The seven chapters of this volume demonstrate that evaluation evidence can overturn widely held beliefs and result in changes in programs and policies. These chapters show that policymakers can welcome findings that challenge long-established ideas and use them to Improve programs and services. (SLD)

As part of a project designed to identify appropriate and feasible methods of evaluating vocational education, this essay provides a perspective for evaluating vocational education in terms of outcomes. The first of four sections provides a rationale for studying educational outcomes. Section 2 focuses on the nature and meaning of outcomes and the…

This document consists of the 15 issues of the "National Head Start Bulletin" published during the three-year period 1993-1995. The bulletin is devoted to subjects of concern to Head Start teachers and administrators; each issue focuses on one topic. A main article and several smaller articles discuss various aspects of the topic for…

On June 5, 1989, the Council of Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs of the European Economic Community passed a detailed and comprehensive Resolution on continuing vocational training in Europe. Some of the possible consequences of the resolution are the following: (1) the prospects for the implementation of the Resolution are highly…

Although most school districts and schools are routinely involved in data collection, they do not typically use the data they collect in a systematic fashion to identify strengths and weaknesses and develop improvement strategies. One reason for the lack of data use is the perception that the data are being collected for someone else's purposes.…

Since most private and public sources of external funding generally expect increased effort and accountability, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) at two-year colleges must inform faculty and staff that if they do not expend extra effort their college will not receive significant grants. The CEO must also work with the college's professional…

Program advisory committees in vocational education have traditionally been charged with the responsibility of evaluating programs for the purpose of keeping them up to date with business and industry practices and current technology. Rapid technological development and accountability requirements have led to state mandates that the advisory…

The theme of this special journal issue is diagnostic reading instruction. The first of two main articles discuss ways to teach reading in a diagnostic-prescriptive way and the second deals with how to select a reading instruction approach for the mainstreamed child. Regular journal features discuss research on assessing readers' strategies…

This special edition summarizes the discussions which proceeded during the Indian Health Service (IHS) Mental Health Plenary Session. Following introductory comments by four session participants are seven discussion topics: mental health status of American Indians and Alaska Natives; history and description of the program; services for children…

This issue of a newsletter on perspectives of refugee resettlement presents views and advice from 20 former members of the Overseas Refugee Training program who are now working with refugees in the United States. Topics discussed in this issue of the newsletter include the following: (1) the feelings of former staff on the effects of training; (2)…

Unprecedented population growth and mounting fiscal austerity in Africa is causing a decline in the significant increases in educational progress, especially as measured by the median literacy rate, which were made between 1962 and 1985. Planning and implementation of educational programs carefully designed to effect economic growth is one path…

This bibliography contains annotations of more than eighty books, review-and-synthesis papers, research reports, evaluation studies, and state-of-the-art essays. Titles are listed alphabetically within one of the following five categories: (1) data-base reports, (2) review-and-synthesis papers, (3) evaluation methodology, (4) empirical studies…

This special edition contains the background material prepared for the Indian Health Service (IHS) Mental Health Program Review session of January 17-19, 1984 which reviewed the background of the Mental Health Program, assessed the major current management and programmatic issues, and developed recommendations for improving the program. The Review…

This executive summary highlights key elements of a paper produced by the National Center for Research in Vocational Education for persons interested in maximizing benefits from research and development in vocational education. This summary describes the legislative background, conceptual model, essential framework, and operational guidelines for…

The search for indicators of quality for colleges and universities was initiated during the past decade and many variants of these efforts have emerged in Europe, Australia, and on the North American continent. In the financial squeeze of the 1980s and 1990s, demands for quality and excellence in the conduct of higher education have continued to…