Under the Idaho state system for curriculum development in vocational education, Technical Committees made up solely of industry personnel are responsible for drawing up task lists for each program. Accordingly, a task list for dental assistants was drawn up and used as a basis for revising the curriculum guide for fundamentals of dental assisting…

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority was established to develop a consistent approach to the recognition of academic and vocational qualifications. The National Qualifications Framework was designed following surveys of a number of sectors: universities, colleges of education, polytechnics, private training firms, schools, businesses, unions,…

This document presents a "Quality Program Indicators Checklist" developed with the goal of program improvement in classrooms for students in Kentucky with moderate and severe handicaps. The checklist evaluates program effectiveness in six component areas: (1) integration (interaction opportunities and teacher behaviors supportive of…

New Jersey has taken steps to improve vocational education programs and services in response to two state reports and the measurement and evaluation requirements of the reauthorized Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-392). Among state initiatives is the Occupational Competency Project, a study of 100…

A national needs assessment of 719 educational and adult service agencies providing or proposing to provide transitional services to individuals with deaf-blindness was conducted to determine national and regional technical assistance needs. On average, each agency expressed a need for technical assistance in 20 separate areas. In the area of…

Murray State University (Kentucky) has approached the internationalization of the business curriculum by creating a bachelor of arts degree program requiring 2 years of foreign language study. To assess the program's overall success, three student surveys were undertaken. The first polled entering freshman business students in fall 1990 about…

A study was done to determine whether there were notable differences in the characteristics of Hispanic American students who completed the baccalaureate degree at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University as compared to Hispanic American students who enrolled but did not complete the baccalaureate degree. The study examined…

In 1991, the Washington State Board for Community College Education conducted a study to determine the strengths and shortcomings of Washington community colleges' efforts to provide upgrading and retraining for employed workers. Data were derived from four separate studies conducted in 1990, including a survey of 1,151 employed students at eight…

Designed to promote discourse on teaching, learning, and professional development, this spring 1992 issue of Massachusetts Bay Community College's (MBCC's) "Educational Forum" documents modes of inquiry and faculty development activities that MBCC has found promising. The following articles are contained in the issue: (1) "Education Through…

The Department of Developmental Education (DDE) at Peirce Junior College (PJC) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, serves a student population that is 56% minority, 85% first-generation college students, and 80% academically underprepared. In an effort to improve academic and counseling services to PJC's educationally disadvantaged students, a tutorial…

The Water and Molecular Networks (WAMNet) Project uses graduate student written Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) computer simulations of the molecular structure of water to assist high school students learn about the nature of water. This study examined: (1) preconceptions concerning the molecular structure of water common among high…

The Montana school accreditation requirements require that school districts begin a curriculum development process in 1991. A plan for student assessment is required to follow curriculum development in each program area. The guidelines in this document should facilitate the cooperative efforts of teachers, curriculum departments, administrators,…

As part of a 3-year study of the implementation of the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Program, front-line workers were surveyed in all 10 states and in 29 of 30 sites included in the overall study. Their perceptions of the agencies' organizational environments suggested a rather lukewarm agency context for implementing JOBS. Workers…

This 3-year follow-up report describes actions taken by the Illinois Council on Vocational Education (ICoVE) during 1989, 1990, and 1991. It addresses the 31 suggestions and 23 recommendations of 5 technical reports (spanning 1987 and 1988) related to coordination. Recommendations from 1987-88 and follow-up actions are reported on the following…

This guide to early intervention services under Part H of Public Law 101-476 (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) is intended to aid state legislators who have the primary responsibility to create and shape programs under this Act. Three aspects of Part H legislation are stressed: (1) requirement of unprecedented coordination among…