilitation agency. Uses included: (1) identification and clarification of agency goals and services; (2) engagement of stakeholders in the determination of measurable attributes of these goals; and (3) use of…

Based on the work of the National Council on Research in Child Welfare (NCRCW), this handbook is designed to help social service agency executives cope with changing times for child welfare agencies, strengthen traditional services to meet today's needs, and analyze and plan for the future. The manual aims to demystify quality improvement theory…

In their search for new ways to assess their agencies' success in working with children and families, child welfare administrators and senior managers are increasingly seeking regular and reliable sources of information that help them evaluate agency performance, make ongoing decisions, and provide an accurate picture for agency staff and external…

Rural schools in Utah responded to state and local calls for school reform by implementing Outcome Based Education (OBE) programs beginning in March 1984. Significant improvements in learning have occurred as measured by test scores. Workshops introduced rural educators to OBE which provided a philosophical and operational framework for school…

Accreditation receives much emphasis in our educational systems and it forms a significant element in both institutional and programmatic accountability and credibility. Numerous agencies and associations in addition to national institutional accrediting agencies are recognized as accrediting bodies. The accrediting bodies establish accreditation…

Discussion of efforts by federal, state, and local government agencies to enhance the library resources and services available to older citizens highlights the roles of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) and the Administration on Aging (AoA), cooperative agreements, and descriptions of state and local programs.…

The Extension organization faces a new challenge to develop and maintain partnerships at the local level, bringing together people, programs, and resources. Although the Extension Service already operates under the concept of a partnership between federal, state, and local governments, the federal partner has created a vacuum in this three-way…

This policy research brief summarizes three studies on training direct service personnel serving people with developmental disabilities, conducted at the Research and Training Center on Residential Services and Community Living, University of Minnesota. The studies provide information on competency-based training, effective training strategies,…

This guide evaluates more than 130 training curricula that were published or completed in or after 1987 and are targeted to training direct service staff or trainers of direct service staff working with people with developmental disabilities. The reviews are organized alphabetically by publisher. Topics and issues that were used to categorize the…

Three consultants participated in the 1992 review of study abroad programs at the nine campuses in the Florida State University system: Dr. Barbara Burn (lead consultant), Dr. Shelton Cole, and Dr. Charles A. Fliozzo. The review was based on site visits to three of the universities, interviews with personnel from the other six institutions, and…

Addressing the lack of cooperation between early intervention programs and the rural health community, this monograph presents eight papers by educators and health professionals who identify specific problems and offer solutions in the form of effective collaboration techniques and model programs. Papers by Susan Hastings and Stewart Gabel…

This publication is the product of a two and one-half day workshop that was held to develop directions and strategies for meeting the future needs of California correctional education. The first part of the document contains the opening session address by California Assemblyman John Vasconcellos and two presentations--"The Doomed and the…

This booklet gives smaller adult and community learning (ACL) providers and their partners a practical insight into how to adapt current approaches to quality improvement for their own institutions. The first sections set out how they can do the following: plan the process; collect, collate, and analyze data; make value judgements and act upon…

This collection presents 68 papers or summaries presented at a 1996 conference on self-study and institutional improvement for institutions of higher education. Papers are grouped in the following 10 chapters (with sample topics in parentheses): (1) "Integrity and Accreditation: Current Issues" (intercollegiate athletics, nontraditional students,…