Goal One of the six national education goals now embodied in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act states that "By the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn." One of the objectives formulated to meet this goal asserts that "Children will receive the nutrition and health care needed to arrive at school…

This monograph focuses upon how teacher induction programs affect the professional maturation of the beginning teacher. In a discussion on the elements that make a good induction program, a checklist of eight program characteristics is presented. Four of these show the influence of other professions, and the remaining four apply directly to the…

This digest identifies current programmatic efforts to inform and support parents and briefly reviews research on the effectiveness of parent education and support programs. The discussion of approaches to parent support focuses on parent education programs, the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments (Public Law 99-457), Head Start, state…

Criticisms have been raised about large scale community college involvement in developmental education. A number of these criticisms seem valid, while others clearly are not. Some of the most commonly voiced concerns include the following: (1) "The community college is the wrong place to provide developmental education"; (2)…

Case study methods involve an in-depth, longitudinal examination of a single instance or event. They result in an increased understanding of why the instance happened as it did, and are especially well suited for generating, rather than testing, hypotheses. Six types of case studies are discussed, based on the framework of L. Datta (1990). For…

School-age children between the ages of 5 and 14 spend up to 80% of their time out of school. These hours represent an opportunity to help children grow and acquire important social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills and to help them develop lifelong interests. This time can also be used to provide support for the academic challenges faced…

Thoughtful, well-planned and systematic reviews of both instructional and noninstructional programs provide community colleges with a way of determining whether programs are meeting stated objectives and what standards of performance should be maintained. Programs that need improvement or should be eliminated can be identified, and fiscal…

This digest focuses on the evolution of beginning teacher induction programs over the past two decades, and discusses the reasons why such programs are essential to the professional development of teachers. An overview is presented of existing induction programs, and observed outcomes of these programs are briefly discussed. In considering what…

Program rationale, goals, and strategies are outlined in this description of Arizona-based centers which trained migrant workers in the use of microcomputers for business and clerical applications. Topics include the need to create new jobs for displaced farm workers, the assets farm workers bring to the business world, the training-related…

This digest identifies characteristics of successful higher education programs in environmental studies and trends in environmental studies programs and courses. Characteristics of programs that have continued for the past two decades are listed. Some of the variables associated with programs that have not continued are identified. Recent trends…

This digest describes teacher mentoring and its different applications. A list of 10 characteristics and activities inherent in any mentor-protege relationship is provided. A discussion is presented on the ways that mentoring, an essentally informal process, has been formalized in business firms and school systems. In considering the benefits that…

Although basic skills and English language instruction are often viewed as real needs at the workplace, few companies provide this for their workers. Those that do are motivated by one or more of these factors: product quality improvement, commitment of top management to training and education, or the sales effort of an educational provider. Those…

Labor unions have provided English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction in the workplace since the early 1900s, to serve a growing immigrant workforce. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, an increase in immigrant population, decline in manufacturing jobs, new technology, and work restructuring brought a new urgency to union-sponsored worker…

Difficulties faced by homeless children include depression, low self-esteem, lack of sleep and nutrition, and feelings of shame and embarrassment. Challenges faced by schools in providing education to homeless children include: (1) keeping children in one school despite frequent family moves; (2) ensuring that children's health records are…

Debate is an activity which can help young children learn to be part of a team without experiencing the intense competition that is present in athletics. For children, a focus on developing communication skills rather than on competition in debate can help foster attitudes of open-mindedness, fairness, and tolerance for the viewpoints of others.…