Emphasizing the importance of the family in education, this book presents a sampling of strategies for fostering a strong parent-teacher-community partnership. The first chapter discusses the need for parent and community involvement; lists strategies to help administrators, teachers, and parent and community leaders in working with one another;…

Providing traditional knowledge and skills, the Colorado Outward Bound School (COBS) program has developed its program around a training phase, an expedition, solo, final expedition, and concluding phase. Intended to be an experiential learning experience that encourages students to become involved in exploring new or unusual areas of their lives,…

This evaluation report is a description of an English as a Second Language (ESL) program for non English speaking disadvantaged students whose ability to read and write in their native tongue or English was not adequate to permit school success. The program was funded under the Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I. The purpose of the program…

Major findings, interpretations, and policy recommendations developed from a national, in-depth evaluation of the National Diffusion Network (NDN) are presented. Features of the NDN approach to the dissemination of educational innovation include: local change as a goal, use of specialized change agents, emphasis on interpersonal tactics to effect…

The development and testing of an instrument used to measure the five major societal functions of schooling are described. These functions, as defined by William Spady, include: custody or control over students, course selection, student evaluation and certification, instructional processes, and socialization. The following sequence of events took…

Part of a system by which local education agency (LEA) personnel may evaluate secondary and postsecondary vocational education programs, this third of eight components focuses on assessment of student career interests. Procedures covered include determination of the student population to be surveyed, selection of the instrument, and discrepancy…

Part of a system by which local education agency (LEA) personnel may evaluate secondary and postsecondary vocational education programs, this seventh of eight components focuses on evaluation of vocational education teachers. The activities suggested are designed primarily to aid the teacher in identifying and correcting individual weaknesses. A…

The purpose of the project was to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of those rehabilitation facilities which were utilized by the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission (RSC) through the development, installation, and utilization of a program evaluation system and a management information system. The two systems were developed and…

The Tex-SIS Follow-up system Employer Follow-up Survey involved four Texas community colleges, providing a statewide composite of employer data on the competency of occupational/technical graduates. The mailing list for prospective survey participants was derived from occupational/technical graduates' responses to a survey conducted in 1975-76. A…

Project "Freestyle" involved the development of prototypical television materials and a comic book intended to combat sex-role stereotyping in career-related attitudes of nine to twelve-year-old children. At various times during the early developmental stages of "Freestyle" materials, "ad hoc fast-turn-around" formative evaluations were conducted.…

A study of seven school districts in Florida indicates that factors associated with large scale, area-wide desegregation stir negative sentiments among parents. These negative sentiments have relatively little influence over behavior but apparently undercut attitudinal support for school desegregation. Parents in the seven school districts can be…

Issues associated with the evaluation of 61 educational curriculum units, which was conducted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) are described. The units were adapted to the AIR Career Education Curriculum framework by creating 133 instructional units within which students could develop career skills in an orderly sequence. The…

In a report on leadership research for the U.S. Army, three papers dealing with soft skills analysis and training are presented. "What Are Soft Skills?" describes a questionnaire designed to clarify the terms "hard" and "soft" skills. Soft skills are defined as important job-related skills that involve little or no…

Representative programs and new approaches to foreign language education in the elementary school (grades K-8) are identified. Included is a review of foreign languages in emerging adolescent education, or programs for students in grades 5-8 or 6-8 that are housed in a middle or junior high school. A discussion is presented of major curriculum…

The language of the deaf has only recently become an area of concern for linguists. Of special interest are questions of the systematicity of deaf speech (is it systematic or idiosyncratic and none-rule-governed?) and the nature of its deviation from the speech of hearing people. The study presented here is an effort on the part of linguists,…