Having staff complete a self-assessment of their own early childhood program using a quality rating instrument is a well-established practice included in national early childhood accreditation programs as well as in state Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS). It is assumed that by conducting a self-assessment before the official…

The purpose of this statewide study is to assess the perceived improvements made to programs that are offered at Career and Technical Education Centers from the perspective of vocational administrators and teachers following the Bureau of Career and Technical Education conduction of an Approved Program Evaluation. The Pennsylvania Bureau of Career…

Vocational rehabilitation (VR) professionals are critical partners in the transition process for students with disabilities; therefore, they are required to develop transition service delivery proficiencies. VR professional perceptions of transition competencies are seldom examined due to the perception that transition falls mainly on school-based…

This paper provides a brief overview of the status of retention and completion efforts among community colleges in the United States. This article identifies a number of successful strategies utilized in on-ground institutions that may translate well to online programs. In light of these successes, the article questions whether the costly current…

For too many years the phrase "after care, an after thought" summed up the lack of attention given to preparing young people in care for adult life and to the development of leaving-care and aftercare services. That stance has changed in the United Kingdom, however, and indeed has shifted positively and dramatically over the last decade.…

This investigation examined the value of using a multimethod-multisource approach to assess high-technology training systems. The research strategy was utilized to provide empirical information on the instructional effectiveness of the Reserve Component Virtual Training Program (RCVTP), which was developed to improve the training of Army National…

This publication presents a consolidated national picture of activity in recreation, leisure, and personal enrichment programs in Australia. It also details highlights, key features, and characteristics of activity in personal enrichment programs in 1996. Information has been collected from two main training provider groups: adult community…

Teachers' professional improvement programs mustbe individualized according to the teacher's self-assessment of the problem and provide for self-involvement in the improvement process. (MW)

This report supplements the final evaluation of the State Dissemination Grants Program (SDGP), a major initiative within the mission of the National Institute of Education to assist state educational agencies in implementing, strengthening, and institutionalizing dissemination services that improve educational practice and equity. A substudy was…

Professional development activities at Glenville State College, a small West Virginia liberal arts college, are discussed. The college's professional development committee awards funds for speakers/scholars, on-campus workshops, grants, professional meetings and conferences, and advanced study. A minimum of 20% of the 1987 funds will be committed…

The role of state government in improving the quality of undergraduate education and the impact of related state actions on colleges are discussed. The background of state interest in quality is reviewed. Four forces accounting for state interest in the quality of higher education are identified: a spillover from concern about quality in…

Using suggested guidelines for the improvement of inservice programs benefits," the process of the school evaluation was viewed as a form of staff education program was designed. In lieu of the idea that "team based problem solving can give individual teachers significant staff development benefits," the process of the school evaluation was viewed…

This beginning teacher program is a combination of a support and training program for first-year teachers in 12 school districts in Kansas. Participation is required and the program features regular meetings with the building principal, a year-long, performance-based skill training program, and a set of performance tasks which ask the beginning…

A school-based intervention, Changing Teacher Practice (CPT), was developed to teach school leaders, principals, and resource leaders what research has discovered to be effective teaching and effective staff development. CTP was designed to determine if research findings could be used to improve practice and whether practitioners in a school…

A discussion is presented of the work of the Educational Renewal Consortium, a national network for renewal in higher education and the public schools. The foremost characteristic of renewing institutions is recognizing the intractibility of some school problems and working collaboratively with other institutions to find solutions. Teachers in…