The Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) is a province-wide partnership program whose goal is to improve student learning and performance by fostering initiatives that reflect the unique needs and circumstances of each school authority. It is currently ending its third cycle and ninth year of implementation. "The Colloquium on…

An overview is presented of the California Mentor Teacher Program (signed into law in July, 1983) and the related issues of merit pay and master teachers. The operation of the Mentor Teacher Program, the first statewide program of its kind, is briefly described. The program is said to be an outgrowth of the merit pay and master teacher movements;…

A case study approach was used to evaluate the statewide reading improvement project in Louisiana called Special Plan Upgrading Reading (SPUR). SPUR emphasized a change agent approach by providing Technical Assistants and small stipends (approximately $5,000) to participating school districts. During the first two years of the evaluation,…

In 1998, the State of Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services assumed responsibility for the Milwaukee County child welfare system. The Wisconsin Council on Children and Families has undertaken a multi-year, qualitative research project to monitor the state takeover. The three questions that this project seeks to answer are: (1) What…

This study was designed to determine the degree of use, level of client satisfaction of professional development and educational services, and to identify suggestions for improving services. Results from a mixed methodology approach indicated moderate to high levels of satisfaction in two program areas and moderate to high levels of…

A study was conducted to produce a graphic representation of (1) the factors that motivate single parents and homemakers in New Jersey toward upward mobility and higher paying jobs and (2) the barriers that these individuals face. Data were collected from 26 sites through 3 mail surveys--demographic data collection form which yielded 101…

An evaluation of adult basic education (ABE) programs was conducted in North Carolina, using a case study approach. Research was done by six teams that collected information from taped interviews with participants in six programs chosen to represent rural and urban areas and various demographic and racial mixes of students. Materials and records…

To address the issues of student recruitment and retention in Florida, a three-year research study was conducted. The three phases of the study sought the following: (1) to describe barriers to recruitment and retention of disadvantaged, unemployed, underemployed, out-of-school youth as perceived by students, teachers, counselors, and…

The objectives of this study were to: (1) compare perceptions of administrators, school board members, students, and vocational agriculture teachers concerning the vocational agriculture programs in Mississippi, (2) determine program strengths and weaknesses in order to improve present programs and plan future ones for Mississippi, and (3) provide…

A study was conducted to identify the factors that lead single parents and homemakers to choose nontraditional job training and the barriers they encounter in this effort. Data were collected from 14 sites in New Jersey through a mailed survey of 73 single parent/homemaker program clients and 10 program directors. The survey found that the…

A survey of former students of the Wisconsin Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education (VTAE) wood technics programs and employers in woodworking industries was conducted during spring of 1985. General objectives were to determine job classifications, types of businesses, and relative importance of tasks or duties in various woodworking-related…

A project was conducted to gather data on the outcomes of homemaking and consumer education programs in Illinois. The project also developed instruments and processes that will allow teachers to gather data in their school districts and store the data using a microcomputer. Data collection instruments were based on outcome statements as reported…

A systematic, statewide study of vocational education consumer and homemaking programs was conducted in Pennsylvania to gather data for use in decision-making concerning future funding and for redirection and improvement of these programs. Data were gathered through review of funded projects; questionnaires to school districts; in-depth study of…