Assessment of the present status of vocational education in Texas and recommended priorities for the future constitute this annual report. Part 1 documents the progress of the 1970s and lists 15 challenges for vocational education in the 1980s, including application of meaningful evaluation procedures and careful program planning to maximize cost…

The role of evaluation in a working model for the diffusion of educational innovations is the central topic of this paper. The working model is a product of the Trent Valley Centre (TVC), a "regional laboratory" type extension center of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. The first objective of the program is to generate the…

This book answers more than 70 key questions that business managers and trainers ask about using e-learning in their company as a business tool. Chapters 1 and 3-11 are comprised of questions and answers related to these topics: what e-learning is all about; what e-learning costs; applying e-learning to the business; what today's e-learning…

Because sedentary living creates health consequences that ultimately affect employees' productivity, many companies are sponsoring worksite physical fitness programs for their employees. The cost-effectiveness of such programs and the resulting reduction in employees' absenteeism rates and medical and health care costs have been well documented.…

This guidebook presents a systems approach to planning, implementing, and evaluating mainstream programs for special needs learners in vocational education. (The guidebook itself models this system.) It is divided into four sections and numerous subsections (components) in this order: (1) Introduction (to mainstreaming, and the approach), (2)…

ADDITIONAL POSITION PAPERS BASED ON INFORMATION GATHERED IN THE RECONNAISSANCE SURVEYS OF PLANNING AND PROGRAMING IN OCCUPATIONAL EDUCATION, REPORTED IN VOLUME ONE (VT 005 041), ARE PRESENTED. PART IV, CONCERNED WITH PROGRAM STRUCTURE AND BUDGETING AND THEIR RELATION TO THE PLANNING PROCESS, INCLUDES THE PAPERS--(1) "CURRENT POLICIES AND…

In 1997, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) published the first edition of "Preventing Drug Use among Children and Adolescents: A Research-Based Guide" to share the latest NIDA-funded prevention research findings with parents, educators, and community leaders. The guide introduced the concept of "research-based prevention" with questions…

This paper describes a project conducted in 1991-92, based on research conducted in 1986-87 that demonstrated the need for a telecommunications system with the capacity of integrated services digital networks (ISDN) that would allow for sound, vision, and integrated computer services. Called the Tri-Centre Project, it set out to explore, from the…

This guide to early intervention services under Part H of Public Law 101-476 (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) is intended to aid state legislators who have the primary responsibility to create and shape programs under this Act. Three aspects of Part H legislation are stressed: (1) requirement of unprecedented coordination among…

In response to legislative mandate, the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges initiated the development of a community college accountability system by convening a task force in January 1991. In addition, grants were awarded to four community college districts (i.e., Mt. San Antonio College, San Joaquin Delta College, San…

For the past 6 years Liberty High School (187 students, located in rural Washington state) has been expanding both its vocational and general education programs through correspondence study. Although federal grant monies allowed initiation of the program in 1977, the school district subsequently assumed financial responsibility. Student response…

To fulfill one objective of the Post-Secondary Displaced Homemaker Project conducted by Central Texas College, this technical manual was written to assist Texas community colleges in setting up and operating displaced homemaker programs. The manual was developed through a review of current, applicable literature, as well as input from the…

This document, one of 12 guides that have been developed to facilitate evaluation by and for local education agency (LEA) personnel in Illinois, covers cost and outcome analysis, a method of relating both monetary and nonmonetary returns to investments for the purpose of improving program planning and decision making. Throughout this activity, the…

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…

To assess the feasibility of large-scale, countercyclical public job creation, a study was initiated. Job creation program activities were examined in terms of how many activities could be undertaken; what would be their costs; and what would be their characteristics (labor-intensity, skill-mix, and political acceptability) that might contribute…