Presented are summaries of two separate but closely-related conferences. The International Scientific Conference and Exhibit, organized to mark the 10th anniversary of the Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB), was based on the theme "ecology in practice: establishing a scientific basis for land management." This summary includes: a 10…

This sourcebook presents information about three types of federal decision makers who are frequent clients of evaluation: career government executives; political appointees; and congressional staff members. Differences among these decision makers are highlighted in seven articles, with emphasis on meeting client needs and process dimensions of…

The articles in this issue of Learning Quarterly, published by the Centre for Curriculum, Transfer and Technology (British Columbia), discuss "Charting a New Course," a strategic plan for the college, institute, and agency system in British Columbia. Introduced in 1996, the plan resulted from a collaborative effort in which institutional…

This quarterly abstracting journal disseminates bibliographic information on Caribbean planning and development literature available through the Caribbean Information System for Economic and Social Planning (CARISPLAN), a cooperative effort of the Caribbean countries. It provides annotated listings of serial publications, books, and other…

Drawing on documents and interviews with school staff, this report describes Oaklea Middle School, serving grades five through eight in the Junction City (Oregon) School District. An overview of the school's startup and philosophy stresses the priority assigned to students' educational, physical, social, and emotional needs. The author next…

Seven papers are presented that demonstrate new directions and practices in the evaluation of training programs. Different perspectives and approaches are represented, but in each case the evaluation described has been successful in making trainers more effective and accountable. (SLD)

This volume offers a variety of examples of long-term collaborative efforts within schools that began with external funding. Articles include: (1) "Lessons from a Long-Term Collaboration," (Lindsay M. Wright and Rona Middleberg); (2) "Creating Structural Change: Best Practices," (Janet E. Lieberman); (3) "An Urban Intervention That Works: The…

This report focuses on the foster family home, with special emphasis on the non-relative, county-licensed home in 11 diverse counties of California. The analysis address the following four principal concerns: (1) the process of deciding to remove a child from his or her home; (2) the abuse of children who are already in foster care; (3) the…

Seven papers suggest ways in which theory informs evaluation research in the area of energy conservation. Perspectives of epistemology and methodology and political and bureaucratic issues are addressed. Examples show how theoretically informed concepts and propositions about personal choice and organizational process contribute to knowledge about…

Now that there are enough school-restructuring experiments to evaluate, one can examine what has been learned about transforming the restructuring concept into reality. Although principals recognize that restructuring will reshape their leadership role, studies show these administrators are pivotal to school-improvement efforts. Fred Newmann…

This collection of essays by current or former directors of institutional research represents the broad spectrum of size, function, and geography within institutional research in the two-year college. The volume contains: (1) "The Role of Institutional Research in Evaluation of Nontraditional Programs: College Preparatory Analysis at Miami-Dade…

The eight chapters of this theme issue report on studies from 12 countries that focus on the movement toward boundary crossing in education to involve families and communities in education. International studies further the understanding of the effects interventions have in promoting partnerships in education. (SLD)

The Academy for Community College Leadership Advancement, Innovation, and Modeling (ACCLAIM) at North Carolina State University is working with state community college systems in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia to develop and implement a process that positions the community college to play a major role in resolving community…

Developed by Japanese corporations to improve productivity and product quality, quality circles (QC's) are small, voluntary groups of workers who share common job responsibilities and who meet regularly to generate solutions to problems. Features of QC's that are applicable to schools are examined in the nine articles summarized in this annotated…

This special issue of the Family Resource Coalition Report presents personal experiences and reflections regarding parent involvement and leadership in family support. Articles in this issue are: (1) "The Vaughn Family Center: It's My Story" (Jorge Lara and Matt Oppenheim); (2) "Asking the Right Questions is Key to Developing Parent…