This article examines the similarities and differences for one course, Foundations of American Education, when offered in traditional face-to-face and online formats. The data analysis used both qualitative and quantitative measures. Several conclusions were reached: (a) for the course to be effective, the time that must be allotted for online…

This sourcebook describes methods of dealing with dropouts in Oregon school districts. "At-risk youth" and "dropout" are defined and survey results of 98 percent of superintendents concerning program offerings are summarized. Data suggest that medium-size districts require greatest assistance. Despite increases in single-parent…

This report summarizes the Early Childhood Assessment Project, which attempted to clarify issues confronting policy makers in early childhood special education through documentation of current practices, in-depth investigation of alternative approaches, and examination of predicted social, political, economic, and educational impact of alternative…

The historical and current balance among the federal, state, and local levels in the control of education is reviewed in this report, with a focus on effective schools research and the management of change. Five policy instruments are described, which include mandates, inducements, capacity-building, system-changing, and leadership. A conceptual…

Using a segment of one program from a series of videotaped staff development programs as a data base, this paper investigates the nature of the relationship involved in peer coaching. The segment is a model interview between two teachers who are engaged in a peer coaching program. The series, Coaching for Improved Teaching, promotes the idea that…

This document describes seven science activities that combine scientific principles and computers. The objectives for the activities are to show students how the computer can be used as a tool to store and arrange scientific data, provide students with experience using the computer as a tool to manage scientific data, and provide students with…

Three articles on current research in testing are presented. The first article, "Testing in the Schools", discusses the role of testing in educational reform. In the 1980s, the overwhelming purpose of state standardized testing has become promoting accountability in areas of: (1) monitoring; (2) gatekeeping; (3) remediation; and (4)…

School administrators' uses of subjective understandings and common language to gain and maintain power and predictability in their environments are described. Micropolitical theory, with a focus on language, is utilized to understand administrators' knowledge of the assumptive worlds of their subculture, and how these assumptive worlds constrain…

This report documents historically the impact of postsecondary forestry and forest-products educational programs in the southern United States. Samples of programs described concentrate on programs that appear to have had an effect on the economy, the resource, or policy. The report discusses the impacts of two types of institutions: the 16…

The following papers are included: "Focusing Agricultural Education Research" (Williams); "A Time Series Analysis of Agricultural Education Student Teachers' Perceptions of Agricultural Mechanics Laboratory Management Competencies" (Schumacher, Johnson); "Determination of the Agricultural Mechanics Laboratory Management Inservice Needs of Missouri…

A basic technical framework is provided for the design and use of mastery tests. The Mastery Testing Project (MTP) prepared this framework using advanced mathematics supplemented with computer simulation based on real test data collected by the South Carolina Statewide Testing Program. The MTP focused on basic technical issues encountered in using…

Intended to clarify the nature of the curriculum debate and to indicate the issues that need to be considered when formulating curriculum policy, this paper begins with a review of the educational reasons for using the New Information and Communication Technologies (NICT) and the thinking and experiences which lie behind them. Ways in which the…

In June 1990, a statewide telephone survey was conducted of 1,200 former full- and part-time Michigan community college students who had not returned for classes in fall 1989. The 29 colleges were classified as urban, suburban, and regional institutions, and a total of 200 former full-time and 200 former part-time students were contacted from each…

This paper brings together information on the conditions and needs of children who have been exposed to drugs, federal programs that affect the well-being of these children, and policy questions that need resolution. Discussion concerns: (1) characteristics of infants who have been exposed to drugs and their families, including prevalence and…

The New Zealand Technical Correspondence Institute studied the internal and external factors influencing adult students enrolled in a tertiary-level distance education management course to abandon their studies. A literature review afforded definitions of: (1) distance education; (2) educational technology; and (3) drop out. Although research has…