The author suggests that we need to build national systems which allow any school district to plug into the most sophisticated sources of information in such a way that they get knowledge and materials which are relevant and timely and truly cost beneficial." (Author/AK)

The Matthew Effect occurs when scientists receive differential recognition for a particular scientific contribution depending on their location in the stratification system. Merton orginally introduced the concept to explain the allocation of credit among authors of multiple discoveries or collaborators. In this paper the concept is generalized to…

Using Rokeach's Dogmatism Scale and an Adoption Attitude Scale administered to 113 college students study supports hypothesis that among males dogmatism and intolerance toward areas relating to adoption would be positively correlated. Negative correlation for females suggests that emphasis on maternal role makes adoption attitudes exception to…

Results of an educational innovation study, which related the degree of dissemination effort to the nature of the innovation itself, reveal a positive relationship between the diffusability index (rating methodology) and selected indicators of the actual dissemination (i.e., number of times articles apppear in newsapers, journals). Three…

Discusses selected sociological barriers to achieving collective adoption of natural resource conservation and development projects in rural areas of developing nations. Suggests collective adoption of innovation is an important component of rural development strategies, especially in poorer strata. (AH)

The concept of Stages of Concern about the Innovation (SoC) deals with the psychological orientation of both users and nonusers toward an innovation. This article describes the SoC concept and highlights illustrative research findings. Interventions hypothesized as potentially appropriate and implications for the change process are discussed.…

Attractive features of the videodisc, a storage medium of digital and visual information, include large storage capacity, low cost, rapid access, and ease of duplication. Widespread adoption of the videodisc will be determined by availability of appropriate software and funding, and public demand and perceptions about its advantages over other…

Provides 10 guidelines to follow in implementing a competency-based curriculum. The guidelines include not imposing the program from above, matching measurement devices to instructional goals, stimulating student support of the program, and allowing for easy adjustment of competency measures. (IRT)

Reports on what researchers discovered in their study of five urban school districts that were labeled "innovative." Provides a conceptual framework that takes into account five factors that seemed critical to a district's success or failure in implementing change. (Author/IRT)

Major theories of attitude change are explained: stimulus-response and reinforcement theory, functional theory, social judgment theory, and consistency theory. These theories are applied to the problems of influencing staff toward implementing a program of moral education. (Author/SJL)

Before jumping on the minimum competency bandwagon, school board members should make sure they understand what is involved in setting up minimum competency standards, consider pooling resources with other boards, involve teachers early in the planning, keep the public informed, and not expect successful programs to develop overnight. (Author/IRT)

As adoptions have increased, they have become less concentrated among women unable to bear children, although these women are still more likely to adopt than are fertile women. About 4 percent of American women have adopted a child by the time they are 45 years old. (Author)

Data gathered through telephone interviews with Illinois farmers are used to study the adoption of soil conservation practices (operationalization of environmental innovation) and commercial practices. (NQ)

Discusses a plan to evaluate student performance in the public schools of Mississippi. The plan is concerned with needs, goals and priorities, objectives, implementation, and evaluation. (Author/IRT)