Explains how faculty at Quinnipiac College reconceptualized developmental English and designed a new program that provides additional instructional time within the regular freshman English course. Finds that developmental students are better motivated and achieve growth in reading and writing commensurate with students who had a prior semester of…

Reviews international research that documents how participation in early childhood programs influenced children's later development and success in school. The research shows participation in preschool promotes cognitive development and school success; program type matters little. Further, maternal employment and reliance on child care do not harm…

Compares the professional development programs developed by the Small Business Development Centers in Michigan and Florida. Looks at the staffing, needs assessment methods, program structure, training methods and materials, competency measurement methods, and program evaluation of the two programs. Provides a checklist for creating professional…

Addresses the issue of how institutions of higher education can deal with the dilemma of achieving efficiency while sustaining or enhancing effectiveneness. Describes how the faculty of education at the University of Strathclyde (Scotland) addressed this issue including the major organizational, political, logistical, and educational…

Examines the effectiveness of a peer mediation program in which 6th-8th grade students (N=30) were trained to serve as mediators for peers in conflict. Mediators' responses to written tests indicated increased knowledge of mediation skills after training. Results reveal that 32 of 34 mediations resulted in satisfactory conflict resolution and that…

Describes the concept of and various forms of professional development in Australia, examining the personal professional development plans required in some Australian states and focusing on the effectiveness of professional development, teacher response to professional development, and the dynamic interaction between three elements necessary for…

Critically examines the suggestion that unemployment could be reduced by creating jobs in nonprofit organizations, observes trends in the sector's employment and resources, and discusses the conditions in which nonprofit organizations provide social services more efficiently that government and for-profit enterprises. Concludes that this is not a…

The staffing process in student affairs is one of the most important leadership and management functions that administrators are called upon to perform. How well the interrelated functions of recruitment, selection, orientation, supervision, performance appraisal, professional development, and departure by staff are handled determines the…

Explores the use of teacher-facilitated peer dialogues as a tool for supporting independent word learning strategies of struggling middle school learners. Hopes to create a context in which students would not only grapple with word meanings but also develop a stronger metacognitive awareness of their own efforts. (SG)

A study evaluated a program for reducing job coach assistance provided for three individuals with multiple severe disabilities. Workers were taught additional skills or the environment was modified to allow assistance reduction. Work activity and quality continued at a high level for each worker, although productivity decreased. (Author/CR)

Describes analysis of quality of North American doctoral programs in developmental sciences, such as developmental psychology and human development. Found that the faculty associated with the top one-third of programs were two to three times as active as the faculty associated with the lower two-thirds of programs. This difference held true in the…

This study examined the effectiveness of individual behavioral skills training in conjunction with in situ training in teaching 13 preschool children abduction prevention skills. Children's performance was measured during baseline, training, and at 2-week, 1-month, and 3-month follow-ups using in situ assessments in which abduction prevention…

The UMass Lilly Teaching Fellows early career faculty development program was rated a success at its 10-year mark by fellows who were asked in a survey to assess the program and its effects on their careers. In order not only to continue the program's success but improve upon it, the UMass Center for Teaching, guided by the survey, significantly…

Following a comparison of two approaches to mentoring--the traditional model and a relatively new "synergistic" or co-mentoring model--a new formal mentoring program for faculty in the School of Education at the University of Colorado at Denver, based on the synergistic approach, is described. First-year program evaluation data revealed…

Sixteen percent of children 6-11 years of age were classified as overweight in 1999-2002, four times the percentage in 1965. Although poverty has traditionally been associated with underweight as a result of poor diet, researchers have recently pointed to a paradox in the U.S., which is that low income and obesity can coexist in the same…