This document contains six presentations given at a conference that served as a forum for the discussion of the ideas and experiences of a variety of experts in adult and continuing education. The presentations are: "Intrastate Networks: Opportunities and Issues for Continuing Education" (panel discussion--Lorraine A. Cavaliere, Carol L.…

School reform efforts today have a personal focus that emphasizes attending to the problems faced by individual at-risk students. After outlining the impact of student dropouts, this document uses information from a review of 150 at-risk student programs described in related professional literature to describe six basic weaknesses in current…

Much of the computer software currently available for English teachers fails to assess adequately computer strengths and weaknesses. Labeled "wimpy software," these products are often little more than animated textbooks whose lesson formats exercise little higher-order reasoning. The future for good quality software, therefore, rests with English…

The study involved an attempt to promote use of evaluation data in compensatory education through a technical assistance effort at the state education agencies (SEA) level. It included a secondary analysis of Hawaiian Title I longitudinal data and dissemination of findings through a series of consultations with evaluation and program personnel at…

Recommendations are made for improving teacher education starting with internal reform on the part of individual schools of education. It is pointed out that institutions, acting independently and comparing their programs in a realistic way with similar programs in other schools, can identify weaknesses and are in a position to rectify them. An…

The evaluation of teacher inservice education programs is discussed. Evaluation of an inservice program is aimed at answering questions about the program's effectiveness and providing a description of the impact the experience has on the participants. Curriculum evaluation should be concerned with four kinds of decisions: (1) planning; (2)…

This monograph describes and evaluates state initiatives dealing with displaced workers. These initiatives include the provision of programs to retain jobs and encourage economic development, as well as reemployment assistance provided directly to workers in the form of retraining programs and job search workshops. The focus is on more innovative…

This special issue of the "Courier" has been produced to mark the beginning of International Literacy Year 1990. It brings together papers from adult educators involved in literacy work about who needs literacy and why, what literacy is, who can help in creating the right conditions for literacy to succeed, and how to evaluate literacy…

An examination of the reasons for the gap between academic and vocational courses of study in secondary schools showed problems in the basic competencies of vocational completers and proposed strategies for improving them. The following issues were identified: (1) presently, there is no such thing as a vocational program of studies in the average…

Data were collected on guidance and counseling programs and guidance personnel in Nevada schools. Questionnaires were mailed to all 309 practicing school counselors in Nevada; the response rate was 72%. Guidance counselors in Nevada were primarily female, Caucasian, and middle-aged. Mean number of years as a counselor was 9 years, and most…

Among the suggestions that have been put forward to increase the collaboration between the business sector and educational institutions as a means for accomplishing program improvement are supporting the existing system where the schools are generally healthy, fostering innovative change, and working for major structural reforms in the system.…

This document reports the findings of the 1989-90 process evaluation of the Saginaw, Michigan school district's state-funded prekindergarten program for 4-year-olds at risk of academic failure. As of January 29, 1990, a total of 255 pupils were participating in the program at 11 sites. The Michigan Early Childhood Education Preschool (MECEP)…

This guide was developed to provide local policymakers and program managers with an approach for using performance standards as a tool for reviewing and improving performance of Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) programs at the local level. The guide is keyed to the Program Year (PY) 1990 U.S. Department of Labor adjustment methodology for…

The second of five volumes of a report on instructional programs for handicapped children and youth in day and residential facilities, this document describes methodologies and results of the first of four components of the study, a national survey of separate facilities for handicapped children and youth which yielded responses from 1,315 day…

Features contributing to the success of six city-wide, comprehensive school-age program models are highlighted. Models are Seattle, Washington's Community Partnerships for School-Age Child Care; Madison, Wisconsin's School-Age Child Care Project; Irvine, California's Irvine Child Care Project; Houston, Texas' After-School Partnership; Los Angeles,…