Support services for students with disabilities is now a distinct field of practice in higher education, with a significant increase in the number of students receiving services, programs to serve them, and professionals who oversee the programs. The field has professional and program standards, a code of ethics, and a disability service specific…

This paper focuses on transition programs for youth to postsecondary education, broadly considered. It addresses the following questions: (1) What models or programs of transition exist? (2) On what basis can we say one transition program is more effective than another? In other words, how is successful transition defined? (3) How are…

Research studies trying to understand, predict, and control dropout from distance education display various points of view and quite a few build on one another at a conceptual level, but their findings are rarely generalizable outside the situations in which the research is conducted. Although academics claim that new work on dropout should be…

Six quantitative reviews of the research on student ratings of instructional effectiveness are examined. The disparate conclusions of the reviews are explained by comparing the syntheses at each of five steps in a meta-analysis: specifying inclusion criteria; locating studies; coding study features; calculating study outcomes; and data analysis.…

Presents results from the first part of a two-part study of the characteristics of research conducted in the area of developmental education. Identifies the areas investigated, types of research being conducted, and the effectiveness of the research. Indicates that serious flaws were found in 63% of the studies reviewed. Discusses four factors…

No general comprehensive theory of underachievment exists despite much research having been performed and hundreds of articles having been published. Further, underachievement as a concept often seems to be divorced from the individual pupil's or student's unique problem(s) as an underachiever. Indeed, even the designation "underachiever" differs…

This study describes the problems of searching in professional journals for relevant articles on the subject of adult education evaluation. Seventy-three journals were identified as containing 337 appropriate articles when searching with 11 title words; 43 percent of the titles referred to human behavior change while 57 percent referred to program…

A study reviewed the measurement problems that would confront a study team performing a national cost-benefit analysis of vocational education and presented alternative strategies to overcome these measurement problems and to provide input into assessing the feasibility of conducting a national cost-benefit study. To meet these objectives,…

The returns on continuing vocational training (CVT) in enterprises were examined through a review of research on the returns on employer-provided training. A search of "Econ Lit," ERIC, and other databases identified more than 90 publications on the topic. Twenty-one publications examining the relationship between training inputs and…

The impact of participation in a vocational student organization (VSO) on student achievement was examined. First, an exhaustive review of the recent literature on VSOs was conducted. In addition, a survey aimed at state directors of VSOs was developed and pilot tested on a purposefully-selected sample of 25 state directors of VSOs. A response…

A study examined the feasibility of performing a national cost-benefit analysis of secondary, postsecondary, and adult vocational education. The study involved three components: a survey of the state of the art of utilizing cost-benefit methodologies to evaluate the returns on investments in vocational education; an overview of the potential…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on approaches to research in human resource development (HRD). "HRD, Feminism, and Adult Education: A Foundation for Collaborative Approaches to Research and Practice" (Yvonne M. Johnson) identifies common interests among HRD professionals, feminists, and practitioners in the field of…

This study discusses the contention that since vocational education costs more per pupil on the average than academic or general education, it should yield greater benefits to its students. Focus is on examining pitfalls inherent in this approach/contention and synthesizing recent research materials which reflect the benefits of vocational…

In Australia and elsewhere, four approaches have been used to determine whether stocks of vocational education and training (VET) skills are adequate to meet industry needs. The four methods are as follows: (1) the manpower requirements approach; (2) the international, national, and industry comparisons approach; (3) the labor market analysis…

The role of career and technical education (CTE) was explored through a review of the research on CTE. Research on the following topics was examined: the high school dropout problem; high school graduates' transition to work; unprepared college students; the importance of noncollege careers; things employers really want; CTE's promise; the history…