The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the application of mixed methods research designs to multiyear programmatic research and development projects whose goals include integration of cultural specificity when generating or translating evidence-based practices. The authors propose a set of five mixed methods designs related to different…

In this article, the author offers his critique on Holburn and Cea's notion on "excessive positivism" that person-centered planners are overconcerned with scientific verification and logical proof. The author believes that Holburn and Cea's notion blurs the important messages they have for person-centered planners by leading toward a debate about…

The question of how to best help students understand, accept, and respect difference presents an important challenge for educators. As schools embrace an increasingly diverse population, middle school students are likely to encounter on a daily basis people from diverse backgrounds, and with different abilities and disabilities, in their schools…

The CASCADE-MUCH system was designed to help teacher-designers in Shanghai, China with the development of instructional scenarios for multimedia curricula. After four rounds of prototyping, a summative evaluation was carried out to assess practicality. Results showed that the system was practical for the intended target users in Shanghai and also…

This manuscript seeks to share the continuous improvement endeavors by the College of Education faculty and administration at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte from initial preparation and planning through their successful national and state accreditation achieved in November 2005. Beginning with the unit's revision of their conceptual…

The technology for information organization, communication, storage, and use today is the book. It has evolved over 3000 years (in its modern form over 500 years) to the mature object we currently enjoy. The book is now the primary technology used in education. But with the development of the computer and the Web, a new electronic information…

This article explores the decision making in developing and starting a partnership between three universities using the decision-making models developed by Graham Allison in 1971 and updated in 1999. University partnerships are complicated and require more than one decision-making model to explain all the significant decisions that are make in…

Revisioning graduate professional-development programs is critical to enhancing graduate education. Both graduate students and employers have expressed a desire for an educational experience that better prepares students for their professional roles. This article describes the revisioning of a graduate professional-development program using a…

The field of program evaluation lacks interactive teaching tools. To address this pedagogical issue, the authors developed a collaborative learning technique called Program Evaluation: The Board Game. The authors present the game and its development in this practitioner-oriented article. The evaluation board game is an adaptable teaching tool…

Through assistive technology, individualized support, and community-based activities, the Inclusive Libraries Initiative is increasing the capacity of rural libraries in Northeast Alberta to attract and serve patrons with disabilities, particularly developmental disabilities. Local public libraries are important natural supports for adults with…

In at least 44 states across the country, students are logging in to learn at all times of the day and night--accessing courses they might otherwise be unable to take, interacting with students they might otherwise never know, and working with highly qualified teachers they otherwise could not access. In these and countless other ways, online…

Community participation in program decision-making and implementation is an ideal that community and academic stakeholders aspire to in participatory research. This ideal, however, can be difficult to achieve. We describe lessons learned about community participation from a quasi-experimental trial aimed at reducing the uptake of smoking among…

This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of an online professional development course designed to develop an understanding of the foundations, perspectives, and strategies used by key disciplines (e.g., occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, early childhood special education, visual…

Approximately 1,200 institutions of higher education in the United States offer a degree in early childhood education, but recent research questions the strength of the relationship between teachers having a degree and benefits to child development and learning. However, there has been little empirical focus on the "quality" of degree programs.…

Background: There has been much educational verbosity over the past decade related to building capacity for effective schools. However, there seems to be a scarcity of clarification about what is meant by school capacity building or how to accomplish and sustain this process. This article describes the preexisting conditions and ongoing processes…