This article describes a six-session program designed to help seven Australian young adults (ages 18-21) with Down syndrome understand friendships better. During the sessions, students explored and discussed various types of friendships and the emotions associated with them, using the students' own experiences and videos in conjunction with…

Eighty-three studies from 1982 to 2001 with formal training interventions were integrated via meta-analytic techniques to determine the effectiveness of interventions in their enhancement of performance, knowledge, and expertise at the individual, team or group, or organizational level. The studies were separated by research design, with the…

Two studies investigated the effectiveness of a course in career planning for psychology majors. Study 1 used a quasi-experimental design. Students who completed a corequisite research methods course in the year before the department added the careers course to the curriculum served as a comparison group. Analyses showed that students in the…

Before schools and districts invest their scarce resources in the products that educational researchers have developed, teachers, administrators, and community members need to become informed consumers of educational research. This article strives to bridge the gap between researchers and practitioners by exploring how to become an informed…

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that performance assessment increases educational value in teaching-learning activities using a quasi-experimental research design. In this research, the three measurement criteria of educational value are suggested as "improvement & advancement," "sincerity & enthusiasm," and "individuality &…

Although there has been a rapid increase in funding and attention to after-school programs, there is little understanding of how after-school programs impact children's developmental trajectories. The heterogeneity of American children makes it very unlikely that all children need after-school programming or that there is but one brand of…

This article reviews the policies for disadvantaged children in western countries since the mid-sixties. First, it analyses the design and results of the "classic programmes" of positive discrimination such as the American Title I programme, and the English, Dutch, Flemish and French priority areas policies. It discusses the differences…

After-school programs attempt to provide safe havens that keep youth off the streets and offer them a variety of opportunities to enhance their experiences and skills, including educational outcomes such as grades. What the programs actually accomplish has been somewhat different. Major evaluations of after-school programs have shown that they do…

A new model of library instruction assessment--a 360 degrees analysis--is needed to address the many facets of the teaching process. This model establishes interconnections in all aspects of instruction and requires a multi-faceted approach that incorporates assessment in every stage of teaching and learning. At The University of Montana Mansfield…

This article presents the research findings of an evaluation of the academic impacts of 21st Century Learning Centers (CCLC) in Louisiana. Using quasi-experimental design, the article operationalizes academic achievement as core and subject test performance on nationally standardized pre- and posttests (Iowa Test of Basic Skills; ITBS). Based on…

Purpose: There is limited amount of research that constitutes non-traditional curricula implemented within an institutionalized context of developing countries. An attempt is made in this project to gain a clearer understanding of a non-traditional early learning program within an orphanage campus setting of Ladyville, Belize, Central America.…

Community participation in program decision-making and implementation is an ideal that community and academic stakeholders aspire to in participatory research. This ideal, however, can be difficult to achieve. We describe lessons learned about community participation from a quasi-experimental trial aimed at reducing the uptake of smoking among…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on designing effective human resource development (HRD) programs that was conducted as part of a conference on HRD. "Leveraging System Factors for Increased Training Effectiveness" (David Ripley) is a conceptual paper that critiques current training design models and the lack of…

This paper examines the impact of vouchers in general and voucher design in particular on public school performance. It argues that all voucher programs are not created equal. There are often fundamental differences in voucher designs that affect public school incentives differently and induce different responses from them. It analyzes two voucher…

PCI Education sought scientifically based evidence on the effectiveness of the "PCI Reading Program--Level One" for students with severe disabilities. During the 2007-2008 academic year. Empirical Education conducted a randomized control trial (RCT) in two Florida districts, Brevard and Miami-Dade County Public Schools. For this…