In response to education reform mandates, rewards and incentives such as career ladder and master teacher programs are being designed to break lock-step salary schedules and to retain competent teachers. While these "pay-for-performance" plans seem acceptable to taxpayers, few realize that such approaches have already been tried and…

The Specials Projects (Innovations) Program of the Commonwealth Schools Commission in Australia was established to improve primary and secondary education by encouraging innovation and diversity in teaching through grants to individuals, usually teachers. This study focuses on the professional development of the teachers involved. Forty-five…

This report submitted to the Congress from the Committee on Human Resources contains the Career Education Incentive Act, a bill which provides federal financial incentives to states to develop, implement, and strengthen career education programs. A summary of the bill follows a chronological review of the legislation's consideration in Congress.…

The Institutional Research Office at Delgado College (Louisiana) developed a campus-based mini-grant program awarding funds to individual faculty members proposing projects to improve instruction. Inservice workshops assisted the faculty in grant-writing and research development skills before grant proposals were solicited. Criteria for acceptance…

This document reviews the management of ten student assistance programs, including: the Basic Educational Opportunity Grants (BEOG), the State Student Incentive Grants (SSIG), the Supplementary Educational Opportunity Grants program (SEOG), the College Work Study program (CWSP), the National Direct Student Loan program (NDSL), the Guaranteed…

This paper draws on evidence from the evaluation of the piloting of the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) in England, to explore the extent to which a financial incentive to remain in full-time learning prevents young people entering the "not in education, employment or training" (NEET) group. Evidence from the evaluation would suggest that…

This report assesses the interim progress made toward increasing the college-going rate at 11 schools that received College Bound grants from the General Electric (GE) Foundation. It provides information about the kinds of programs developed, early indications of the effects the approaches have on promoting college going and influencing school…

This document examines the options for federal financing of postsecondary vocational education. The first section describes the federal funds that now support public vocational education, emphasizing funds distributed to institutions through the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act and funds distributed to students via financial aid. The…

This report documents a hearing to amend the Vocational Education Act of 1963 to make incentive grants to the states for electronic and computer technician vocational education programs. The discucssion focused on the Electronic and Computer Technician Education Incentive Grants Act. Testimony included prepared statements, letters, and…

During the past decade the Ford Foundation has assisted American Indians to improve their educational opportunities, assert their legal rights, and preserve their traditional culture and way of life. The Foundation has funded various efforts in the areas of school planning and finance, leadership development, undergraduate and graduate…

The No Child Left Behind Act reflects a decision by Congress that federal money not be squandered searching for local solutions, but that scientifically based research be utilized to ensure that every student meets academic standards. The school improvement process requires that local stakeholders cooperatively plan an improvement process, and…

Describes how an analysis of teaching improvement grants can provide information on professors' instructional choices regarding use of technology in higher education. An analysis of over six years of award-winning innovative technology proposals emphasized the positive practices that were being proposed, the importance of situating the analysis…

Describes government funding of university-based research in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Examines problems in research evaluation and related public policy, particularly the link between evaluation and funding, issues of efficiency and incentive compatibility, and impact of performance evaluation on researcher behavior. Appendix…

In 1986, the Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL) established a minigrant program to foster collaboration between K-12 schools and colleges of education. Between 1986 and 1991, AEL minigrants offered seed money for 63 college-school partnership projects in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. Prior to 1991, college-school…

National priorities exist that can be served through federal legislation for the funding of vocational education. Four alternatives that are examples of national needs that vocational education would appear to have a potential to address are (1) training and retraining of workers in national critical skill shortage occupations, (2) training and…