Researchers conducted focus groups in three Minnesota Head Start programs that provide full-day services. The purpose of this descriptive study was to understand how these programs operated, the strengths and challenges of full-day Head Start programs, and how working parents and those on public assistance described these services. Findings…

The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive review of research on employee absenteeism conducted on both educational and noneducational personnel. Although the report focuses primarily on the absences of educational employees, comparatively little research has been reported on this topic in the published educational literature.…

The 2007/2008 Parents of Children with Severe Special Needs Survey is conducted to obtain opinions from parents of children with severe special needs to assess their satisfaction with key areas of the education system. A random sample of 816 parents of children with severe special needs completed the survey. Severe special needs descriptions…

As online professional development courses for teachers have grown, the discussion forum has become a locus of considerable research. This study analyzes the discussion forums in four different sessions of a short (4-week) online course for teachers from six schools in three states. This study also compares four methodologies, all of which have a…

In Spring 2007, educators in 63 participating Ohio school districts across the state spoke out on working conditions in their schools by participating in a web-based survey that addressed key teaching and learning conditions related to time, empowerment, school leadership, professional development, and facilities and resources. This is the final…

An Internet tool for monitoring, personalized feedback and referral was developed to support routine adolescent preventive care and was compared with usual practice using paper and pencil (P&P). A total of 1071 students (average age 15 years) from seven secondary schools were randomly assigned to the Internet or P&P group. The Internet group…

In 1994, Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC), in North Carolina, conducted a survey of graduates from the 1991-92 and 1992-93 academic years who had subsequently enrolled in a four-year college and university to determine outcomes and assess graduates' satisfaction with the college, comparing findings with outcomes from previous years.…

In January 1995, the Maryland Association of Deans and Directors of Continuing Education/Community Services undertook a study of all state organizations that had received workforce training under contract arrangements during 1993-94. The study sought to develop a profile of organizations served, determine employer satisfaction with training, and…

In July 1993, Twin Lakes Technical College and North Arkansas Community College merged to form the North and South Campuses, respectively, of North Arkansas Community-Technical College (NACTC). A study was undertaken to compare the institutional climate for human resource development (HRD) at the two campuses to determine the effects, if any, of…

Organizations, with the help of human resource development (HRD) staff, must reexamine their objectives for future operations and the work force. Organizations with a focus on organizational development (OD) can provide meaningful work to employees and the organization itself. The OD framework consists of three units that must coexist as the major…

In fall 1992, a survey was conducted of two subgroups of students who had enrolled for less than six credits in one of the seven community colleges in the Twin Cities metro area of Minnesota during fall quarter 1990, and who had not re-enrolled as of fall quarter 1992. The two subgroups surveyed included those classified as "completers"…

In fall 1994, Westchester Community College (WCC), in New York, conducted a study of the 1,018 students who graduated in summer or fall 1993 or spring 1994 to determine educational and work-related outcomes and compare findings to outcomes for previous years' graduates. Study findings, based on responses from 436 (42.8%) of the graduates, included…

A practicum project involved the development and implementation of a program to increase the positive attitudes and knowledge of 15 members of a target group in a county sheriff's office and thereby increase the productive use of the computer information system (IS). The people involved were county law enforcement officers and support staff in a…

The primary aim of human-resource-development systems in companies is to improve organizational performance through satisfying the development needs of individual employees. This paper presents findings of a study that looked at how human-resource-development systems worked in practice, in particular, how performance management, selection,…

A study was conducted at the Trumbull Campus of Ohio's Kent State University (KSU) to gather data on the motivations and characteristics of students who transferred from the campus. A sample was developed from the 423 students who requested transcript forms in 1992 and 1993, as well as 50 students identified as having transferred to KSU's Kent…