As part of its Jobs Initiative (JI) program in six metropolitan areas Denver, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Seattle the Annie E. Casey Foundation sought to develop and test a method for establishing benchmarks for workforce development agencies. Data collected from 10 projects in the JI from April through March, 2000,…

This article presents a model of formative task-based language assessment implemented in the Chinese language program at the University of Iowa. The model was conceptualized from both empirical evidence, namely previous research done by other team members and me, and assessment theory, namely task-based learning and testing. Our formative…

Studied motivational and environmental influences on training effectiveness. Tested an exploratory model describing the influence on trainee career and job attitudes on training outcomes (learning, behavior change, performance improvement). Results suggest that job involvement and career planning are antecedents of learning and behavior change.…

A study of 265 National Technical Institute for the Deaf students was undertaken to determine whether participation in English language courses resulted in an improvement in English language skills and whether a relationship exists between a student's entry level into the English program and the rate of progress a student makes. (PHR)

Highlights from a recent conference of the American Society for Training and Development indicate current efforts by employers to assess the impact of their educational programs on the performance of managers. (CT)

The success of corporate instructional design projects depends on how well the practitioner performs in the field under specific circumstances. Benchmarking is one of the major business strategies for continuous improvement. A thorough inquiry into how exceptional corporate instructional designers function lends insights into the instructional…

Presents a historical perspective of performance measurement, describing types of performance measures, and examining their use in municipal parks and recreation agencies, noting that more and more parks and recreation agencies are developing performance measurement plans for all divisions and units. The benefits movement (specifically, benefits…

This study aimed at investigating the effect of electronic dialogue journaling on Jordanian upper basic stage EFL students' writing performance. The study utilized a pretest-posttest control group experimental design. The subjects of the study consisted of fifty students enrolled in the Islamic Educational School during the first semester of the…

This is a book about quality and how to control quality through deliberate actions on the part of the professionals developing and implementing the instances of instruction available at an organization. Quality control theory favors no particular learning philosophy and is only directed towards aspects of how, what, where and when measurements are…

Purpose: Although proposed from theory, the assumption that career-related continuous learning (CRCL) has a positive impact on subsequent job performance has not been tested empirically. The present study aims to close this gap in the literature. A model is derived from theory that predicts a positive impact of CRCL, learning climate, and initial…

The new IEA "International Civic and Citizenship Education Study" (ICCS) will investigate the extent to which young people are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens across a range of countries. ICCS will survey 13-to-14-year old students in over 30 countries in the year 2009. The ICCS outcome data will be obtained from representative…

A study investigated the design and effectiveness of the faculty development efforts of one University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) faculty member over a two-year period. The experience included use of a professional growth contract to indicate commitment and intention, student feedback from over 500 students in eight courses, structured alumni…

This is the fourth report of a process evaluation of Palm Beach County Prime Time, Inc., an intermediary organization dedicated to improving the quality of afterschool programs, by Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. It covers the 2007-2008 program year, which was the inaugural year of Prime Time's formal Quality Improvement System (QIS)…

Local school systems, Local Education Agencies [LEAs], and universities, Institutions of Higher Education [IHEs], work together in a variety of ways in the initial preparation and ongoing professional development of teachers, although it is difficult to ascertain the number of LEA/IHE partnerships. These relationships typically allow for a…