The nature and timing of decisions regarding the diffusion of new instructional materials and practices are critical to the ultimate utility achieved by a curriculum project. This publication is a collection of five conference papers which deal with various aspects of diffusion of innovative materials and ideas. Everett M. Rogers discusses two…

In this working paper of the National Seminar on the Diffusion of New Instructional Materials and Practices individual conference participants answer this question: What are the characteristics of educational products that make them more or less likely to be diffused? Responses focus on considerations related to size of the product, cost,…

The community power structure in the small rural community is examined in terms of how social power is obtained. Also reviewed are methods employed in identifying the power holders in a community, the political nature of the school, the role of the superintendent, and political ties of school administrators with respect to educational…

Communication researchers have studied the role of the change agent -- the professional helper who stimulates change at the individual, group, organizational, or community level. Few recognize, however, that the change agent is a member of a formal organization whose norms and values often diverge from those of the clientele system. This paper…

No educational program, however well designed, will be successful unless it is effectively implemented. This is just as true of "traditional" programs as of innovative or changed programs that are newly introduced in a school system. Very often, what a school system should undertake is improving the implementation of traditional programs rather…

This paper presents some principles related to the process of curriculum development, evaluation, and implementation. It introduces the concepts of balance and relevance as criteria for judging the adequacy of an educational programme and presents a model for generating and selecting educational objectives. It then describes two functions of…

The departure of children from foster care, the demography of foster children, the number of moves in foster care, and other foster care status changes, including adoption and hospitalization, are analyzed in a 5-year longitudinal study of 624 children, from infancy to 12 years of age, who entered foster care in New York City in 1966. (BRT)

A survey of development and information practices in alternative schools in New England revealed that staffs draw heavily from human resources within their local communities to initiate and sustain school operations; as the schools mature, staffs rely more on each other for new information about education. (Author/SJL)

Primary school children at different stages of acquisition of conservation pretended that their judgments on a series of conservation problems were the opposite of their actual beliefs. The nonconservers and transitional conservers made significant gains in conservation, while the conservers did not regress. Cognitive dissonance training is…

Discusses the successful introduction, present status, and future outlook of computer output microfilm (COM) catalogues at the University of Guelph Library. A description of the local circumstances and environment includes the user community, library organization, choice of format and other COM characteristics, environmental determinants for…

A 2-year sequence in creative problem solving for college students had no significant effect on memory or evaluation operations, but significantly improved divergent production, convergent production, and cognition. The data support a multidimensional analysis of creativity, involving idea finding, knowing, judging, and implementing ideas.…

An analysis of this study data and a review of other relevant studies indicate that the assumptions underlying the prevailing change strategies of state and federal authorities are often poorly in tune with the social and political realities of depressed rural communities. (Author/IRT)

Phase one of a study of Virginia secondary vocational teachers examined variables in personal characteristics of 202 vocational teachers for proneness toward adoption of educational innovations. Phase two looked at a subsample of thirty-nine home economics teachers for group similarities. Results of cluster analysis and implications for the…

A panel on technology transfer considered ways in which educational instructions and industry could share attempts to innovate. Examples of technology transfer in action included Pennsylvania's Ben Franklin Partnership, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's program, and NASA's Technology Utilization Division. Results of an Appalachian Regional study…

This review summarizes research findings on teacher receptivity to the implementation of changes in the educational system. Models of implementing change should include variables of teacher attitude and appraisal of change and perceived expectations and beliefs about educational issues. (SLD)