Many social policy and education programs start from the assumption that people act in their best interest. But behavioral science shows that people often weigh intuition over reason, make inconsistent choices, and put off big decisions. The individuals and families who need services and the staff who provide them are no exception. From city…

In October 2014, The National Center for Education Research (NCER) and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER), in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) at the U.S. Department of Education, convened a Technical Working Group (TWG). The purpose of this TWG meeting was to discuss critical education problems and issues on which…

How do open and distance learning institutions review and renew themselves to ensure their continued fitness for purpose? Here we report on the work of a change team in the UK Open University, a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning created to examine, innovate and improve student support. The existence of the Centre for five years from…

The Grantmakers for Education (GFE) Institute attracted more than 60 grantmakers from national, corporate, community and family foundations, with interests in systems and programs from early learning through postsecondary completion. And while attendees arrived with diverse experiences and expertise in grantmaking to support policy change, they…

A need for the development of a policy research base regarding state implementation pf evidence-based practice (EBP) is emphasized. Efforts are made on how to make use of EBP in everyday clinical practice as a means of improving outcomes in six states.

The demand for workers (employers, self-employed people and employees) having research training extends beyond the researcher workforce itself and is increasing. The research workforce is not uniform but segmented according to disciplines and the economic and sectoral contexts in which researchers work. The growth of cross-disciplinary and…

The seven chapters of this volume demonstrate that evaluation evidence can overturn widely held beliefs and result in changes in programs and policies. These chapters show that policymakers can welcome findings that challenge long-established ideas and use them to Improve programs and services. (SLD)

Participants in the "Beyond the Looking Glass" Conference established a set of objectives for each of the three teacher education constituencies: practice, policy, and research. The teacher education continuum of preservice, induction, and inservice served as one dimension of a framework for structuring dialogue, discussion, and…

Excerpts from observers of the conference "Policies, Practices, and Research in Teacher Education: Beyond the Looking Glass" illustrate the variety of recommendations to improve teacher education and the quality of teaching that emerged during this conference. Conference observers were Hendrik Gideonse, Shirley Hord, Thomas J. Lasley, Preston…

The major issue of educational quality is linked to the potential of national and state assessment programs. It is suggested that changes in assessment design, analysis, and reporting can significantly contribute to improvement in the policy development process. The California Assessment Program illustrates how state assessment information may be…

The demand for family foster care services has increased rapidly during the past decade, as has the number of special needs children requiring foster care. This monograph presents information collected over the past 20 years concerning policies and programs which have been used to retain and recruit foster parents. The ever-increasing need for…

A synthesis is presented of the outcomes of the "Beyond the Looking Glass" Conference which brought together educational practitioners, policy makers, and researchers to make concrete suggestions for what should be done to improve the conditions, processes, and effects of teacher education. Three major points of agreement formed the…

Professional development for teachers will continue to be central to the continuing need to help schools deal more effectively with the problems of change. Three themes are emphasized--the individual teacher, the school, and the system. This publication, consisting of 24 papers, is intended to inform public debate on the issue which is critical to…

This report presents the evaluation results gathered from a 2-year study of a drug prevention program involving a consortia of nine colleges and universities located in Alabama and Florida. The consortia effort was intended to: (1) strengthen their respective drug prevention activities; (2) develop policies governing alcohol and drugs; (3)…

Examines the evolution of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC). Presents an overview of the ERIC system. Discusses ERIC's historical development, including the three "signature strategies" at the core of its historical evolution; ERIC's redesign in 1986-87, and resultant policy emphases; current status; and eight…