This refugee alert bulletin provides information relevant to Indochinese refugees in the United States. General news of the Indochinese Clearinghouse is provided, along with a partial list of the addresses and phone numbers of refugee assistance centers. Also listed are Vietnamese language publications, mostly journals and newspapers, available…

The New York State Council for Social Studies committee developed a rationale and set of specific criteria that social studies teachers should demonstrate for certification. The rationale behind the criteria is that it makes social studies teachers a more professional group and provides for the highest caliber of teacher. Each teacher is screened…

This document describes a data processing system now being implemented that is designed to provide rapid retrieval of information concerning a certificate holder's status. A brief history of past and present methods of teacher certification processing is included. These methods are then compared to the system currently being implemented. The new…

Title VII and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines on discrimination in employment are not always the basis for court decisions in individual cases where intent to discriminate is challenged. A number of employment discrimination cases over the last decade have invalidated employee selection practices of local school boards…

Technical advances of the last 15 years in measurement theory and practice are described, notably criterion-referenced testing, item response theory, and computers and testing. Several remaining problems concerning the development and validation of credentialing examinations are also considered. (Author/LMO)

Analyzes obstacles facing multicultural/bilingual teacher education reform in the context of California's Crosscultural Language and Academic Development (CLAD) or Bilingual Crosscultural Language and Academic Development (BCLAD) programs, which try to translate theoretical frameworks concerned with cultural difference into credentialing policy.…

Presents data on recruitment and selection practices in the field of teaching in California and Wyoming. Questionnaires examined the perspectives of 271 administrators and 264 recent graduates of teacher education programs who are employed as teachers. Suggestions for preparing students for the recruitment and selection process are presented. (SM)

Advanced Placement social studies courses are being used more and more to improve the credentials of college applicants. Those teaching these courses are under increasing pressure from parents and school administrators to allow more and more students to take the AP courses and to improve the AP scores of students. The present standards movement…

Healthy Families America is a national, voluntary, home visiting program model designed to help expectant and new parents get their children off to a safe and healthy start. Since 1992, it has been successfully replicated in over 440 communities in the U.S. and Canada. This article describes the program's reflective, relationship-based model and…

In the continuing effort to raise the academic performance of public schools, improving teacher retention could be an important strategy for California. Keeping new teachers in the classroom could improve academic performance, because experienced teachers are, on average, more effective at raising student test scores. Better retention of teachers…

In September 1998, the California State Legislature passed SB 2042, legislation that authorized the reform of teacher recruitment, certification, and licensing in the state. Its provisions are unique in that they represent the first time in California's history that almost all of the standards dealing with teacher preparation and induction were…

The National Record of Achievement (NRA) is a standard folder containing information sheets that allow individuals in the United Kingdom (U.K.) to summarize their achievements and manage their learning and development in a nationally recognized format. Employer awareness and use of NRAs was examined through a telephone survey of 487 U.K. employers…

Britain's National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are work qualifications that measure what an employee or potential employee can do as well as how much he or she knows and understands about a particular job. Used as written proof of usable workplace skills that can be put to profitable use by an employer, NVQs range from basic Level 1, for…

This document presents literature review findings that provide background information on the director credentialing effort. Findings show that the director's role is essential to program quality and that director experience correlates with quality for children and their families. Research suggests training needs and the competencies or attributes…

This trends and issues paper considers the emerging presence of credentialing programs in the health, leisure, and movement professions in which such diverse occupations as health education teachers, aerobics instructors, exercise physiologists, dance therapists, community park managers, intramural directors, and military fitness instructors are…