A study was conducted to understand better a common problem in job development efforts in rehabilitation--the poor returns of mailed-out surveys and, therefore, identification of few job leads for further cultivation. Two experimental job development investigations were used, one with large firms and one with small firms, to examine the effect of…

Decision-oriented inquiries emanate from a specific need for information and are conducted under a number of constraints. Conclusion-oriented research originates with the researcher and can be pursued in ways decided on by the researcher. Two examples of decision-oriented evaluation studies conducted by school districts and the relationships…

This book assembles, excerpts, and comments on a variety of publications dealing with the problems and prospects for educational research and development (R&D). It is intended to help readers identify the problems and issues in educational R&D and to formulate some possible alternatuves for the future. Chapter 1 deals with the definitions of…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the Elementary and Middle Schools Technical Assistance Center, which developed and evaluated a technical assistance model using a linking agent approach in which a school district professional or team was trained and supported to implement a change process cycle to effect improved…

This chapter uses a case study to develop a set of contexts and conditions for improving the alignment of purposes of alumni survey research within and across higher education institutions. (Contains 2 tables.)

The primary job of parents is to ensure safe passage for their children from infancy through adolescence to adulthood. Research has indicated many things schools can do to turn the privilege of safe passage into a right. Three research-based programs that work to achieve safe passage are described. The first is Caring Connection, a "one-stop-shop"…

This report on action research projects conducted by student teachers as a part of their preservice teacher preparation program focuses on how action research improves the understanding of educational practices by the practitioner-researchers themselves. Two major topics are discussed. First, specific types of claims about the impact of action…

This report describes and evaluates efforts to enhance school districts' capacity to implement and institutionalize the monitoring and management system for an instructional leadership program called Achievement Directed Leadership (ADL). Chapter one introduces the report's methodology, limitations, and structure. Chapter two first states the…

The purpose of phase 3 of Project IMPACT (a project to assess the impact of vocational education research and development on vocational education programs in Illinois) was to review, further conceptualize, and refine the impact assessment system for vocational education research and development efforts proposed during fiscal 1989. The following…

A well-developed approach to dissemination and utilization (D&U) at the four levels of spread, exchange, choice, and implementation is essential if vocational education research and development (R&D) is to achieve the measurable impact found lacking in a Committee on Vocational Education Research and Development (COVERD) assessment (1956). Federal…

A total of 21, masters or doctoral candidate, experienced teachers participated in this full-year teacher education program conducted at Ohio University. The specific objectives were to provide teachers with: 1) a systematic program of study; 2) a substantive background in economics with emphasis on the analytical methods; 3) assistance in using…

Discusses factors that influence the selection of treatment approaches in speech-language therapy, the importance of efficacy studies on treatment decisions, the role of parents and families in influencing treatment decisions, challenging the scientific orthodoxy, and trusting clinicians to evaluate the effectiveness of new treatment approaches.…

The growing interest in assessing the quality of education outcomes can be seen in the ever-increasing frequency of use of international and national surveys (e.g., Program for International Student Assessment [PISA], the Progress in Reading and Literacy Study [PIRLS], or the Third International Mathematics and Science Study [TIMSS]). These…

This study demonstrates how value-added research undertaken at the local education authority (LEA) is used directly by heads and teachers in their efforts to raise standards in schools. It draws on a decade of experience of supporting schools in the effective use of performance data for school self-improvement. The article highlights the various…

The Mid-South Educational Research Association (MSERA), organized in 1972, is a nonprofit organization with the purposes of encouraging quality educational research in the mid-South and promoting the application of the results of quality educational research in the schools. This volume contains abstracts of more than 300 discussion papers,…