A study of the legal and regulatory barriers to the expansion of family day care in New York State identified the following as primary barriers: a fragmented licensing system, multiple agency regulation, attempted regulation by municipalities through exclusionary zoning, and widespread provider noncompliance and lack of enforcement of the…

Citing the rising frequency of automobile recalls as proof of the decline of the automobile industry, this article humorously proposes six suggestions for reforming the industry. The suggestions are remarkably similar to recent proposals for the reform of schooling. (PGD)

All concerned citizens are volunteers. Only when they organize together can change be achieved. (MR)

Criteria, evidence, and judgment are the three essential elements in evaluation, which should be done with a view to contributing to present and future programs. (NL)

Educational improvement is feasible even under adversity if one focuses on important problems one at a time and seeks creative approaches to maintaining quality. (SK)

As the proportion of the population over retirement age increases, so does the need to provide education to prepare people for this period of their lives. The author gives some examples and suggestions of the kind of retirement education which can help people to face their retirement with confidence. (Author/CT)

Presents five ways to improve inservice teacher education in Alberta, Canada. (Author/RH)

In October 2006, the California Men's Colony (CMC) in San Luis Obispo, faced with staff recruitment and retention difficulties, took an innovative step to utilize long-term sentenced inmates as peer mentors and primary counselors to lead their prison-based therapeutic community (TC) program. The program was designed, developed, and implemented…

While checklists are often used to score standardized patient based clinical assessments, little research has focused on issues related to their development or the level of agreement with respect to the importance of specific items. Five physicians independently reviewed checklists from 11 simulation scenarios that were part of the former…

The importance of measurement feedback system (MFS) for the improvement of mental health services for youths is discussed. As feedback obtained from clients and families is subject to distortions, a standardized MFS including clinical processes, contexts, outcomes, and feedback to clinicians and supervisors is necessary for improvement in quality…

Self-assessment has been held out as an important mechanism for lifelong learning and self-improvement for health care professionals. However, there is growing concern that individual learners often interpret the results inaccurately. This idea has led to skepticism that self-assessment in its current form can ever be truly useful for lifelong…

The impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is usually understood in relation to schools and districts, but the legislation has also affected community-based organizations that operate school-linked programs. This case study of an after-school program in California demonstrates how educational accountability systems that emphasize students' academic…

There has been a dearth of studies on teacher educators using action research to improve their own practice. This book is the first systematic study of a group of teachers examining and enhancing their own practice through the inquiry process of action research. This book presents a broad overview of a variety of methodologies that can be used to…

While research on program effectiveness offers ample evidence that afterschool programs can benefit young people in a variety of ways, this same body of research demonstrates that not all programs are equally effective (Granger, 2008). Some programs show positive results in many or all major outcome categories. Other programs are associated with…