The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), also known as the stimulus package, appropriated $100 billion for education and included $3 billion for school improvement grants (SIGs) to help reform low-performing schools. This amount was in addition to the $546 million provided by the regular fiscal year 2009 appropriations bill for…

Many educators and researchers have proposed reforms for dealing with the ongoing adolescent literacy crisis. Progress in strengthening young people's literacy now depends on schools a) choosing appropriate programs and b) implementing them consistently and effectively. Yet the history of school reform is littered with reforms that were adopted…

A national study was conducted to determine both the perceived importance and the current practices of ongoing staff development programs in different regions in the United States. Responses to questionnaires were received from 267 school districts. A total of 51 school districts from the South, 49 from the Midwest, 44 from the East, and 39 from…

Vocational education programs for handicapped students in Texas were evaluated in order to make recommendations for improvement. Three objectives were proposed: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of training for entry-level knowledge and skills provided to handicapped students enrolled in vocational education for the handicapped (VEH) programs; (2)…

Initiated in November 1989, the Exploring 4-H program in Indiana is a child care program providing delivery models and a 21-topic curriculum for use in existing 4-H clubs, after-school day care programs, day camps, summer programs, and library programs in both school and non-school settings. To evaluate the program and the effect of the setting on…

A project was conducted to analyze followup results from completers of secondary vocational agriculture programs in North Carolina, to develop usable materials, and to train others to use these materials. Key questions were asked concerning the utility of vocational agriculture in the state based on the responses of ex-students to the Secondary…

A systematic, statewide study of vocational education consumer and homemaking programs was conducted in Pennsylvania to gather data for use in decision-making concerning future funding and for redirection and improvement of these programs. Data were gathered through review of funded projects; questionnaires to school districts; in-depth study of…

This study discusses the contention that since vocational education costs more per pupil on the average than academic or general education, it should yield greater benefits to its students. Focus is on examining pitfalls inherent in this approach/contention and synthesizing recent research materials which reflect the benefits of vocational…