Increased interest in the measurement of hospital quality has been stimulated by accrediting bodies, purchaser coalitions, government agencies, and other entities. This paper examines quality measurement for hospitals in rural settings. We seek to identify rural hospital quality measures that reflect quality in all hospitals and that are sensitive…

Intergroup dialogue (IGD), the focus of this monograph, is one of several dialogue and deliberation practices currently being used on college and university campuses in the United States. The introductory chapter introduces IGD, its historical roots, its location among similar diversity education practices, and its core components. The subsequent…

Electronic portfolios are a student-centered outcomes-based assessment regime involving learners in the gathering, selection, and organization of artifacts synthesized into a compilation purposed to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and/or achievements supported by reflections that articulate the relevance, credibility, and meaning of the artifacts…

This report describes the Teacher Resource and Computer Training Center Program that was enacted in 1984 by the New York State Education Department to provide systematic, ongoing professional development services for the state's teachers. It is a collaborative program involving teachers, school administrators, higher education representatives,…

In the past 5 years, a growing concern over the use of illicit drugs in the workplace has led to an interest in urinalysis as a way to detect and deter drug use. This monograph provides information that will assist those involved in the planning or implementation of drug testing programs in making informed choices. Articles include: (1)…

This overview of competency based education (CBE) explores some of the important policies and dimensions of CBE that go beyond the popularized notion that simple tests can be devised to make student promotion and graduation decisions or to demonstrate possession of required or desired competencies. Examined are such areas as the reasons CBE has…

The paper reviews factors affecting development of early intervention programs for all handicapped infants including changing political and economic conditions and programmatic issues (setting, staffing, identification). Finally, the provisions of P.L. 99-457 creating a discretionary infant intervention program are outlined. (Author/DB)

The author describes the preparation, delivery, and evaluation of five teleconferencing sessions and draws out the lessons learned. She relates the findings to the literature on the topic. (JOW)

Reviews the 1980s literature regarding trends in public relations practice and implications for PR degree programs. Makes specific recommendations for development of effective degree programs. (MS)

Cognitive research in mental retardation is reviewed according to research in model development (including work on the structures and processes comprising the cognitive system) and in the modifiability of cognitive processes (focusing on attempts to assess and intervene through use of examples). (CL)

Background on the development of early education for the handicapped in the Federal Republic of Germany and on legislative and financial factors is discussed as well as current practice in early intervention and preschool education. The state of professional training and research is indicated, as are the major issues reflected in recent…

This document summarizes an extensive study of policies and practices in adult literacy and adult basic education in a number of countries undertaken by Rosa McKenna and Lynne Fitzpatrick. The original study contains considerably greater detail and analyses issues on a country-by-country basis. The countries studied--Canada, the Republic of…

Implementation of school reform is a much-studied and often-discussed topic among researchers and educators alike. To hear what researchers have to say about this issue, questions were put to the Network of Researchers about what trends and patterns they see in schools implementing comprehensive school reform. Researchers agree that it is…

In 1928, the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial granted funds to the University of Cincinnati to establish a child study and parent education program for African-Americans. This paper traces the origin of the idea for this program to a special relationship between the family of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. and Spelman College, an African-American…

The program development process for substance abusers is very challenging. Planning and evaluation in substance abuse prevention and treatment is continuously affected by change. It requires extraordinary flexibility, adaptability, and creativity to insure that programs are designed to effectively meet the multiple needs of the clientele.…