On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the National Center for Research in Vocational Education, the author provides an overview of center activities, including contributions in the areas of competency-based education, leadership development, equity and access, policy planning and evaluation, developing linkages, and dissemination of…

The roles of institutional researchers in the overall goal setting and monitoring process were studied in 1982. In addition, the use of databases and new technology (e.g., computer models and planning aids, information retrieval systems, and national databases) as support mechanisms for assessment of institutional performance, and the methods used…

Fourteen planning papers commissioned by the National Institute of Education in preparation for a study of vocational education are presented. The papers are organized into four sections. Section one deals with selected features of federal grant-in-aid programs and contains these papers: "On Implementing the Vocational Amendments of…

Theory behind modern evaluative bibliometric techniques is reviewed at three levels: (1) policy application; (2) strategic analysis; and (3) tactical analysis. New techniques developed at each level and limitations of each approach are discussed. At all levels, the process begins with assembling data and then moves to a data-based evaluation. (SLD)

This two-part paper attempts to establish the facts about, and to debate the merits of, using individual earnings information collected quarterly by states from employers as a source for vocational education performance assessment. The first part of the paper explores three topics: (1) who wants to know about the earnings of vocational education…

The movement toward integration of qualitative and quantitative research methods within the same study has been most evident in social policy research. Four major approaches to integrating can be identified in recent studies. The sequential, the parallel, and the fused models have been rather widely used. The interactive model, developed during…

A model is proposed for developing and implementing a community-based lifelong learning resources system. The model, which is based on systems theory, features the following sequence of activities: identifying all the learning resources in a community, incorporating information about these resources into a database, establishing a mechanism for…