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 paper examines how creative thinking techniques can be used to help rural educators provide effective transition programs and services to secondary students. Factors affecting transition in rural areas include a small, homogenous economic base; travel time and distance between job sites; lack of services and trained staff; the community role…

This report is based on a review of literature, statistical data, and a range of community-based programs for juvenile offenders, studied during the past 5 years by the National Governors' Association. The report provides an overview of innovative approaches to program design and coordination of services for delinquent youth. It describes several…

The National Council for Occupational Education (NCOE) and the Community College Humanities Association established the Shared Vision Task Force to examine the potential contributions of the humanities to occupational degree programs. In an effort to implement Task Force findings, NCOE selected the following five institutions to plan and implement…

This study examined the efficacy of Techniques of Responsive Intervention to Validate Effective Teaching (TRIVET) as a model for training administrators and teachers to provide instructional leadership through effective classroom appraisal. The study dealt with the first of a multi-step process to have principals and teachers impact what happens…

This report describes options for study designs to evaluate the effect of early intervention on infants and toddlers, birth to three, with disabilities or developmental delays and their families in Washington state. Information was gathered from extensive literature reviews, a survey of local assessment efforts in Washington, a technical data…

Project S.C.A.M.P. (Science, Computer and Mathematics Professions) is a year-long program designed to encourage the mathematical and scientific talents and interests of rural gifted junior high school students. Students participated in a 3-week residential summer camp at the University of Virginia and completed computer-based classes in geometry…

This two-part document reports the results of a literature review of workplace literacy program evaluation and then details a study of two current workplace literacy programs. The five chapters of the first part summarize findings on what is known about workplace literacy programs, methods for evaluating workplace literacy programs, assessing…

This booklet summarizes some of Colorado's successful career development projects and provides a resource for delivering comprehensive career guidance programs. The first section of the booklet outlines the role of career development in Colorado and the National Career Development Guidelines of the National Occupational Information Coordinating…

This book reports on a study of the urban poor in New York City focusing on the effectiveness of a model of service for this population. The project studied 160 families who were clients of the Lower East Side Family Union, an agency that aims to prevent foster care placement and to help clients mobilize their own coping capacities and to make…

Ribault (Florida) Senior High School has reported a dramatic increase in student achievement levels since implementing a comprehensive college preparation curriculum. Among the program changes that contributed to those gains are: (1) the establishment and consistent enforcement of a strong discipline program, including rules for student conduct, a…

Surveys and follow-up interviews were conducted in 1978 and 1980 respectively at the Navy's Instructional Program Development Centers to determine the need for the development or modification of authoring aids (manuals containing detailed procedural guidelines) to support designers/developers in producing high quality, usable instructional…

In this article, the author describes a new instructional design model and how it was applied to an educational planning and evaluation graduate class. The model is known as the "Isman model" and is described a five-step systematic planning process: (1) input; (2) process; (3) output; (4) feedback; and (5) learning. This process can be…

This background paper seeks to clarify the concept of transition for students with severe disabilities and to describe New Hampshire's response to the federal school-to-work initiatives. A conceptual framework is presented for linking educational outcomes more closely with improved adult life expectations. The framework seeks to encourage local…

A pilot project aimed at providing extension training to early childhood educators was initiated in 1985 by Holland College (HC). Thirty students who were employed in the field of early childhood education on Prince Edward Island, were recruited. Eight evening courses were provided in three counties over a 21-month period. Training focused on…