Contents of this keynote address provide current information about services offered by the Administration for Children, Youth and Families (ACYF). In fiscal years 1984 and 1985, ACYF will continue with program initiatives to improve the quality and effectiveness of Head Start. In addition, ACYF has established a number of initiatives to help…

One of the features of Australian society during the past 25 years, from the late 1950s to the early 1980s, has been the changing nature of the family. Significant changes have occurred in family formation and breakdown; in family composition and structures; in family relationships; and in the status, rights, and obligations of family members.…

Taking an often humorous and anecdotal approach, this presentation offers observations about the implications of high technology for education and suggestions for educators interested in innovative applications of computers and other technological advances. Among the topics addressed are: (1) reasons for becoming competent with computers; (2) the…

The phenomenon of innovation within the university is examined, noting the possibility of innovation as a key to college vitality. A study was conducted using a group of institutions that demonstrated recent innovative spirit. Members of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), each has been recognized in an annual…

The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM), which was developed over the past 25 years through the Research and Development Center at the University of Texas at Austin, identifies seven stages of concern involved in implementing an innovation: awareness, information, personal concerns, management concerns, consequences, collaboration, and refocusing…

Perceptions of forces that may restrain the implementation of needed change in legal ethics instruction were investigated in 1984, using a model of resistance to planned change proposed by Goodwin Watson. Based on this model, five barriers to change were assessed: conformity to norms, systemic and cultural coherence, vested interests, the…

Schools adapt to change slowly, while technological advances are progressing at an exponential rate. Five inventions have dramatically changed the human ability to teach: speech, writing, the printing press, the computer, and the laser videodisc. Currently, schools rely primarily upon the first three, but the latter two represent technological…

Utilizing nine schools located in the San Francisco Bay area, a study was conducted to examine the patterns by which microcomputers are accepted and implemented in high schools. Rather than the educational or social effects of this new academic resource, the study focused on: (1) the process of the behaviors and decisions leading to the…

Washington's recently enacted Student Learning Objectives Law demands that local districts implement a program designed to provide statewide educational accountability. The law ignores the complexity of such an implementation, providing no funding, no rewards for success, no assistance or training in developing implementation techniques, and a…

This appendix presents procedures used in conducting a study of career education implementation and outcomes in six diverse school districts located throughout the country. Procedures are presented in three categories: assembling of data from earlier studies, collecting new data, and analyzing both old and new data. Procedures are described for…

This resource provides examples of participant forms utilized by State Facilitators and Developer/Demonstrators from over 55 National Diffusion Network projects for communication with each other and with Local Education Agencies. A revision of the 1976 Forms and Formalities, this edition concentrates on sharing of form development expertise,…

Argues that research on diffusion of innovation should shift from individuals to organizational structure and environmental factors. (Author)

The guide was designed to assist public school personnel in the delivery of educational services to young handicapped children by providing access to information on model programs, increasing knowledge of adopting or adapting educational innovations, suggesting pertinent questions to ask when considering a specific model, and recommending sources…

Several strategies can be used in gaining campus-wide acceptance of new tutorial programs or other support services. First, publicize the service at least one semester in advance through marquee signs, fliers, and participation in appropriate campus events and activities. Second, make instructional staff aware of the fact that the tutorial program…