A study examining school contributions to community development collected data from five rural Australian communities via interviews with school and community members, documentation from school and community sources, and observation. Preliminary findings from two communities suggest that in both, the school was a key player in building and…

This report examines the relationship between philanthropy and public schools in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas served by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL). While begun as a project to build understanding and to support institutional planning, this report speaks also to local school leaders, the…

Workforce development organizations are more and more focused on achieving and documenting performance outcomes; yet managers frequently face a challenge getting buy-in from frontline staff about collecting and using data--not only to satisfy funders' needs but to improve services. "Good Stories Aren't Enough" looks at the experience and…

An approach to assessment is described that allows students to understand and help decide the criteria for good work. It is called "negotiable contracting." Negotiable contracting makes assessment a highly individualized process that recognizes the subtly different ways in which students master skills. Students and teachers jointly create a…

A model of educational policy development is reported that is democratic without being egalitarian. It provides a process for gathering information from all interested groups in a school district to construct a policy that is uniquely suited to that district. It was designed to help a small committee construct a teacher evaluation policy for a…

Surveys have repeatedly shown that vast numbers of young people are interested in and concerned about environmental issues. Good youth work is concerned with the interests of young people, so the idea of environmental youth work--taking a youth work approach to environmental education--is a logical development for both environmental and youth work…

In Taiwan, the moral curriculum has been part of the elementary school curriculum for decades. The 1993 edition of the Taiwan curriculum standard has a new subject titled "Morality and Health" that integrates previous "Life and Ethics" and "Healthy Education" subjects. This study explored the curriculum-development…

The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health created the School of the Future (SoF) project to enable selected Texas schools to coordinate and implement school-based social and health services on their campuses and to demonstrate the effectiveness of this method of service delivery by evaluating the project to show the process used and the outcomes that…

This analysis compared guideline markers, identified by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) to maximize participation of students with disabilities in educational assessments, with written guidelines of 43 states concerning participation, accommodations, and reporting. The NCEO markers were developed using an input and consensus…

This guide is designed for students and other individuals intending to live or study abroad and learn about another culture or cultures. These individuals are encouraged to acknowledge and come to terms with responses, particularly negative ones, to aspects of the culture they are visiting. An introductory chapter discusses the general process of…

This guide presents practice recommendations developed by a special Iowa study group as a result of change in 1995 from state-developed definition and eligibility criteria for learning disability to the definition and evaluation requirements of federal regulations. The recommendations focus on preferred practices in assessment, evaluation, and…

This digest summarizes the rights and responsibilities of parents of children in the special education process under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997. Among 15 rights listed are a free appropriate public education for every child, informed consent concerning evaluation and programmatic decisions, evaluation…

This study looked at teachers in their 2nd-4th years of teaching to compare their professional activities with what current studies indicate are teacher leadership behaviors and characteristics. The study sought to determine whether the University of Southern California's teacher preparation program taught the professional skills that elementary…

This book introduces preservice art educators to the power of art in creating meaning. Each chapter emphasizes different aspects of art education, identifies concepts and research, and outlines the advantages and challenges of making the suggested choices. Part 1, "Teacher as Choice Maker," includes two chapters. Chapter 1 invites…

This book offers philosophical and pedagogical background to help faculty and academic administrators integrate ethics into curricula. The volume suggests the most appropriate way is through instructor-guided discussion of ethical issues relevant to course objectives. The book demonstrates how providing ethical discussions of relevant ethical…