The Educational Services Office (ESO) of the Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL) sought an organizational strategy that would improve its ability to meet client demand without sacrificing the integrity of its programs or the fulfillment of its institutional responsibilities. Three alternative organizational strategies were identified:…

The role of integrators, individuals who facilitate communication and understanding, in facilitating the use of computer technology was explored, based on five case studies. It is suggested that a major obstacle to successful academic computing is getting faculty and students to use available computer resources effectively. In addition to helping…

Community mental health centers have been faced with mandates to introduce new programs or improve old ones often without the necessary information or expertise to implement such changes. Community mental health centers (N=39) were studied to identify the nature and extent of information use and factors related to information use. Experts visited…

The accurate evaluation of consultation is a difficult problem because outcomes can vary according to the perspective and expectations of the respondent. A comparison of several measures for evaluating program-oriented consultations in 39 community mental health centers was based on the following outcome criteria: (1) implementation of consultant…

This paper summarizes some of the main conclusions of the Study of Dissemination Efforts Supporting School Improvement, specifically those regarding the process of innovation implementation. The focus is on the contributions of potential assisters to various implementation outcomes, from which implications for policy and practice are derived. The…

Rationales for the college learning center to provide consulting services are considered, along with the literature on learning centers as consultants to the university community. Attention is directed to an actual consultation intervention, in which the learning center at the University of Utah worked with the coordinator and teaching assistant…

Nationwide attention to the problems of teenage pregnancy and suicide, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), substance abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, dropping out of school, and other conditions is resulting in a proliferation of primary prevention programs, projects, and activities. In too many communities, however, the growth of…

The Dissemination Efforts Supporting School Improvement (DESSI) study examined the adoption or development and implementation in 146 schools in 10 states of 61 practices that were part of 4 federal or state programs. Local schools in the study sample were asked to identify those individuals (facilitators) who had helped them with a particular new…

The speech examines mainstreaming of handicapped students in the context of Canadian culture. Integration is seen to be a more appropriate term since it better reflects the pluralism of Canadian society. Basic goals of the Canadian educational system as a whole are identified and recent legislative actions at the provincial and federal level in…

Program improvement activities can be classified into four categories based on the source of the impetus and the locus of the change agent: systematic, symbolic, opportunistic, and pragmatic. This paper (1) describes the various approaches to implementing Chapter 1 program improvement activities at the state and local district levels in 13 western…

In spring 1992, Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) completed its long-range strategic plan. The consultant who helped guide the institution through the process presented the plan to the Board of Trustees with 60 recommendations for implementation. The Chairman of the Board established task forces to study the recommendations for each major…

The following considerations are of major importance to the persons who act as technical assisters for the Long Range Plan for School Improvement (LRPSI) in Pennsylvania: (1) long-range planning should be viewed as a deliberative and participative process; its steps should not be considered in isolation from each other; (2) comprehensive needs…

This paper describes the activities and experiences of a technical assistance consultant working with a superintendent and assistant superintendent to implement the Achievement Directed Leadership (ADL) school improvement program during 1981-82. The paper's first section describes the ADL program's "top-down" implementation plan, with…