This newsletter issue focuses on how consumers with disabilities find and access information. The importance of dissemination of research findings to consumers is stressed in a statement by John D. Westbrook, Director of the National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research (NCDDR). The first article suggests that often research results…

In December 2000, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) began working with low-performing districts and schools as part of a 5-year research and development effort to create and refine a systemic model for improving student achievement in reading or mathematics. SEDL hypothesized that as districts and schools increase their…

This article describes work on a new tool to help educators increase parental involvement in their schools using the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC). When the authors set out on their goal in rural Hart County, Kentucky, they discovered that no instrument existed to measure changes in the level of parental involvement. Using…

A project that identified more than 1,200 academic and corporate research units within Pennsylvania is described, and a user's guide to the project's data file is provided. The Pennsylvania Research Inventory Project is an online data system designed to promote economic development, particularly within the Appalachian region of the state. The…

The Rehabilitation Engineering Center (Palo Alto, California) has developed a wide range of patient services which provide assistance to the disabled community in northern California and various research activities which have had impact on the disabled population nationally. The Center has three philosophical goals: to assist each child toward as…

Information on organizations and individuals involved in research on postsecondary education (PSE) in Canada was obtained through a survey of 435 organizations, a survey of 817 individuals, and through requests for information appearing in two publications. Methods of disseminating research results on the role of the Social Sciences and Humanities…

Reports on a study into engineering education programs, focusing on graduate programs and research. Provides data reported by the 225 Engineering and Technical College Affilliate Members of the American Society for Engineering Education, and includes information on faculty, enrollment, degrees granted, and research budgets. (TW)

A needs sensing confirmation study was conducted to identify the Appalachia Educational Laboratory's (AEL) long term research and development program needs and provide guidelines for its seven member states' activities. The AEL Board of Directors, individuals serving in similar positions as the Board members, and a sample of non-public school…

This report summarizes the results of a survey of 29 southern land-grant institutions which elicited information on microcomputer capabilities, programming efforts, and computer awareness education for formers, homemakers, community organizations, planning agencies, and other end users. Five topics were covered by the survey: (1) degree of…

An interest in learning the characteristics and self-images of successful women administrators and how they attained their current career levels led to a survey of 112 women administrators from 12 large Midwestern urban school districts and 3 Midwestern educational laboratories. This report draft reviews the literature concerning women managers:…

In this project a product to aid educational leaders in the process of communicating in crisis situations is presented. The product was created and received a formative evaluation using an educational research and development methodology. Ultimately, an administrative training course that utilized an Image Repair Situational Theory was developed.…

As a follow-up to 1985 and 1991 efforts to determine its own effectiveness in providing useful information to the college community, the Office of Institutional Research (OIR) at Florida's Miami-Dade Community College conducted a self-evaluation in 1994. Questionnaires were mailed to 296 department chairs, Board members, and other professionals…

The U.S. Department of Education awarded 19 Challenge Grants for Technology in Education in fiscal year 1995, and planned to award additional grants in fiscal year 1996. The diverse projects are intended to mobilize resources, develop technology enabled learning environments, and provide lessons to others seeking to make effective use of…

A consortium of four institutions, based at Western Michigan University, was to plan a Research and Development Center on Student Testing, Evaluation, and Standards Setting. The four consortium sites are Boston College, the Dallas Independent School District, the University of Kansas, and Western Michigan University. This report is a final…

This report provides evidence on the amount and types of cost analysis activities currently done in educational evaluation. The results of three studies undertaken to document the actual use of cost methods are discussed. The first study is a review of cost studies conducted in health evaluation. The second study examines all cost studies…