Quality circles (QCs) are small volunteer groups of workers who meet weekly with a trained leader operating to a strict code of conduct. They use techniques of brainstorming, cause and effect classification, pareto analysis, and presentation to consider work-related problems and recommend solutions to management. QCs have been tried in educational…

Beginning in the mid-1960s, thousands of small alternative schools sprang up across the United States and Canada. These schools varied widely in programs and policies, but common factors among them were a disenchantment with conventional schooling, a desire to reform education, and (frequently) the belief that schools should be controlled by the…

At College of DuPage (CD), in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, institutional planning is a multi-level, on-going process involving continuous college-wide input. The nine schematic levels in the CD planning process are interconnected and progress from global and broad-based issues, answering such questions as why the college exists, to concrete levels…

This resource guide focuses on handling library materials that are too deteriorated to benefit from other preservation treatments. Hopeless case items, that would require an unreasonable amount of conservation work to fix, can be resolved through a process of reselecting items by replacing them or reformatting them. The reselection integrates…

The relationship between scores on the American College Test (ACT) and grade point averages of first-time college freshmen after the first year of study was investigated by correlating ACT composite scores and grade point averages (GPAs). ACT scores and GPAs were obtained for 100 first-time freshmen at an urban state university in Illinois. There…

This paper examines how selected program characteristics and attributes of key players affected two school-university collaborative efforts, and how funded grants created the need for collaborative linkages between schools and universities with little or no prior experience in joint efforts. Two programs (an alternative certification program and a…

The methodology developed for the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications' evaluation of the "New Pathways to a Degree" projects funded by the Annenberg/CPB Project is described. This methodology provides an approach for conducting a valid, reliable evaluation effort that is sensitive to specific institutional issues and…

In response to problems with the cyclical model of program review and reduced state and county funding, Burlington County College (BCC), in New Jersey, implemented a comprehensive analysis process to holistically assess program performance and resource allocation. First, program review goals were established and the major programs/services at BCC…

The Student Achievement Accountability Committee (SAAC) of the San Diego (California) City Schools was formed to make recommendations concerning accountability in relation to the district's objective of closing the student achievement gap. The SAAC was formed in 1990 with representation from school administrators, parents, and teachers. The SAAC…

In response to the legislative mandate and the increasing need for timely and high-quality data by policymakers at various levels, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has initiated a number of actions, programs, and surveys to improve the amount and quality of education information. To improve the relevance of data, the NCES has…

Constructivist epistemologies have been instrumental in recent research on mathematics learning and have provided a basis for recent mathematics education reform efforts. Although constructivism has the potential to inform changes in mathematics teaching, it offers no particular vision of how mathematics should be taught; models of teaching based…

A project was conducted to examine the impact of vocational education and training (VET) research on decision making in VET in Australia. Data were collected from the following: a literature review; a symposium attended by state-, territory-, and national-level VET policymakers and planners and VET providers; semistructured telephone interviews…

This manual is designed to give public library trustees basic information on the structure of library service in Michigan, with emphasis on the trustees' major areas of responsibility, in order to help trustees understand and fulfill their obligations. In particular, the "Action Checklist" at the end of each chapter is designed to assist…

Based on the success of the Fourth World Conference on Women, the National Women's Education Centre of Japan planned and carried out the 1995 International Forum on Intercultural Exchange to search for an up-to-date understanding of the problems of women and ways to solve them and to develop a network of already existing groups. This Forum focused…

Through the Jail to Job Phase II project, the Erie Adult Learning Center provided inmates of the Erie County Prison with employability skills, decision making, problem solving, survival skills, and anger management education. Forty soon-to-be-released inmates participated in 37 hours of class. Prison staff, in concert with the instructor, selected…