This report describes phase VI of the Equity Staff Development project, an ongoing project to achieve equity and diversity at Wisconsin technical colleges by creating an institutional climate supporting achievement by all students. Among the project's major activities and outcomes are the following: the existing train-the-trainer format of peer…

This study was commissioned to determine how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is working, what outcomes children and youth with disabilities are achieving, and how the system can be improved in the context of current education reform initiatives. Key policy themes addressed include individualized education programs, least…

This final report documents the development of a workplace literacy program for 100 employees of the Geriatric Authority of Holyoke, Massachusetts (GAH), a major nonprofit nursing home and rehabilitation facility. It describes how GAH employees received instruction in English as a Second Language, adult basic education, and General Educational…

The position taken in this paper is that the basic debate concerning the effectiveness of bilingual education has been totally "socially naive." A study investigated the concept that the ethnolinguistic vitality of a community determines the quality and quantity of linguistic contacts with one's own linguistic group and with other…

A collaborative project of Bank Street College and the Newark Public Schools, the New Beginnings initiative was designed to bring about progressive restructuring of kindergarten classrooms. This study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the impact of the initiative on curriculum, professional development, and…

This book's aim is to define and clarify the issues involved in the education of deaf and hard of hearing children in local public schools, to bring to light the accumulating research in this area, and to recommend actions for organizing effective educational programs. The book offers a perspective on the current confusion in the field of deaf…

The Schneider Skills Enhancement Program is a workplace literacy partnership between the medical manufacturing firm Schneider, Inc., and the Adult Academic Program of the Robbinsdale Area Schools in Minnesota. A literacy audit of 39 Schneider employees established a need for instruction in literacy, numeracy, and English as a Second Language (ESL)…

The Personal Perspectives multimedia project described in this article engages teacher candidates in examining and representing their cultural identity by means of Apple's iMovie software. This digital storytelling project was developed by the authors, who are instructors in elementary education and instructional technology at a state university…

The role of the elementary school principal is critical in determining school effectiveness. This study analyzes the thinking and language of 22 "effective change" elementary school principals to discover common patterns in decisionmaking processes. The method of grounded theory delineates implicit theories principals use to make…

This executive summary provides an overview of activities and a listing of the recommendations and strategies developed by participants at a conference on vocational/technical education. These four major themes are highlighted: the need to improve the image of vocational education through better communication with the public and special interest…

This handbook provides a model or process for examining the impact of a community school. Specifically, it provides a step-by-step guide to assessing impact by looking at voting, public opinion, attendance, and vandalism data. Other potential indexes of impact are also discussed. The steps involved in conducting an impact evaluation are similar to…

The California Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) provides a design for developing a method of measuring the identified competencies of local education agencies. It provides information about student placement, progress, and competency attainment in a format meaningful to the student, instructor, and program manager. Steps in setting up an…

The 12 articles in this monograph discuss the value of informal learning for children, and suggest how basic skills can be reinforced at school, home, and within community groups and institutions. Promising programs, practices, and activities for children are highlighted. Topics addressed include: (1) a rationale for a rededication to a holistic…

Summaries of current research on aspects of urban and minority education are compiled in these fact sheets. The first report provides guidelines for counseling in a multicultural educational setting, and outlines what counselors should know about and what they can do for students of culturally different backgrounds. The second report, which…

A project was designed to measure the effects of integrating basic reading and mathematical instruction with prevocational instruction through the addition of a basic skills resource room, a technical simulation unit, and guidance and counseling to the ninth grade vocational experience program for educable mentally handicapped and disadvantaged…