This book examines approaches, techniques, and instruments that relate to the evaluation of training and development in the context of higher education in the United Kingdom (UK), focusing on the importance of identifying the purpose of the evaluation as an initial step. Some financial evaluation methods are also considered. It is suggested that…

The state of Washington implemented the Readiness to Learn program as part of the state's Family Policy Initiative. The primary goal of the program is to serve as a formal link between education and human services by authorizing grants to local school-linked, community-based consortia to develop and implement strategies that ensure children arrive…

Two years ago, the University of Wisconsin system, the state legislature, and a number of businesses combined resources and provided funds to support regional and local projects to develop self-sustaining professional development models. Through a grant from the University of Wisconsin Extension PK-16 Initiative, a regional consortium of…

Focuses on: (1) components of a basic core of knowledge essential for all people working in the field of aging; (2) knowledge essential for professions related to biomedical science, human services, social and physical environment; and (3) knowledge essential for clinical psychology, nursing, nutrition, and social work. (Author)

This study used an "enhanced constructed comparison group" statistical model to conduct longitudinal research on the child developmental impact of Pittsburgh's early childhood initiative (ECI), a partnership to provide high-quality early care and education for children in high-risk neighborhoods. First-phase findings indicate that…

Researchers and practitioners have generally concentrated on the following areas of social competence: (1) social assertion; (2) interviewing skills; and (3) conversational ability. Reviews issues of methodology. Studies are reviewed and recommendations for future research are made. (Author/BJV)

This study determined whether experts in special education transition services perceived a need for a common theoretical model and core set of outcome variables for follow-along research at the state level, evaluated a model for use in follow-along studies, and suggested research questions to be measured in a common format across statewide…

This study used a 2-by-4 factorial design crossing the amount of information about snakes with the level of involvement students had with live specimens to evaluate the effects of an intensive environmental education experience on the attitudes of fifth- through eighth-grade students (n=502) toward wildlife. (Contains 24 references.) (MDH)

Professional Development Schools (PDSs) emerged in the USA in the mid-1980s as a promising approach to simultaneously improving teacher education and the quality of education students receive in kindergarten through grade 12 (public) schools. This new form of school-university partnership enabled teacher educators to design new models for…

Much continues to be written about the failure of U.S. schools to provide a quality education for at-risk urban students. Private Nativity model schools have been instituted in response to the need to provide quality education at the middle school level for such students. As the number of these and other alternative middle schools increases, a…

This paper is designed to serve as a basis for discussions of the senior apprenticeship option that is now being developed by Manitoba's (Canada) Department of Education and Training. The first two sections examine the need for a senior apprenticeship option in the context of challenges facing the Canadian economy and labor force and the history…

This paper describes the Vermont Interdependent Services Team Approach (VISTA), a decision-making process for determining the educational support service needs of students with deaf-blindness or other multiple disabilities. The paper also analyzes perceptions of VISTA held by experts in a variety of fields. Specifically, VISTA provides a team…

This study evaluates an alternate model for middle school education, which was introduced into depressed urban settings in the 1970s by the Jesuit religious order, in two parochial middle schools, one coed and one all-male established in 1993 in an Eastern city. Comparisons of school structural characteristics, attendance figures, report card…

Patterned after a previously successful Laborers-Associated General Contractors model named the Construction Skills Training Program, a demonstration project was implemented at five regional training centers. At least eight courses were created, combined, or revised. Four full-length audiovisual support pieces were completed. Three courses were…

Technical problems with norm-referenced achievement testing that can lead to the erroneous evaluation of schools for Chapter 1 Program improvement is discussed, and an alternative testing model is presented. The history of Chapter 1 testing and evaluation policies is briefly reviewed, and problems with the norm-referenced model are explored. Data…