A nationally representative sample of youths with disabilities who recently exited high school was studied to determine their level of participation in postsecondary educational programs. The results show that disabled individuals participate at only one-quarter the rate of their nondisabled counterparts. (Author/MLW)

This article promotes the use of contextual constructionism in evaluation research. The call for truth in sentencing in Tennessee (and across the country) is used to illustrate the conflict among stakeholders that arises from program evaluation and to show how their multiple realities make a contextual constructionist approach pertinent. (SLD)

A discussion of distance education outlines its development, identifies its characteristics, and analyzes three existing program types and the needs they serve. The Irish National Distance Education Centre, which uses a cooperative approach with several institutions, is presented in greater detail. (MSE)

Discusses the effects of international events on educational television broadcasting; examines the resulting need for coproduction; describes three models of coproduction; considers coproduction and small languages, particularly Swedish; discusses funding issues, including underwriting and sponsorship; and emphasizes the importance of planning.…

Elements of a model for delivering statewide behavioral programing services to individuals with mental retardation in residential, training, and educational settings are described. The model includes such components as identification of levels of behavioral competence among staff members, an intervention approval process, regional behavioral…

The director of the Queens Borough Public Library (Jamaica, New York) examines the role of the public library in helping to prevent illiteracy and discusses innovative ways libraries can serve adult readers and learners, using the Queens model as an example. Includes a sidebar by Audrey Gorman "Toward a New Definition of Literacy." (AEF)

This article offers a way to build accountability by utilizing outcome relevant information along with outcomes to ensure relevance of evaluation results. It describes a process that incorporates use of logic models for comparing child, family, and community context for the program, the service delivery strategies, and expected outcomes. (Contains…

Proposes the Program of Human Inquiry as a framework for joint student-faculty portfolios by graduate students and faculty advisors. The program consists of four components: (1) acknowledgment of what one brings to graduate studies; (2) a plan of study, (3) a record of rigorous negotiated "avenues of inquiry," and (4) ongoing discussion of values…

An analytic framework is presented for examining the properties and objectives of assessments and scoring systems piloted in a number of state and district testing programs. The article explores the application of this framework, which considers the cognitive components of competence described in studies of expertise, to the analysis of science…

Describes the lessons learned from the Baltimore City Healthy Start Men's Services program, the goal of which was to encourage fathers' involvement in their children's lives. Notes that the right philosophical mindset of actively seeking out fathers was crucial for Men's Services, and could be crucial to Head Start's efforts to reach fathers. (SD)

Human performance technology (HPT) models are compared. One model groups performance factors by their relation to the performer (internal or external). A second model categorizes factors by which organizational level has the most control over them (executive, managerial, or individual). A third model considers rational and emotional intelligences;…

Explores possibilities of inner-city networking, and provides a description of the federal government's Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP). The authors also enumerate the challenges faced by inner-city communities establishing such networks and describes TIIAP-funded programs meeting those challenges that…

Systemic (top-down) educational reforms will remain limited unless they improve every teacher's methods and materials. Comprehensive or whole-school reform "scales up" effective schools until many more schools meet state and national standards. The federally funded Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration program provides a supportive…

Reports on a classroom-based project exploring the learning experiences of 30 Japanese English-as-Second-Language (ESL) exchange students in an environment highlighting learner autonomy and the use of technology. Describes a model that was implemented in three multimedia lab classes of two content-based language courses in a sheltered immersion…

Provides a coherent framework to help states examine their personnel development systems and provides steps for the development and implementation of an integrated service delivery and personnel development system for early intervention. A model consisting of 12 key elements for planning and implementing a comprehensive system is presented. (CR)