This book offers practical suggestions to college faculty for making the sabbatical experience more productive, satisfying, enriching, and enjoyable. Part 1 serves as an introduction, examining the origins and definitions of sabbatical leave and common institutional practices in regard to granting sabbaticals. Part 2 looks at the five stages of…

This report reflects the results of an evaluation of the coverage in the annual Public Library Statistics program, a joint federal-state information collection project. It is the first phase of a broader project of the Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to evaluate the overall statistics available from the annual…

This handbook addresses the complex and expanding vocabulary of performance assessment and measurement by providing a glossary of related terms and lists of resources for the student, practitioner, and policymaker. Performance assessment includes all forms of such assessment from multiple choice and paper-and-pencil tests to alternative…

Drawing on the writings of Jean Piaget, Paulo Freire, Yoneji Masuda, John Naisbitt, and others, this paper examines the purposes of education and posits a model for developing strong sense critical thinking (SSCT) skills among elementary school students. Part I examines the purpose of education, while Part II discusses SSCT, defined as the ability…

This practicum sought to develop a consensus definition of what an after-school enrichment program should be, utilizing the Delphi Research Technique, which is designed to collect and synthesize group opinion in an anonymous, interactive, self-repeating, and self-adjusting manner. Three rounds of questionnaires were sent to 31 teachers, school…

This fact sheet summarizes issues involved in the reauthorization of the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act of 1988, Title IV-B, Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This Act provides grants for research and demonstration projects and training activities to meet the needs of gifted and talented students. The Javits…

This paper examines the nature of dictionaries and encyclopedias, focusing on some of the preparation that has gone into the construction of a dictionary of language testing at the University of Melbourne (Australia). It discusses the purpose of such dictionaries, the nature and size of dictionary/encyclopedia entries, and the readability of…

The literature was examined to find studies specifically concerned with the development of instruments designed to measure attitudes. Close attention was paid to procedures used to determine reliability and validity in the development and subsequent use of such instruments. An effort was made to select the most relevant literature from the vast…

This synthesis of the literature examines the characteristics of children with conduct disorders and the special education placement dilemmas they present. The paper distinguishes among the terms delinquency, social maladjustment, conduct disorder, and behavioral disorder. The paper discusses eligibility of students with conduct disorders for…

This booklet will help parents identify what they want in a family child care program. It suggests topics to consider and describes general characteristics of high quality programs and providers. Sections focus on defining family child care, choosing a program, allowing time to find a good program, being considerate of providers, paying for child…

This report describes states' eligibility policies for developmentally delayed and at-risk children, aged birth to 3 years to be served under Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The report is based on policy analysis of 49 states' eligibility policy documents. Results indicated that the wording in states' definitions…

The Canadian Human Rights Act extends the laws in Canada that proscribe discrimination by establishing that each individual has the right to make the life for him- or herself that he or she is able and wishes to have, consistent with the duties and obligations of a member of society, without being hindered or prevented from doing so by…

An attempt is made to integrate existing theories of family violence by introducing the concept of family role stress. Role stressors may be defined as factors inhibiting the enactment of family roles. Multiple regression analyses were performed on data from 190 families to test a hypothesis involving the prediction of negative discipline at…

As part of the redesign of the Common Core of Data of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and in response to the growing concern about the comparability of average daily attendance (ADA) in a national database, the NCES initiated a study in 1987 to describe the methods used by the states to collect, aggregate, and report state…

A set of definitions are presented to create common cost and gift reporting standards for fund raisers and business officers at colleges, universities, and independent secondary schools. The objective is to bring clarity and consistency to the gift reporting process. In addition, the standards and management reports formats provide useful tools…