The study reviews what is known from research about school-family-community involvement programs. Collectively, recent studies and earlier research indicate a strong relationship between family involvement and improved academic performance. Family involvement is also associated with other key outcomes such as attendance and behavior, which are…

The processes and effects of state performance audits of postsecondary academic programs are illustrated by case studies in Wisconsin and Virginia. Main problems are: the difficulty of establishing legislative intent; lack of appropriate performance indicators, measures, and standards, and issues of timeliness and impact. (MLW)

In the University of California (Davis) Program in College Teaching, graduate teaching assistants develop and fulfill contractual agreements for faculty-guided investigations into their disciplines, with supporting individualized activities about practices and issues of college teaching. Aspects of the program's development and effectiveness are…

This study, with 4 parent-child dyads in which the children (ages 9 to 11) exhibited substantial homework problems, found that goal setting and contingency contracting produced significant improvements in children's homework accuracy. Two of the subjects showed substantial improvements in on-task behavior. Parents rated the procedures highly.…

Underperformance among physicians is not well studied or defined; yet, the identification and remediation of physicians who are not performing up to acceptable standards is central to quality care and patient safety. Methods for estimating the prevalence of dyscompetence include evaluating available data on medical errors, malpractice claims,…

The Kansas City LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) National Education Service Center's (LNESC) Young Reader's Program combines social work principles and philosophies with a grounded educational curriculum in an after-school supplemental reading program for Hispanic/Latino, low-English-proficient, low-income, first- through…

This case study illustrates the application of Mega--adding measurable value for all stakeholders including society--as the central and ultimate focus for needs assessment. In this case, two needs assessment studies were conducted within a five-year period (1999-2003) with the State of Ohio's Workforce Development (WD) program. An initial needs…

This article explores whether WebCT, a virtual learning technology, meets organisational and customer goals at Coventry University Business School (CBS). Lecturer and student perceptions about the benefits of WebCT as a teaching and learning resource are examined as well as the goals of WebCT for the university as an organization. CBS students…

This article considers the background to the development of training schools in England and examines some of the impact that these schools have had on the initial training programmes of teachers. It also considers some of the effects this initiative has had on the professional development of teachers in such schools. The article is based on work…

In this retrospective case study, the author describes the process of initiating a new partnership between the Master of Education in Teaching (MET) program at the University of Hawaii and a public elementary school, which would service as the field site for the student cohort in this two-year field-intensive certification program. Included in the…

Over the past 20 years, the Professional Development School (PDS) model has been proven to be a successful way to induct teacher candidates into the teaching profession. Induction has been recognized as a way to counteract attrition from a profession that loses as many as 50% of its teachers within five years of entry. Using the PDS model of…

The Department of Education has undertaken an ambitious effort to develop statewide skill standards for all content areas in career and technical education. The standards in this document are for photography programs and are designed to clearly state what the student should know and be able to do upon completion of an advanced high-school program.…

This article presents how Developmental Approaches in Science, Health and Technology (DASH) summer institute sparks the author to try and succeed in using inquiry with her young students. It is a program created by the Curriculum Research and Development Group, University of Hawaii, and funded in part by the National Science Foundation. DASH is an…

The Skills Standards Projects have provided further emphasis on the need for benchmarking U.S. vocational-technical education (VTE) against international competition. Benchmarking is an ongoing systematic process designed to identify, as quantitatively as possible, those practices that produce world class performance. Metrics are those things that…

This report examines the long-term impact of Academic Program Improvement (API) grants made from 1980 to 1986 at the California State University (CSU), by assessing the factors that contributed to or inhibited permanent adoption of successful innovations. Questionnaires from and interviews with project directors and administrators associated with…