Illinois soybean growers have not been satisfied with recent lagging yield trends. A yield "challenge" was created to blend the motivation and creativity of a yield contest with the learning power of teamwork and on-farm demonstration. In the initial year (2010), 123 on-farm side-by-side demonstration plots were located throughout the…

More than 2 million people are incarcerated in the United States, and around 700,000 are released from prison each year. Those who are released face daunting obstacles as they seek to reenter their communities, and rates of recidivism are high. Many experts believe that stable employment is critical to a successful transition from prison to the…

More than 2 million people are incarcerated in the United States, and around 700,000 are released from prison each year. Those who are released face daunting obstacles as they seek to reenter their communities, and rates of recidivism are high. Many experts believe that stable employment is critical to a successful transition from prison to the…

An increasing number of jobs in today's workforce require postsecondary education, yet large numbers of workers lack the essential skills and credentials to fill these jobs. The result is that many workers remain underemployed, reaching a ceiling early in their working careers. In 2007, the Joyce Foundation launched the Shifting Gears initiative…

Accessing Curriculum through Technology Tools (ACTTT), a model development project, was developed and tested by staff of the Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood (the Center), a research and development unit within the College of Education and Human Services at Western Illinois University. The major goal of ACTTT was to develop,…

Father involvement enhances children's well-being. A growing body of research supports this conclusion, showing that children with involved fathers exhibit greater school readiness, increased cognitive development, higher levels of empathy, and other positive characteristics (Administration for Children and Families 2004a). Research also indicates…

During a pilot project on the state role in facilitating adult learning, six states were asked (1) to establish and maintain a participatory planning mechanism for gathering information and building consensus among the public and private agencies and institutions within their states and (2) to use that mechanism in formulating policy…

THIS REPORT DESCRIBES A SPECIAL PROJECT IN SOME DISADVANTAGED PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN A CHICAGO SCHOOL DISTRICT. OVERAGE, UNDERACHIEVING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PUPILS WERE OFFERED YEAR-ROUND SPECIAL INSTRUCTION AND AN AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM WHICH PROVIDED VOCATIONAL SKILL TRAINING, CULTURAL ACTIVITIES, AND PART-TIME JOBS. THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THE PROJECT WAS TO…

One phase of the curriculum demonstration program sponsored jointly by the Quincy Public Schools and Southern Illinois University is the Service Station Training School described within this report. The Service Station Training School was one of several sheltered work stations which were developed to provide preemployment experiences and training…

Describes an alternative method for identifying exemplary practices in early childhood education programs. In this approach, parents and practitioners identify exemplary practices after coming to know the practices and the context in which they operate through observation, interview, and document review. Discusses methodological issues raised by…

An Illinois elementary school district concerned about unnecessary referrals for possible special education designed and piloted a regular education assistance team system which brought about greater regular teacher collaboration and increased accuracy in referral for case study evaluation. The building level teams consisted of regular education…

As part of Project IMPACT's efforts to develop procedures for complying with the impact requirements of Public Law 94-482, a case study was made of the Illinois Network of Exemplary Occupational Education Programs for Handicapped and Disadvantaged Students. The purpose of the Network was to expand the quantity and quality of special needs…

IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT 91 EXPERIMENTAL SUBJECTS FROM LOW SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS HOMES, PROVIDED WITH A CAREFULLY DESIGNED 2-YEAR VOCATIONALLY ORIENTED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM AND PREVOCATIONAL DIVISION OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION (DVR) COUNSELING, WOULD HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT TO THAT OF A MATCHED CONTROL GROUP ENROLLED IN A REGULAR…

Planning, implementation, and demonstration/dissemination phases of the CIOEDC (Comprehensive Illinois Occupational Education Demonstration Center) project, Site A, Joliet, Illinois from February 15, 1974 to June 30, 1976, are included in this report. (The principle objectives of the project were to bridge the gap between the theoretical and…

The federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) has launched a five-year initiative that will support state efforts to build comprehensive early childhood service systems. This initiative--the State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (SECCS) Initiative--provides planning and implementation grants to the state and territory Maternal and…