The reflections of two social scientists regarding an inservice education program for elementary school teachers were the basis of their approach to inservice programs: Teachers need to have analytical and inquiry skills that will allow them to read research reports and listen to inservice presentations, digest the information, and then apply what…

This report contains highlights of findings and major conclusions of a task force investigating the impact of research, development, and field activities of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). The various data gathering activities and their results are summarized in Section A. Data collection efforts involved questionnaires sent…

After several lengthy evaluations of California's Early Childhood Education (ECE) program proved inadequate, unhappy legislators and educators finally found satisfaction in a brief, mimeographed report. Several factors were responsible for the success of this new evaluation, the "Interim Report on the Special Study of Selected ECE Schools…

The National Diffusion Network (NDN) has, since 1974, disseminated information about exemplary elementary and secondary programs, processes, and projects. State facilitators, usually based in the state education agencies, perform coordinating and brokering roles in program development. Programs are validated by the Joint Dissemination and Review…

To determine whether the content of the Appalachia Educational Laboratory's (AEL) Regional Exchange, which is published as a regional insert to a quarterly magazine entitled the Educational R&D Report, is geared to its target audiences, a content analysis was conducted on five of the AEL inserts. The research questions formulated for the…

A change strategy, known as "systematic ad hocism," is based on three assumptions: (1) A concentration on individual teacher concerns as a first step in the change process is justifiable; (2) Encouragement of dialogue among teachers who have taken individual actions leads to collaborative actions and provides bases for organizational…

This study examined the perceptions of 105 teachers regarding research-on-teaching findings as a resource for instructional improvement. The teachers filled out a 40-item, Likert-scale questionnaire about their perceptions. Teachers value research findings that focus on classroom instruction and think that the findings have practical classroom…

To remedy the lack of well-planned developmental listening programs and adequate listening instruction in New Zealand schools, the New Zealand Council for Educational Research has produced this research-based teacher guide. The following materials are included: objectives for the reading program, including seven characteristics of a good listener;…

Major papers presented at the Conference on Research Utilization in Social Work Education are compiled in this sourcebook. The conference focused on six topics that reviewed the state of the art of research utilization and suggested directions for the future. The papers included are: Understanding Research Utilization in Social Work (Stuart A.…

Teacher Corps research adaptation projects were linked together as an experiment to determine the processes and problems of applying validated research to the needs of public schools and teacher training institutions. Various papers report the degree of change on populations and institutions caused by the projects. Section one addresses the…

A study was conducted to determine how a representative sample of Iowa elementary school teachers viewed a number of research-supported and nonsupported teaching procedures in spelling. In addition, the study was designed to ascertain the degree to which this representative sample of teachers was utilizing or not utilizing selected…

The Consumer Information Center is a federal program which encourages federal agencies to develop and release consumer information to the public. It also promotes consumer awareness and access to information through the "Consumer Information Catalog" and a mail order distribution operation. Through research, the Center can learn the…

A review of literature indicates that schools with effective reading programs tend to have common characteristics, such as a strong commitment to improved reading; a competent teaching and administrative staff; clearly defined objectives; a structured, intensified program; adequate assessment techniques; a variety of materials; and parental…

Evaluations by school district research and evaluation units have minimal impact, because they do not meet the realities of school district decision making. School districts are loosely coupled systems that do not respond to centralized planning or evaluations, particularly if findings are unfavorable. To maximize utilization of their findings,…

Part 1 of a three-part volume for research and development (R & D) systems researchers, this report attempts to provide a basic understanding of the process of contextual analysis for research, development, and innovation. The term "research development and innovation" (RD & I) is used to describe the total process of innovation…