The theme articles present strategies for achieving quality laboratory projects in vocational agriculture. They describe fundamentals of the construction of quality projects and stress the importance of quality instruction. (JOW)

By combining resources, experience, and expertise, vocational educators and CETA sponsors can better develop a total human development system that can more effectively serve America's young people. The author discusses such topics as the problem of image, training cost-benefit ratios, and the changing employment picture. (CT)

Use of a family systems conceptualization in educational programing for behavior disordered students can improve program effectiveness and complement other effective classroom interventions. Changing support staff roles is recommended. For example, school psychologists coordinate family counseling services with ongoing educational programs instead…

Describes a study of relationships among costs of child care, nature of children's child care experiences, and their effects on children. Findings in the areas of quality; costs, revenue, and support; sector comparisons; and economic environment reveal that most child care is mediocre in quality. Makes recommendations to improve child care. (BAC)

Advocates research on the effectiveness of early intervention programs for disabled children based on scientific method, rather than advocacy of positions. Reviews effective intervention practices. Illustrates use of the biosocial systems research model, examining biological traits in the context of social systems. Discusses benefits of this…

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children is a professional association whose responsibility is to develop and disseminate standards of practice related to young children with special needs and their families. The intention is to identify practices that result in high-quality early intervention/early childhood…

The passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), also known as the economic stimulus package, provided an extra $3 billion for school improvement grants (SIGs) under section 1003(g) of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Along with this funding increase, the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance…

This article describes a new paradigm for accountability that envisions afterschool programs as learning organizations continually engaged in improving quality. Nearly 20 years into the era of results-based accountability, a new generation of afterschool accountability systems is emerging. Rather than aiming to test whether programs have produced…

When students are able to cope with, manage and maneuver the social and emotional landscapes of their lives, their ability to learn on all levels improves. Teaching Social / Emotional Learning (SEL), as a component of secondary education, not only increases academic performance, but prepares students to meet the challenges of lifelong learning in…

Could the labour market gender balance be improved by introducing new types of apprenticeship-trained workers? This article investigates what happened in the wake of the Norwegian VET programme for health and social care, a new approach introduced via the 1994 educational reform. By upgrading this traditionally female-dominated area of education,…

This interview guide can be used to determine whether a workplace literacy provider has the skills to develop and deliver a successful workplace literacy program that will meet the needs of a business and build the productive capacity of its employees. It can be used to assess the capabilities of a wide variety of literacy providers, including…

States that are successfully integrating three development programs--economic, work force, and technology--are focusing on the results as the first step in the process and have an easier time developing, monitoring, and improving their strategies. To structure their integration efforts around results, states need to begin with a vision of a…

At the University College at Cariboo, in British Columbia (Canada), the Extension Services function has been shifted to the college's instructional divisions. This has resulted in new funds for the divisions, as well as greater interaction between Extension staff and regular faculty and, thus, new ideas for Extension courses and programs. One…

In October 1995, New York City Technical College undertook a review of the Liberal Arts program to determine the extent that established outcomes were achieved. Specifically, the review sought to determine students' success in completing the program, their mastery of the basic skills emphasized in the program, the effects of the program on…

Describing the evaluation and planning process at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, this document presents guidelines, procedures, and indicators used at the college for the systematic review of academic departmental effectiveness. First, the five-column program review model used at the college is outlined and the purposes of review are…