This manual presents recommended practices of the Council for Exceptional Children's Division for Early Childhood (DEC) for evaluating early intervention and early childhood special education programs. The DEC recommended practices are intended to complement previously established guidelines for developmentally appropriate practices. This guide…

In 2000, the Finance Project received a planning grant to launch a new initiative on financing professional development in education. This report represents efforts to identify and develop a database on promising new approaches to professional development in education, profiling 16 initiatives recommended by knowledge experts and representing a…

The Spanish-language version of this best practices sourcebook builds on a 1993 publication, "The Prevention of Youth Violence: A Framework for Community Action." It offers insight into tested strategies to prevent violence by children and adolescents. It was developed with input from people working to prevent youth violence and people…

In 1995, the Jobs Initiative, an 8-year, six-site demonstration project, was launched to attempt to improve access to family-supporting jobs for disadvantaged young adults in the inner city. The Jobs Initiative is providing seed money to develop and implement job strategies in six cities: Denver (Colorado); Milwaukee (Wisconsin); New Orleans…

This paper describes alternative assessments being used successfully at two elementary magnet schools in North Carolina and summarizes case studies of the assessment development process. Assessments, grade levels, school years, and school districts in the case studies differed, but commonalities in developing the assessments enabled the…

Launched in 1994, Smart Start is the statewide early childhood initiative in North Carolina designed to ensure that every child "arrives at school healthy and ready to succeed." This guide provides a practical reference to the lessons learned from Smart Start as the program was developed and experienced from the local county partnership…

These volumes contain working papers related to the development of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) Facilitated System of Expert Panels. Introductory papers by Susan Klein, Michael Scriven, Sharon Bobbitt and Susan Klein, and Michael Scriven and Lois-ellin Datta (printed in both volumes) set the stage for the discussions…

Three main questions guided this study: (1) What are the possible implications, positive and negative, from implementing an Ed.D. program at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU)?; (2) What were the conditions for teaching at other universities when an Ed.D. program was adopted?; and (3) What have been the long-term effects--positive,…

This guide to standards and measures for compliance with the Perkins Act was developed by and for 29 community colleges in Michigan in order to provide accountability for planning and program improvement. The Perkins Act requires recipients of Perkins funds to evaluate the effectiveness of programs based upon a statewide system of standards and…

Institutional change, it is suggested, can be managed through task forces that focus on a broad spectrum of institutional problems and issues including internal and external communication, institutional planning, program review and evaluation, administrative development and performance review, and faculty development. (Author/MLW)

An essay encouraging and illustrating possibilities for faculty involvement in college planning and decision making is followed by commentaries by Harmon C. Dunathan and George Keller. Among the issues addressed are program review, personnel strategies, and situations of financial exigency. (MSE)

Experiential learning programs must be marketed effectively if they are to succeed. The formulation of market strategy is discussed including: strategic planning; identification of a market target; and development of a market mix. A commitment to marketing academic programs is seen as a commitment to self-assessment. (MW)

Discussion of school responsibility to learning disabled college students outlines legal entitlement to services and the parameters of a learning disability program: identification of students, individualization, individual and program evaluation, and program integration into the institutional setting. (MSE)

Developed a program to support adults concerned about their aging parents. Specific objectives were to: develop educational materials, provide a group milieu, and train participants in communications techniques. Results indicated the program had limited positive results in contrast to no, or slightly negative change for the delayed treatment…