A practicum course for prospective teachers of the gifted was designed, implemented, and evaluated. The 209 teachers found the practicum teaching, observations of their teaching, and papers they wrote to be effective learning experiences. Observers' ratings of the teachers indicated that a majority performed well in the practicum. (Author/JDD)

Describes a three-tiered approach that the Omega Boys Club of San Francisco uses to help stop violence among inner-city youth. Essential steps of the plan are to provide appropriate information through effective communication channels, to show youth alternative ways of living that allow them to release their negative behavior, and to teach them…

Meta-analysis of 143 effect sizes in 43 studies of adventure programming for adolescents found an overall effect size of 0.31. Summary effect sizes of outcome categories differed significantly among categories, however. Effect size was related to program length and participant age but not to delinquent status. Discusses the lack of pertinent…

Guidelines are presented for special educators designing a parent training program. The article includes a sample training format, a comparison of seven commercial parent training programs, and the identification of "best practices" in parent training (e.g., "group parents based on common need" and "establish clear goals"). (DB)

Investigates a virtual program, providing descriptions and assessments from the different participants at the host junior high school. Chronicles what the participants feel were the strengths, weaknesses, and factors influencing students' success in the virtual-school environment and raises issues for educators to consider when investigating the…

Meta-analysis was used to review 56 programs designed to promote family wellness and prevent child maltreatment to determine program effectiveness and identify positive factors. Intensive family preservation programs with high levels of participant involvement, an empowerment/strengths-based approach, and a component of social support had higher…

We evaluated the role that social capital among teachers plays in affecting teacher pedagogy in the context of comprehensive school reform (CSR). CSR implementation was designed to change school- and classroom-level processes, including organization and governance, curriculum and instruction, professional development (PD), and parental…

Five popular, but distinctly different, remedial reading programs were reviewed regarding the potential to motivate children to read. It is argued that current remedial reading program designs and research on program effectiveness ignore the impact that motivation has on struggling readers. In addition, we develop a theory of reading motivation…

The theory-based evaluation approach documents the assumptions implicit in program design and points to the data required to test these assumptions. Collecting and analyzing such data through quantitative and qualitative techniques enhances understanding of the validity of the assumptions and the relevance of key program processes. This article…

A number of studies have tested the effectiveness of boot camp prisons in reducing recidivism and results indicate that they have not been as successful as originally anticipated. While no two programs are comparable in terms of programming and treatment, most programs utilize a hypermasculine paramilitary prison structure to deter, punish, and…

"Nobody wants to get one. Nobody wants to give one." The problem was that the supervisors and managers of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) did not know how to use the Institute's new performance management system and had not been trained on how to prepare and deliver effective performance appraisals. The problem further…

The objectives of the study are to assess the impact of a community-based bicycle-helmet program aimed at children aged 5-12 years (about 140,000). A quasi-experimental design, including a control group, was used. Sex- and age-group-based changes in the risk of bicycle-related head injury leading to hospitalisation were measured, using rate…

Pay for performance is a popular public education reform, and millions of dollars are currently being targeted for pay for performance programs. These reforms are popular because economic and management theories suggest that well-designed incentive pay programs could improve teacher effectiveness. There is little evidence about the characteristics…

In U.S. K-12 public education, incentive pay for educators remains firmly fixed as a high-interest policy topic and has recently become a popular reform initiative in many school systems. The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), created in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Education, is at the forefront of this policy movement and has provided hundreds of…

This study examined the impact of NISL's [National Institute for School Leadership's] Executive Development Program for principals on student achievement in Pennsylvania schools between 2006-2009. Roughly half of the NISL-trained principals started the program during the 2007 school year and completed it in the 2008 school year, whereas the other…