When the author was a little girl, her father told her the story of how he once saw the great Harry Houdini escape from a straight jacket. In the early 1900s, Houdini fascinated thousands of people by performing feats of life-threatening daring and agility. Houdini was a professional in the traditional sense: he acted alone, kept his trade secrets…

Proformacao is a distance teacher certification course aimed at providing training to 27,000 uncertified teachers in 15 Brazilian states. This innovative program organizes human and technical resources for delivering distance education in a cost-effective manner. Different from other institutional systems--which typically employ their own…

A professional development program which trained whole school staffs in the use of positive behavioral interventions for the purpose of reducing referral rates of students for misbehavior and special education evaluation. The program focused on training teachers and paraprofessionals in behavior management strategies to increase "high approval…

There is concern that the nation's schools are not preparing students to excel in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. At both precollege and postsecondary levels, much effort is needed to create and implement powerful STEM curricula, prepare and support highly qualified teachers, deliver effective instruction, and give…

This document summarizes a study relating to California counties receiving state funds for Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA) programs. These counties are required to report six outcome measures to the California State Legislature on an annual basis to measure the success of the program. These outcome measures are (1) successful…

This document summarizes a report focusing on California counties receiving funds from Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA) programs. These counties are required to report six outcome measures to the California State Legislature on an annual basis to measure the success of the program. These outcome measures are (1) successful completion…

This report expands and updates the information provided in the "National Assessment of Title I Interim Report" that was released in April 2006. New data on the implementation of Title I are provided on the targeting and uses of Title I funds, services for private school students, characteristics of students participating in the school…

American educators are achieving much success in their efforts to enable a wider and more diverse group of U.S. students than ever before to succeed in college-level studies in high school. Yet individuals must also gaze clear-eyed at the inequities that remain and the challenges that accompany success in expanding access to the Advanced Placement…

During the 1993-94 program year, enrollment in secondary and postsecondary vocational education (VE) programs in Hawaii totaled 20,788 and 8,645, respectively. VE services were provided primarily through Hawaii's 39 public secondary schools, 7 public community colleges, and the University of Hawaii Community Colleges Employment Training Center. VE…

This report documents the Workplace Literacy for Psychiatric Health Care Workers project, a partnership between a labor union and the City University of New York through which workplace literacy instruction was provided to mental hygiene therapy aides (MHTAs) employed in five state-operated psychiatric hospitals in New York City. Among the…

A project developed a model curriculum to be delivered by computer-based instruction to teach the required literacy skills for entry workers in the health insurance industry. Literacy task analyses were performed for the targeted jobs and then validated with focus groups. The job tasks and related basic skills were divided into modules. The job…

This report examines the operation and outcomes of Illinois' welfare programs in fiscal year 1995. The Illinois Department of Public Aid's new emphasis on providing incentives/assistance to move welfare recipients from welfare to work is explained. Next, the following programs are discussed: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Job…

The Quick Start Training Program is a transitional program that was developed to help the homeless population of El Paso, Texas, become self-sufficient through short-term vocational skills training. The program's occupational training component was designed to meet local training needs and was supplemented with activities to give participants…

An intensive immersion program in English-as-a-Second-Language instruction developed at Pepperdine University (California), a small liberal arts college, is described. The program was designed for limited-English-speaking foreign students who are at risk for academic failure without additional English language skills. Focus of this discussion is…

This book documents the range of training programs that are being established by employers and unions; assesses porgram functioning and results; and offers insights for practitioners, scholars, and policy makers. An introduction (Ferman et al.) provides a general framework for thinking about union-management training programs and presents an…