Responses from 105 of 200 chief academic officers found the following: 49% had adult degree programs, only 40% had mission statements focusing on adult education, 87% grant credit for prior learning, 85% allow part-time degree completion, only 17% offer nontraditional delivery methods, and only 29% offer assistance to nonnative speakers of…

This excerpt from "Designing Challenging Vocational Courses: A Guide to Preparing a Syllabus" presents a step-by-step process for designing challenging vocational courses and preparing a syllabus to communicate course expectations to students. (Author)

Describes a successful program that introduced Japanese language and culture to children in Kansas. End of program survey results revealed that students, parents, and facilitators were overwhelmingly positive about the program. (Author/VWL)

Examines the evolution of a parenting class that combines concepts and interventions associated with solution focused and strategic family therapy. The class is targeted for all types of families and parenting situations. Parents reported that the class was very helpful and gave them access to information that had not received from other parenting…

Case studies and questionnaire responses from 59 recent registered nurse (RN) graduates identified differences in six role socialization processes (individual-collective, formal-informal, sequential-random, fixed-variable, serial-disjunctive, investiture-divestiture) in three types of programs: generic, RN-track, and second-step. In second-step…

Focus groups with 59 North Carolina parenting educators addressed professional needs. They identified concerns about the scope of the field and collective vision, keeping professional knowledge current, partnerships, networking, and community collaboration. A model of the interrelated components of professional development systems was developed.…

The Citizens Changing Communities program trained advisory boards in time and meeting management, conflict management, problem solving, goal setting, action planning, and decision making. Although evaluations revealed high interest in program content and delivery methods, actual participation did not match responses. A holistic approach focused on…

In this companion to "Opening Doors", Friedman and Webb provide more helpful, hand-on tips for bringing SEM to life in your school. Readers learn, step-by-step, how to create a schedule that includes a weekly E-Slot for enrichment learning experiences as well as ideas for injecting interest-based experiences into the E-Slot, regular curriculum,…

This paper provides an overview on alternative teacher education programs (ATEP). This review covers the formation, development and design of these non-traditional certification approaches over the past 2 decades. The major reasons for the viability of these programs are presented. Moreover, research studies on critical issues such as teacher…

Pedagogues and practitioners alike accept the vital importance of an effective professional induction for new teachers. This paper examines the evolution of such a policy in Ontario, from a mandatory pencil-and-paper qualifying test for graduating teacher candidates, to a modest province-wide induction program for newly-hired teachers. It assesses…

The teaching of mathematics in Australian schools has received considerable attention over the past decade. States and territories have designed and implemented new mathematics syllabi, and education sectors have supported teachers through sustained professional learning initiatives. Whereas the major focus of these initiatives has been on…

The growing interest in youth development, prevention, and assessment has challenged professional practices relative to the design, implementation, and evaluation of youth development programs. This article sheds light on the need for continuous training and staff development in the areas of program development and documentation, using the…

State oversight for teacher preparation programs mostly ignores the impact of graduates on the K-12 students they teach, and it gives little attention to where graduates teach or how long they remain in the profession. There is no evidence that current state policies hold programs to high standards in order to produce teachers who can help…

Our current system for holding U.S. teacher education programs accountable doesn't guarantee program quality or serve the needs of schools and students. State oversight for teacher preparation programs mostly ignores the impact of graduates on the K-12 students they teach, and it gives little attention to where graduates teach or how long they…

Since the first child care Quality Rating System (QRS) was implemented in Oklahoma 11 years ago (in 1998), 16 additional statewide systems have been launched and numerous states are piloting or developing a QRS (Zaslow, Tout, & Martinez-Beck, forthcoming). As QRS stakeholders across the nation look ahead to the next decade, it is important to take…