Head Start has long focused on assessing and improving program quality to ensure that the children served receive the best possible preparation for school and life. Most research has been focused inside the classroom--the classroom environment, teacher qualifications, and teacher interactions. Of course, the classroom is important because that is…

The purpose of this presentation is to describe some of the activities of a partnership forged between NYU researchers and senior leaders in NYC that was intended to provide research infrastructure and capacity-building solutions while also addressing jointly identified research questions about the "Pre-K for All" (PKA) program. The…

This article surveys the current state of curriculum options for gifted preschoolers, and provides data from a survey of 60 educators of preschoolers in South Carolina concerning attitudes about appropriate curricula and instruction. Drawing on these results a list of recommendations for improvements in preschool programs is offered. (PB)

The authors conduct open-ended surveys of 530 students and teachers in three publicly funded schools with different approaches to providing a high-ability "school-within-a-school:" a gifted program, an international baccalaureate program, and a high-ability program with a science focus. Overall, the authors find that teachers and students in all…

Investigated how state officials most directly involved in hunter education programs perceive problems associated with these programs. Major concerns and constraints focused on: program instruction; course content; and program communication, funding, and evaluation. Includes recommendations (based on analyses of concerns/constraints) to…

This guide presents practical applications from a research study about the processes that schools use to initiate and sustain reforms. It examines the history of 10 elementary schools in high-poverty settings, including details of behavioral and attitudinal changes. Ten capacities were associated with the stages of successful reform. The…

A study was conducted to determine what competencies Extension employees working in urban areas of Ohio perceived as most necessary. Information on the demographic characteristics of urban Extension employees in the state was also gathered. Data were obtained via a two-part questionnaire mailed to the 46 Extension employees working in the urban…

After discussing the importance of good academic advising, this paper briefly describes the status of advising in 15 community colleges (all but one in New Jersey), highlights especially salient issues, and offers suggestions for the improvement of student advising. Introductory comments point out the benefits of academic advising to the student…

Practicing classroom teachers (N=27) in a graduate class on elementary school administration identified major problems associated with gifted programs. Major concerns and recommendations for improvement dealt with instructional programs, disrupted routines, lack of communication/collaboration, and students' social and emotional development.…

The Program Standards Evaluation System was developed in response to evaluation requirements in the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. The system includes procedures for using standards data to monitor and evaluate vocational rehabilitation (VR) service outcomes and outputs as well as standards on key procedural issues. This report contains the outlines of…

Interspersed among the results of a five-state regional survey, conducted in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, the authors offer guidelines for conducting a student activity program. (JW)

For a counseling psychology training program to be effective, it must keep up with current trends and developments in the field. To evaluate the Counseling Psychology Training Program (CPTP) at the University of Texas at Austin, 74 doctoral level graduates of the program within the decade of 1973-1982 (51 males, 23 females) completed a…

This publication provides guidelines and support to aid corrections administrators in improving the quality and quantity of vocational education programs offered at their institutions for female inmates. Chapter 1 introduces a comprehensive approach to programs that calls for systematic use of four steps. Chapter 2 describes the four steps:…

Recent research efforts undertaken by the Center for the Study of Community Colleges have resulted in the construction of two data sets on community college students which can assist two-year colleges in institutional planning and policy making. The first data set is the result of the administration of the General Academic Assessment (GAA), a…

A survey of directors of 61 Texas early intervention programs found that directors felt that program improvement should be the main reason for program evaluation efforts, that evaluating program goals and child progress are the most feasible strategies, and that evaluating program quality and family progress are the most difficult strategies. (DB)