The Social Spending Innovation Research (SSIR) proposal seeks to replicate, in social spending, the great success of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program in technology development. The SBIR program funds technology development by entrepreneurial small companies. The program has spawned breakthrough technologies in diverse areas…

As states release draft Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) state plans for public comment, advocates and other stakeholders have an important opportunity to improve them. The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) is offering a list of questions, which is included in this document, to consider when reviewing state plans. These…

This document is a summary of the report "What Makes Great Teaching". It argues that improved teacher ­development will positively impact on pupil attainment, particular those from disadvantaged backgrounds. "Developing Teachers" presents five policy recommendations which have been signed by 17 of Britain's leading headteachers…

The members of the Large Countywide and Suburban District Consortium--a group of large, highly diverse, and successful districts across the country--have made great strides in achieving college and career readiness for all students. While they are succeeding, the consortium proposes that more could be done to accomplish their objectives through…

Demand is far outpacing resources in one hot segment of the education innovation market, as districts, schools, and nonprofit organizations pitch reform proposals worth $12.8 billion for competitive grants to be awarded under the federal Investing in Innovation Fund, or "i3"--nearly 20 times what the U.S. Department of Education has available. The…

This article discusses the Government's proposals for "extended" primary schools, an important element in the recently-published five-year plan for education. The author expresses concern that extended primary schools will not provide a variety of experiences, including "play" experiences for young children.

Tips for obtaining computers for educational use are presented in this article about grants and foundations, for free computers, from the computer companies of Apple, Atari, and Tandy/Radio Shack. Also discussed are Commodore Business Machines, Osborne Computing Corporation, and Texas Instruments. (CJ)

This publication describes a practicum that developed, disseminated, and evaluated a proposal development handbook intended to aid school district personnel in submitting proposals to funding agencies. In addition to the handbook, several other dissemination activities were developed and implemented to meet the needs of specific target audiences.…

Project RE-THINK proposes to "re-invent" education, following a systematic, comprehensive approach to produce a logical, effective educational environment. Outlines the plan of operation that will begin with approximately 30 seventh grade students. (MLF)

California Community Colleges' (CCC's) Fund for Instructional Improvement (FII) was created in 1977 to support the improvement of teaching and learning in the CCC's through a program of grants and loans fostering innovative educational programs and services. This report provides information on the FII, as well as a list of the model projects…

The pragmatist model of experiential learning in the form of work placements in industry provides opportunities for tertiary institutions to produce well-rounded graduates, possessing knowledge of workplace culture and values along with technical competencies. Work-based learning programmes provide graduates and leaders of tomorrow for a variety…

In New South Wales as for other Australian colonies, the achievement of mainly free, compulsory and secular public education systems in the 1870s was a cause of self- satisfaction and a belief that late nineteenth-century Australian public schools were among the best in the world. In this paper, the process by which this self-satisfaction was…

This document reports on a science education reform program sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The program is an attempt to overhaul the reform efforts of the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, and participation in the project has been underway since 1994. Funds from the institute support teacher training in the use and…

This paper describes a new Head Start demonstration project which will focus on the acquisition of basic educational skills at the preschool level (e.g. positive attitudes toward learning, attention control, language skills) and at the elementary school level (e.g. basic academic skills, attention, memory). The first phase of the project,…

Postsecondary education's responses to economic change are discussed, based on 22 projects supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). After identifying common themes of the FIPSE "Education and Economy Alliance" projects, new directions for postsecondary education are considered, along with policy concerns.…