A democratic model of educational evaluation and some policy recommendations to develop culturally appropriate evaluation are presented. The traditional hard science paradigm in research must be replaced with evaluation designed to feed back to communities of varying cultural backgrounds. The most fundamental assumption of the new model is…

This literature review focuses on approaches to measuring and improving the self-concept of young children with special needs. Two particular models dominate the debate on the self-concept construct: the perceptual model (in which self-concept is equated with a self-description formed during the preschool years) and an operational model (in which…

Across the field of educational assessment the case has been made for alternatives to the multiple-choice item type. Most of the alternative types of items require a subjective evaluation by a rater. The reliability of this subjective rating is a key component of these types of alternative items. In this paper, measures of reliability are…

The Illinois Community College Board created the Telecommunications Ad Hoc Task Force (TAHTF) to examine the current status of telecommunications in the Illinois Community College System (ICCS), to determine the feasibility of establishing a statewide telecommunications network, and to recommend policies for the development and use of such a…

This executive summary describes a study to identify the concerns and needs of American Indians with disabilities living in the urban area of Denver (Colorado). The study also sought to determine if the Concerns Report Method was useful in identifying needs. The executive summary consists of a brief review of information on the urban American…

The History Academy for Ohio Teachers provided 40 Ohio teachers with an intense 4-week summer immersion in world and U.S. history and in historical theory and methods that was followed by a year-long follow up program on teaching units. Working together with college based historians, a new model was developed to help educators improve the teaching…

Educators can learn to use the unique cultural aspects of their students to create a learning environment that fosters the acquisition of mathematics concepts and principles. When teaching students in a multicultural setting, it is important to build on the student's intuition of the subject matter, to base instruction on situational story…

The impact of television on the development of preschool children is considered, and some popular programs are reviewed. After a review of the literature on the effects of television, a rating scale was prepared and applied to a number of broadcast (noncable) television shows aimed at children. Ratings were compared with those of 60 parents of…

Recognizing the failure of American schools to educate Hispanic and other minority students, educators are searching for new strategies and discovering the powerful role that parents can play in advancing educational goals. A growing body of evidence supports the belief that involving parents in their children's education works in the best…

The conference reported in this document provides a meeting place for researchers from around the world, where the emphasis is on new ideas connected to computer technologies in education. This volume contains 140 extended abstracts selected by the program committee and organized into the following categories: (1) educational informational…

This monograph offers six papers which present a model to assist in developing instructionally differentiated programming based on individual needs for students with behavioral disorders. The first three chapters focus on underlying philosophies. A paper by Myron Swize titled "Colorado's Needs-Based Approach" stresses that it is more…

A paradigm is a way of understanding that includes rules and regulations that: (1) establish boundaries; (2) provide fixed rules for success within the boundaries; and (3) act as filters for data. While a paradigm may help people to operate in terms of things as they are, it also may blind them to alternative ways of looking at the world around…

The Butte College Tech Prep Consortium (TPC), in Oroville, California, is a cooperative effort of secondary and postsecondary schools, local businesses, and community organizations to develop and implement Tech Prep opportunities in the area. The TPC has developed a competency-based, comprehensive tech prep curriculum model that is applicable to…

Because of increasing competition resulting from globalization of the economy, Oregonians have, in the past 8 years, experienced declines in income and standard of living despite the creation of 300,000 new jobs in the state. Many experts have stated that work organization and management style are the key to gaining the competitive edge in an…

An evaluation assessed the effectiveness of the Skills Enhancement Training (SET) project that developed a partnership between an employee benefits trust fund and the AFL-CIO Human Resources Development Institute. Data about the effectiveness of the partnership model, impact of the instructor training and technical assistance, and impact on…