"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Leadership Lessons From Schools Becoming "Data Wise" (Jennifer L. Steele and Kathryn Parker Boudett); (2) A Guide on the Side: Mentors Help New Leaders Prepare for Life in the…

This paper argues that psychology has an important role for practicing teachers. Firstly, it is important that they keep their knowledge of best teaching and learning practices updated; psychology is a continually evolving field of research and whilst some traditional aspects may remain compelling even today, others are no longer seen as valid,…

Introduction: Sharing of information across cultural boundaries does not always live up to expectations. Information behaviour is an underlying factor, which can contribute to poor use or non-use of the information or information services at the disposal of indigenous people in a development context. Method: A literature study of information…

As demands on libraries continue to grow, outpacing budget increases, more librarians are forced to make difficult decisions about what materials and services stay and go. Charles R. McClure has written that many librarians use an "adhocracy" method to make these decisions, relying on no data or simple aggregates in determining a course of action.…

A study of attitudes related to varied information exposure styles. (CH)

Statisticians can help to improve human rights reporting. The statistician's approach to measurement, summary, and interpretation is needed to understand and help reduce human rights violations. Statistical problems in the measurement and analysis of human rights violations include: lack of agreement on the definition; great difficulties in…

This article reports on an evaluation study of the Pilot State Dissemination Program. The program utilized extension agents who helped teachers and school administrators obtain and interpret information, assess its applicability, and plan steps in its utilization. (HMD)

A history of medical libraries and information, from their exclusive use by physicians decades ago to the present use of such information by researchers, educators, students, health workers other than doctors, and even laymen. (LS)

Many countries, under varying arrangements, have access to biomedical information in U.S. data bases, particularly MEDLARS, Chemical Abstracts Service, BioScience Information Service, and the Institute for Scientific Information. (LS)

The national program focuses on support of a systematic information network, but the problem at the school library level is that students and others do not know how to use what is available. Support for such education is needed. (LS)

Reading for the gifted should be a process of gathering, interpreting, processing and using information. (LH)

This document, one of a series of reports examining the possible contribution of other disciplines to evaluation methodology, describes the major elements of general systems theory (GST), cybernetics theory (CT) and management control theory (MCT). The author suggests that MCT encapsulates major concerns of evaluation since it reveals that…

INFORMATION SYSTEMS CAN OFFER A DELIBERATE MECHANISM FOR THE DIFFUSION OF EDUCATIONAL IDEAS. TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, THE FOLLOWING FACTORS MUST RECEIVE ADEQUATE ATTENTION--(1) THE ORGANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE SO THAT ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTS CAN BE LOCATED, (2) THE IDENTIFICATION OF USER GROUPS AND THEIR INFORMATION NEEDS, (3) THE EXTENSIVENESS OF DIFFUSION…

These conference proceedings contain 21 papers presented by users of the Selective Permutation Indexing (SPINDEX) system, designed by the National Archives to produce a variety of computer-generated bibliographic aids for archival holdings. Institutions participating in the SPINDEX users' conference represented government, church, university,…

The literature on program evaluation contains numerous suggestions that evaluative information is frequently underutilized or inappropriately utilized by administrators. This paper reviews the literature on utilization with a view toward identifying workable strategies for optimizing appropriate use. Specific recommendations to evaluators include…