This descriptive study attempted to identify those factors that college students with disabilities view as important to their academic success. Thirty-six college students with disabilities (in the areas of mobility, vision, hearing, and learning) were individually interviewed concerning: (1) demographic information, (2) beliefs about academic…

This document reports the outcomes of a series of meetings held in Florida to provide an overview of modified occupational completion points (MOCPs), to share examples of successful district practices, and to develop plans for implementing MOCPs in the state. Part 1 explains that MOCPs are student performance standards adapted for use with…

Title I of the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) of 1994 provides funds for schools with large concentrations of children from low-income families. A fundamental requirement is that children served by Title I funds must be educated according to the same academic standards as all other students. This handbook focuses on methods for developing…

This report presents a summary of activities, findings, and recommendations from Phase I of a project to improve the effectiveness of academic health science libraries and their provision of information services. The objectives for Phase I of the project are given: (1) to identify academic health science library requirements in the areas of…

Information was gathered about how Technical and Further Education (TAFE) agencies throughout Australia were implementing and using performance indicators. The context of TAFE's perceived mission and corporate goals were considered. A history of the development of national performance indicators in TAFE was compiled. The project drew heavily on…

This study used a triangulated methodology involving ethnographic interviews, opinionnaires, and rank ordering of student concerns to discover variables that impacted student teachers as they passed through developmental stages. Data collected from interviews with five elementary student teachers were used to discover a developmental theory of…

A 3-year action research study was conducted by the Spirit River School Division in northwestern Alberta to develop and validate a set of indicators to assess teacher effectiveness in a formative process. Focusing on professional development and staff inservice, the Educational Quality Indicators Project (EQI) sought to determine if the 26…

This report provides research-based answers to questions facing families of young, gifted children. Questions include: (1) "what does "giftedness" mean in a very young child?"; (2) "how does one know whether a child is gifted?"; (3) "should my young child be tested?"; (4) "how do adults promote the development of gifted children?"; (5) "does a…

This study presents findings from the second phase of a longitudinal study of teacher education, based on interviews with 105 students in their second year of training at three colleges of education (Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch) in New Zealand. The study investigated students' perceptions of their second year of training, their…

This report examines and compares early career decisions, initial and 1981 employment, professional activities, and post-graduate education of new, non-traditional engineering graduates (women, Hispanics, Blacks) with their traditional peers. About one-half of the 6,000 surveys mailed to a sample of these engineering graduates (N=1720 men and 1080…

A 1977 study of education assistants' linking role in the University of Missouri's Small Farm Family Program (intended to favor small farmers in providing extension information) focused on conditions influencing ability of education assistants to serve as University information-user system linkers on behalf of small farmers. All Missouri education…

Research shows that teachers are the single most important factor in student learning in schools. Students who have access to highly qualified teachers achieve at a higher rate, regardless of other factors. Teachers to be highly qualified must be well prepared, especially in improving the quality of education facing global challenges. For this…

Potential influences on the student teaching experience relate to the characteristics of the placement site, the supervision of the student teacher, the requirements of the program, and the abilities of the student teacher. This study of the ecological factors that influence a student teacher's development examined the evolution of student…

This descriptive, longitudinal study investigated the emergent literacy skills of 45 children 4 and 5 years of age who were enrolled in an enrichment program for the gifted and talented. In two 10-week sessions conducted in subsequent years, children were requested to write a story and then read it aloud. Of central interest were four questions:…

The effectiveness of a state-mandated set of at-risk criteria to predict which students are likely to become dropouts is evaluated in this study of the Austin Independent School District (AISD). Descriptions of the district information delivery system, state criteria, and criteria operationalization are provided. Discriminant function analysis…