A survey of 397 parents of infants and toddlers with disabilities and 226 early intervention service coordinators (SCs) was conducted to identify necessary factors for successful SC-parent collaboration. Surveys indicated that interpersonal skills were critical for successful collaboration. A microcounseling model involving behavioral consultation…

Describes a few carefully focused interventions and concerted efforts between schools, colleges, and the community that have been experimented with and have been found to be very successful in improving the standards in both primary and secondary schools in the urban areas of England. (CMK)

In this article, the author discusses two major conclusions about initial preparation programs in the United States. On the upside, a good deal of energy and hard work is being poured into attempts to revitalize preparation programs. On the downside, people are not seeing much in the way of real improvement; that is, most of the change is on the…

The Alcohol-related Harm Prevention (AHP) program is a normative education and skill-acquisition program designed to reduce serious, long-term alcohol-related harm in college students. Without admonishing students not to drink, which is likely to fail in many student populations, the AHP program attempts to give students the necessary perceptions,…

This article describes a project that will make a positive impact in today's special education classroom. Teachers will learn how to use Problem Based Learning (PBL) units as a tool to empower students with special needs to become more confident, independent, successful students. It will also shatter the stereotype that students with special needs…

In this article, the author discusses a partnership between Baylor University and the Waco public schools that embeds every teacher-candidate--from the freshman year on--into the K-12 system. To test whether professional-development schools, modeled after teaching hospitals, can be scaled up so that all of a college's teaching candidates--not just…

Widespread agreement exists that U.S. teachers need improved mathematics knowledge for teaching. Over the past decade, policymakers have funded a range of professional development efforts designed to address this need. However, there has been little success in determining whether and when teachers develop mathematical knowledge from professional…

Since 2000, the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) at the University of Michigan (UM) has presented an educational theatre program for the professional development of faculty and graduate student instructors. Through the medium of interactive theatre, faculty can experience the sort of "second chance" described in the presented…

This article presents three related evaluation studies looking at the effectiveness on achievement and motivation of Reading Together, a cross-age peer-tutoring reading program. The effects on tutees, tutors, teachers, and parents were monitored. The advantages of Reading Together began to accrue during the second and third phases of the program.…

The effects of an eight-week instructional program in creative dance/movement on the social competence of low-income preschool children were assessed in this study utilizing a scientifically rigorous design. Forty preschool children from a large Head Start program were randomly assigned to participate in either an experimental dance program or an…

Higher education systems all over the world are currently occupied with the crucial problems of equal opportunity and accessibility in the tertiary level. The paper focuses on the perennial issue of center and periphery in higher education. It takes Israel as a case in point. Like many other Western countries Israel is undergoing a speedy process…

This paper provides an analysis of the controversy surrounding the standard setting process conducted by ACT Inc. for the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). This process is the most thoroughly planned, carefully executed, exhaustively evaluated, completely documented, and most visible of any standard setting process of which the author is…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to illuminate the question "given all that we know about knowledge transfer in organizations, why do problems persist?" This is achieved by examining the challenges confronting organizations in developing an effective knowledge transfer strategy. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was administered to…

This paper presents a model of a teacher needs-based (TNB) professional development program. The TNB model formed the foundation of three externally funded professional development programs. The objectives of this model are to maximize the effects of a professional development program, and to help participants sustain their learning over the long…

The new nation-wide induction programme for all beginning teachers in Israel is first described against the general background of the professionalization of teaching and teacher education in Israel and with regard to effective induction programmes in other countries. There follows an evaluation study of the overall induction programme and of two…