On the premise that hearing other preschool teachers talk about their challenges in creating inclusive settings is a powerful impetus to reflect about one's own teaching practice, this book contains personal narratives by 18 teachers about their journeys toward inclusive, developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood education. The…

This report is the inaugural edition of a triennial profile of the condition of North Carolina's youngest population (age birth through 5 years), the target population for the state's "Smart Start" program. Part 1 of the report details the needs of young children in the state by means of state and county-by-county data. Part 2 presents…

This book contains seven papers from a conference on lifelong learning and creation of a new training culture for Australia. "Promoting a Training Culture in Industry" (Chris Robinson) discusses the extent to which a training culture exists in Australia. The results of a 1997 survey of Australian employers' satisfaction with vocational…

The first of the four papers in this symposium, "Re-conceptualizing Marsick and Watkins' Model of Informal and Incidental Learning in the Workplace" (Maria Cseh, Karen E. Watkins, Victoria J. Marsick) describes the use of a revised model to encompass the learning perspectives of small business owner-managers who work in the volatile…

The first of the three papers in this symposium, "Conflicts that Arise in Small Group Facilitation: A Descriptive Study of Accounts, Actions, Outcomes, and Assessments" (Judith A. Kolb, William J. Rothwell), contains self-report verbatim accounts contributed by facilitators and the results of a literature review on small group conflict.…

Outlined are factors in effective instruction for linguistically diverse students in the public schools, particularly when those students are not enrolled in English-as-a-Second-Language or bilingual education programs but are integrated with English-proficient students in the regular classroom. The term "mainstreaming" is defined as it is applied…

This report explores the diverse ways that libraries are currently supporting distance learning, both in its traditional and newer Internet-based forms. Based on interviews with administrators and staff, the following "Reports from the Field" reflect developments in public institutions: "UNET (University of Maine System Network)…

Research on quality assurance (QA) in vocational education and training (VET) in Australia over the past 6 years was reviewed. Three factors responsible for growing interest in QA were identified: close connections with industry sectors that have gained from the introduction of QA measures; the more competitive training market that has been…

Australia's personal and other services industry is the sixth smallest of the 17 industry divisions in numbers employed. The industry, a collection of quite diverse businesses and services in the public and private sectors, has three subdivisions: personal services, other services, and private households employing staff. The employment level has…

The use of demand-side financing mechanisms and vouchers for postcompulsory secondary-level education was examined through case studies of funding practices in the following countries: Austria; France; the United Kingdom; the United States; and Wallonia (the French community of Belgium). Different models of voucher use were identified in the…

Data derived from "Raising Quality and Achievement" development projects, started in 1999 in more than 80 colleges in England led to conclusions about successful strategies to raise achievement and improve retention and about the meaning of college improvement. The projects were described in the form of case studies. A number of…

As part of the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) Evaluation Collaboration, responses from extension professionals in 42 states and territories to the 74-item Organizational Change Survey were analyzed. Overall trends in the discrepancy between the current and ideal status of extension as indicated by all state discrepancy scores in all…

This study reports on the results of a mail questionnaire administered to 25 tribal community college libraries in 1999, 6 years after "Pathways to Excellence: A Report on Improving Library and Information Services for Native American Peoples" was released. Data obtained from nine respondents, representing 36% of those surveyed, provided…

This document reports on a study of employer-linked charter schools that included case studies of 9 of the more than 70 employer-linked charter schools currently in operation across the United States. Section 1 is an overview of employer-linked charter schools' key elements and unique features. Topics examined include the following: vision of…

This publication contains workshop papers which discuss the link between the labor market and vocational training. Part I provides an overview of the workshop--its objectives, issues, and conclusions. Part II consists of seven country papers. "Labour Market Information (LMI) and Vocational Training Decision-Making in Hungary" (Lazar)…