"Active ingredients" are one way to describe the elements of a program that are responsible for the targeted change in behavior, skill, attitude, or belief (Li & Julian "American Journal of Orthopsychiatry," 82(2), 157-166, 2012). This term assumes a connection between program elements (ingredients) and participant…

Super Parents is a group-based, Extension-led parenting program developed to enhance the parent-child relationship. Implemented by trained Head Start staff using the train-the-trainer model, this effort is achieved by teaching positive parenting practices, increasing parents' knowledge of child development, instructing parents in activities and…

Aligning with student engagement and promotional strategies, a Pop-Up Library project was initiated at the University of Birmingham. This involved setting up temporary, staffed stalls in different locations across campus in order to informally communicate with students and effectively take "the Library" to them. This article discusses…

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in the U.S. Department of Education funded the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII, or the Center) in 2011. NCII's mission during the first five years of funding was to build the capacity of local education agencies (LEAs) to support schools, practitioners, and other stakeholders in the…

Researchers are increasingly interested in the issue of school accountability. Despite this, program standards for afterschool programs are not as fully developed as in other fields. This study bridges that gap and presents the results from a study to identify benchmarks and indicators for high quality afterschool programs. This research employed…

Persons with profound and multiple disabilities (PIMD) are dependent on staff to be sufficiently knowledgeable as to provide them with appropriate day services. One important determinant of the appropriateness and adequacy of a day support program is the level to which staff have detailed and specific knowledge about the functional abilities and…

Attempted to identify factors within a halfway house program that may influence its effectiveness by examining the relationship between staff attributes and the value placed upon different programs. Through a correlational analysis, various personality and attitudinal characteristics of the staff were found related to program ratings. (Author/NRB)

Attempts to assess the effectiveness of basic skills programs have been difficult. There is disagreement on the factors which underlie the reported gains. The Urban Education Studies program, through on-site studies, is uncovering programs and procedures which appear to be working well. Efforts are being made to gain a better understanding of the…

Evidence of the positive outcomes of phonological treatment is reviewed, with particular emphasis on treatment procedures that have been deemed effective, the specific effects of these treatment on improving intelligibility, and comparisons between treatments in facilitating improved sound production. The effect of phonological disorders on…

This paper presents the findings of a one year national study. The research was directed at determining the status of culturally pluralistic programs in 29 urban school districts across the United States. Statistical and descriptive information was gathered from 130 urban school districts by means of questionnaires and observation teams. Among the…

Current reform initiatives often call for facilitators to work with teachers and administrators in the change process. Although this facilitating position is becoming more common, little is currently understood about specific purposes of this role and the forms it might take. This study examines the work of four facilitators involved in five…

A study chronicled the use of a process of planning for paraeducator supports by teams in 46 schools in 13 states during the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 school years. Findings indicated that the process assisted school teams in self-assessing their paraeducators practices, identifying priorities, and developing action plans and implementing them.…

A study of 4-year-old girl with severe intellectual disabilities, congenital heart defects, and pulmonary disease investigated the effectiveness of restraint and no-restraint methods to prevent pica. Both methods prevented pica, however, the no restraint condition required less therapist effort and had less negative impact on quality of life.…

Draws together the results of seven studies that investigated factors influencing the effects of service quality in community-based residential services for people with severe mental retardation. Results found that quality of staff and resident activity is dependent on an interaction between the structure, orientation, and procedures followed…

A study of three adults with profound mental retardation investigated the effects of using systematically assessed preferred stimuli versus staff opinion-based preferred stimuli on increasing happiness indices. Preferred stimuli based on preference assessments were more consistently accompanied by increased happiness indices than were preferred…