This issue of "The Link" newsletter contains the following articles: (1) Evidence-Based Practice: Developing a New Business Model from the Inside Out (Jeremy Kohomban, Paul Schiller, and Patricia O'Gorman); (2) The School to Prison Pipeline and Criminalizing Youth: Costs, Consequences, and Alternatives (Marsha Weissman); (3) Group Homes Appear…

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is one of the most recent technologies to be adopted for use in distance education. It provides the means to establish an electronic classroom that is accessible to participants separated by physical distance or time. The literature on CMC is as varied as are the many applications. Most CMC publications are…

In Australian educational policy debate, advocacy of choice and diversity has come to be linked to support for educational markets and therefore with educational reform and restructuring associated with "economic rationalism." This paper argues that choice and diversity are better conceived within a framework of democratic educational…

Reform efforts in mathematics aim to increase conceptual understanding, an aim that can be supported through concept maps. This study compared the conceptual knowledge of function held by college students in reform and traditional calculus sections at a large state university. Fourteen students from reform sections and 14 from traditional sections…

This newsletter focuses on schoolwide approaches to issues of major concern to educators, from the perspective of providing equal education for all children. "Supporting School Improvement in Reading through Professional Development" (Rogelio Lopez del Bosque, Abelardo Villarreal) describes a professional development program that…

Contracting in public education is not a new development. This book examines projects that transfer the management of entire schools or school systems to private firms. Chapter 1, by Rima Shore, is a comprehensive survey of the practice of contracting out in public education. It provides a broad historical background for the U.S. education system…

The Talent Development Model for high schools was developed to fill a major current void in American education--the lack of a proven model of high school effectiveness. This report presents the essential components of the Talent Development High School, a model of changes in high school organization, curriculum, and instruction based on research…

Educational institutions throughout the world have established various non-traditional, or non-university, forms of postsecondary education to accommodate people who are past the age of compulsory schooling and who are not served by traditional universities. These institutions may be compared and contrasted to community colleges in the United…

Technology is often the driving force in the distance education movement, rather than the needs or educational problems that exist and need to be addressed. This paper considers the questions that should be asked before deciding that distance education is an appropriate solution to an education or training problem. The most successful distance…

This booklet contains information designed to familiarize personnel at charter schools in North Carolina with the financial services offered by the Division of School Business and the reporting requirements of the division. The division seeks to ensure fair and equitable distribution of and accountability for the optimal use of state and federal…

The High School Intervention Centers Program (HSICP) of the Detroit (Michigan) Public Schools was developed to provide an alternative for high school students who were identified as performing below grade level in English and mathematics and who exhibited the self-defeating behavior of truancy. The program provided an opportunity for ninth graders…

Outcome-Based Education (OBE) has become one of the most misunderstood efforts in school reform. This brochure sets forth the philosophy of OBE and responds to 25 commonly held concerns. "Outcome-based" means deciding which results the education community wants and then taking the necessary steps during instruction to achieve them. The brochure…

In response to the recognition that significant changes were required in service delivery approaches to meet the changing needs for workforce training, Illinois' Joliet Junior College (JJC) implemented a series of innovative training programs. The guiding philosophy behind the programs was that service delivery must correspond to shifts in focus…

In fall 1995, Vincennes University, a two-year college in Indiana, began offering an "Introduction to Business" course to personnel at a manufacturing company located approximately 5 hours from the college. In spring 1996, the same course was also delivered to a high school located over 2 hours from the college. The course was delivered…

An innovative field-based teacher education program was planned and implemented by the Georgia College School of Education and the Bibb County (Georgia) School System. A program goal was to establish a research base demonstrating that field-based models support teacher preparation better than do on-campus models. A study was conducted to describe…