Fiedler's Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness, which asserts that leadership effectiveness is a function of leadership style and situational context, is the basis for a leadership training program called Leader Match. This study attempts to replicate previous research which has demonstrated improved performance attributable to the Leader…

A plan has been initiated in Georgia to ensure that project directors and evaluators are cognizant of and organized to meet criteria specified in the Identification, Validation, and Dissemination (IVD) guidelines. The evaluation/validation process involves eight steps: (1) evaluator training, (2) proposal screening, (3) critique of evaluation…

This report presents findings of an evaluation, conducted in 1994, of 10 Leadership in Accountability Demonstration (LAD) schools in the San Diego City Schools. The report provides information on the status of accountability implementation, particularly regarding the schools' recognition and intervention practices. The evaluation sought to…

Findings of a study that evaluated the Spencerport, New York, "More Effective Schools/Teaching Project" and examined the project's validation process are presented in this paper. The program model was based on change at the individual school level, administrator/staff collegiality, comprehensive interventions based on school culture, and…

This paper discusses how developmental programs in Georgia obtain and maintain their status as "Training Center." The establishment in Houston County, Georgia of a "Training Center," an innovative school outreach program that disseminates an early intervention program for high-risk 6-year olds, exemplifies how outreach services…

The Joint Dissemination Review Panel (JDRP) examines educational interventions and determines their effectiveness. This study's purpose was to assess this review process and identify common characteristics of submittals and ways in which approvals and rejections differed. A locally-developed instrument which collected data on the intervention's…

This paper describes a case study evaluation of the first year of an inservice staff development program in Galax City Schools, Virginia. The program was designed to teach teachers how to deliver subject matter associated with "The Teaching of Thinking Skills Program," sponsored by a Chapter II Competitive Block Grant. The program had…

In order to determine how much objective evidence exists regarding the effectiveness of career education programs in U.S. schools, American Institutes for Research in Behavioral Sciences (AIR) conducted a comprehensive, national search for well-evaluated activities. The initial nominations of 394 programs were received from state career education…

Although research strongly supports the facilitative nature of empathy in all helping relationships, there is a need for the experimental assessment of the differential effects of procedures designed to maximize this skill. Resident assistants (N=154) participated in a study to compare programmed and didactic training methods and to determine the…

The field of educational leadership faces serious challenges in the 21st century, such as the shortage of principals and superintendents, the growing demands for leadership positions, and the struggle for adequate resources. This paper explores the challenges facing this field from the position of university educational leadership preparation. The…

Three studies identifying the characteristics of program submittals approved by the Joint Dissemintion Review Panel were examined. Between 1978-1985, 358 demonstration programs were submitted. For each of these years, between 51 percent and 83 percent of the submittals were approved. In this study, the submittals were reviewed on the basis of the…

For mentoring to remain as one viable component of quality teacher induction, the roles of mentors, the benefits of mentoring and the obstacles to effective mentoring must be scrutinized and questions about the overall value of mentoring must be addressed. In the study discussed in this paper, 24 teachers who served as mentors for beginning…

Current practice in educational program evaluation was examined through analyses of 232 reports submitted, from 1980 to 1983, by institutions seeking approval for their programs from the U.S. Department of Education's Joint Dissemination Review Panel (JDRP). The JDRP reviews these reports to determine whether educational programs have demonstrated…

This paper argues that the National Diffusion Network (NDN) is a valuable tool for disseminating information about effective school improvement programs (SIPs). It considers why SIPs are not found more frequently in the NDN and what can be done to remedy this situation, from the perspective of the executive secretary of the NDN Program…

Due to the efforts of mental health consumer and advocacy organizations, there now exists a legislated community-based mental health policy for the treatment of children and adolescents with serious emotional disorders and their families. But the implementation of this policy has not met the intended legislative standards. Accordingly, this…