A critical issue in educator preparation is how to ascertain if program graduates are sufficiently prepared to be effective through the acquisition of meaningful evidence of graduates' impact on their students. Challenges to proving specific impact of educator-preparation programs on student learning include identifying and following program…

The Evidence-based Literacy Support-"Literacy Octopus" Trial tested a range of dissemination interventions and resources, all of which aimed to engage schools in using evidence-based materials to improve teaching and learning in Key Stage 2 literacy. Four delivery partners provided interventions. These included light-touch,…

Background: Turkey is a fast-developing country facing a lot of different problems. One of the problems is inadequate education. A large project was started to improve Turkish elementary education. The project includes many different purposes from physical refurbishment of school buildings, to increasing technology use in education. The author of…

Some families, parents and children included, may not be fully prepared or aware as they enter into the commitment of a dual-immersion language elementary education experience. One factor crucial for a dual-immersion program to meet its objectives, parents and students must commit to a minimum of five to six years of their elementary education to…

Copious educational technology projects have been implemented in several low-income communities by multilateral institutions, individuals, and governmental agencies. Statistics show that the majority of these initiatives fail to accomplish their objectives, thereby wasting colossal amounts of money, talent, and resources. Scholars aver that poor…

To be effective in providing a writing literacy program, regardless of communication approaches, educators should establish program-wide conditions that promote English writing literacy over time. The researcher's purpose for this study was to identify shared characteristics of writing intervention programs in three different communication school…

Describes the Brazilian National System of Evaluation of Basic Education and analyzes its impact on educational polices and practices, especially at the state level. Data from about 15 interviews, site visits, document review, and a survey completed by representatives of 23 state education departments show the strong points and weaknesses of the…

Major differences and similarities between outdoor education in Great Britain and the U.S. are discussed. (FF)

Summarizes a study applying a focus interviewing technique to assist stakeholders with evaluating a 3-day staff-development training with monthly follow up sessions. Contrasts use of surveys and focus-group interviews as assessment tools. New information gained from focus groups helped the principal identify weaknesses in the staff-development…

This paper describes the difficult task of performing a critical evaluation of a Professional Development School (PDS). The paper notes the often contradictory opinions of the stakeholders in regard to acceptable conceptual models and the tensions involved. The description is a result of active participation in PDS related activities, document…

This paper presents a multifaceted approach for investigating the impact of the Success for All (SFA) program on children's reading proficiency. The approach advocated features case study research and uses document analysis, structured observation, interviews, and questionnaires to collect data. The research design was successfully field tested in…

Takes a discourse-analytic approach to study the research that two managers carried out in an educational institution to produce and legitimate knowledge used for decision making. Shows that the writing and reading of notes taken during interviews conducted as part of the research was a crucial step in the construction of the knowledge in which…

Background: Coordinated school health programs (CSHP) frequently struggle with how to adequately evaluate implementation. The CSHP framework provides flexibility in how it is implemented; however, this flexibility makes it a challenge to effectively evaluate. Portfolios have been used as a technique for evaluating progress and achievement. This…

Summarizes a study which used in-home interviews with children (N=1,431) and their mothers (N=812) to assess behavior, attitudes, and knowledge of K-6 students who were or were not exposed to a nutrition learning system. Concludes that in-school nutrition education positively influences children's food behavior. (DC)

Describes the methodology used (focus groups, classroom observations, interviews, questionnaires, and surveys) and results of the Greenwich (Connecticut) Public Schools' external evaluation of their kindergarten through grade 8 program for gifted and talented students. Also discussed are the implementation of the findings and recommendations into…