The System Transformation for Equitable Preschools (STEP Forward with Data) Framework was developed to help preschool systems leaders understand where in the preschool system there may be inequities in how children and families are accessing, being supported by, and experiencing the system. The Framework offers preschool systems leaders a pathway…

This brief offers lessons learned from California State University teacher preparation programs engaged in using data to inform improvement efforts. The authors consider teacher preparation programs as systems that can undergo continuous, data-driven improvement through an improvement science approach. Teacher preparation programs typically have…

The paper presents the approach to complex training of managers and faculty staff for system modernisation of Russian engineering education. As a methodological basis of design and implementation of the faculty development programme, the CDIO (Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate) Approach was chosen due to compliance of its concept to the purposes…

Citywide implementation of project-based learning highlights the benefits--and the challenges--of promoting exemplary practices across an entire out-of-school time (OST) network. In summer 2009, the City of Philadelphia and its intermediary, the Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), introduced project-based learning to a network of more…

High-quality care in the earliest years of life has been shown to relate to positive developmental outcomes for children, including improved early academic skills, social-emotional competencies, and cognitive functioning. Unfortunately, the early care experiences of many children are not always high quality; rather, research suggests that…

Situated in the heart of the fertile San Joaquin Valley twenty miles north of Fresno, the city of Madera has a population of 56,710 people. Agriculture is the driving force behind the local economy; the area produces more than 100 crops including raisin grapes, almonds, figs, pistachios, alfalfa, corn, milk, cattle and poultry. The total value of…

The Community Transition Team Model guides the process of systematic program change in secondary special education and transition programs in Oregon. The model uses a management-by-objectives paradigm for implementing its principles, which include local control, a developmental perspective on change, a focus on program capacity, and networking…

This paper outlines several policy and program suggestions for improving Connecticut's urban schools which build upon the States's current intiatives and incorporate the current research findings emanating from studies of effective schools. The author first provides a framework for his suggestions by reviewing research to delineate the…

In January 1994, Washington's governor asked 28 representatives of business, labor, education, government, and the public (parents and students) to participate in the Governor's Council on School-to-Work Transition. The council spent 9 months examining the issue of school-to-work transition and formulating an action plan for establishing a…

This directory is one of five which together describe almost 1200 discretionary grants and contracts currently supported by the Research to Practice Division of the Office of Special Education Programs under the 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This section of the directory covers grants and contracts in…

This document examines the first year of Jobs for the Future's Benchmark Communities Initiative (BCI), a 5-year effort to achieve the following: large-scale systemic restructuring of K-16 educational systems; involvement of significant numbers of employers in work and learning partnerships; and development of the infrastructure necessary to…

The United Kingdom must invest in a comprehensive system of post-18 education that is broadly inclusive and that offers a broad range of educational opportunities to meet the needs of both the increasing numbers of 16-year-olds choosing to pursue postsecondary education and the many older individuals needing additional education throughout their…

Norway's career guidance system and policies were evaluated. The review team met with policymakers and guidance practitioners in the public and private sectors, analyzed data from a national questionnaire, and reviewed pertinent documentation. The evaluation focused on the following areas: splitting educational/vocational guidance from personal…

This document summarizes efforts made during fiscal year (FY) 1994 to implement Ohio's action plan for accelerating the modernization of vocational education, Ohio's Future at Work. First, background information is provided about the plan's formulation in 1990. Listed next are 10 legislative actions that have been identified as necessary to…

This document reports on a 2-day symposium that brought together 180 representatives of Campus Alberta, which is a major initiative to make learning opportunities more flexible and responsive to learners' needs by focusing on such things as system coordination, course transferability, and ways to build on existing strengths and which now…