A description is presented of the Farmers' Functional Literacy Project, a component of the integrated program of Farmers' Training and Functional Literacy. The project consisted of three regional workshops and a national workshop. The regional workshops were organized to allow officers to review progress and prospects of the programs, exchange…

Disadvantaged children participated in a creativity-enhancing program at a summer camp. Immediately following the treatment and four months later, the experimental group showed significantly higher scores and creativity tests than the control group, who participated in regular recreational activities. The tutors and the games used are described.…

Reviews a National Science Foundation funded workshop ("Investigations in the Natural Sciences") for science teachers on how to use laboratory centered materials developed by the Science Education Center at the University of Oklahoma. Presents the results of a survey of the participants. Highlights the program's strengths. (CW)

A debate which is concerned with skill upgrading versus downgrading of occupations in the United States and relationships to schooling and vocational preparation is reviewed. The article summarizes major position, surveys the evidence on skill changes, and discusses research and policy implications for general and vocational education. (Author/DWH)

Having worked for several years with three Wisconsin school districts, the author describes the metaplan that emerged for developing districtwide improvement plans. He presents a completed plan to clarify the process. The participating school districts welcome inquiries. (Author/TE)

This report provides an overview of the legislative and administrative context of Vocational Education and profiles Vocational Education nationally, statewide, and at Contra Costa Community College District (CCCCD). Certain national trends, economic trends, and labor market trends have created implications for vocational and technical education in…

The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is renewing its commitment to the enhancement of literacy in the developing countries of the Commonwealth by establishing a program area focused on Literacy and Livelihoods. While the program activities will build on the work COL is already engaged in, they will also be informed through consultation with…

Effective schools research problems (unreliable descriptions and definitions, over-dependency on tests, research limited primarily to elementary schools) result in narrow formulas leading to increased standardization, neglect of nonacademic areas, and failure to improve in schools with high test scores. Author urges using broader, more complex…

Alaska has mounted an intensive statewide staff development effort to help teachers and administrators use research-based practices. Leadership teams from each school, with assistance from the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, develop improvement plans and implementation strategies. Administrators, teachers, and school board members…

The evaluation design described was used to aid the governing board to reach a policy decision about expanding the California Early Childhood Education program (renamed the School Improvement Program) in the Lafayette School District. Descriptions of procedures, question formats, audiences involved, and results are included. (MH)

Faculty and student ratings of improvement, taken late in a semester, were more positive for faculty participants in a teaching improvement program than for nonparticipants. A follow-up study of program users after one or more semesters substantiated these results, with apparent and durable improvements observed. (Author)

This article describes three separate counseling programs that have been successfully implemented. The first concerns an innovative faculty advisor program at the high school level; the second concerns how one school surveyed counselors' use of time; and the third provides a plan for increasing guidance services at no extra cost. (HMV)

Describes the implementation of a student portfolio requirement at Boulder Canyon High School (Arizona) in 1999 as part of a focus on continual student improvement. Advocates the use of portfolios as a way to show incremental gains in academic areas and as a tool for encouraging student ownership in their own personal growth and improvement. (KP)

Describes the efforts of LaSalle-Peru High School (Illinois) to improve the teaching and learning climate by focusing on staff and student relationships. Specifically examines the work of the "Respect Committee," which focused on: (1) creating ways to demonstrate that members of the school care personally for one another; and (2) helping students…

Identifies challenges facing graduate library education and recommends ways to keep library programs from closing, including better defining the profession of librarianship and avoiding isolation by engaging in high-profile, universitywide relationships with other academic departments. Unique characteristics of librarians and librarianship are…