This book contains 12 chapters, each of which is a case study or a commentary on the unemployment of the 1980s and early 1990s and on the programs devised to retrain workers. Titles and authors are as follows: "Understanding Unemployment: A Critical Overview of Labour Market Trends, Employment, and Unemployment: (John Hughes); "A…

A project evaluated the overall effectiveness of the Advanced Courses Development Programme (ACDP) of the Scottish Vocational Education Council. A peer review of selected Higher National (HN) unit specifications involved 195 subject experts who completed evaluation questionnaires on specifications in their specialist areas. The main body of the…

A study examined training in the retail trade in Spain. Employment, work, and training patterns in Spain's retail sector were researched, and case studies of five retail firms were conducted. Two retailers were too small to afford their own training organization but had formulated personnel policies providing for training. The third case was a…

This paper is a summary report of a study of the effects of training in conflict resolution and cooperative learning in an alternative high school in New York City. Three of the school's four campuses participated, with Campus A receiving conflict resolution training, Campus C receiving cooperative learning training, and Campus B receiving…

An evaluation of the 1988 implementation of New York City's 29-day-long Summer Kindergarten program for children entering first grade with little or no kindergarten experience is presented. A total of 9,444 children were enrolled in 436 classes in 171 schools located in 32 community school districts. The program ran from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM, Monday…

Several public school choice programs are reviewed, and the model program implemented by the Montclair (New Jersey) Public Schools is evaluated. School choice models include: the regulated voucher system, alternative schools, and magnet schools. The Montclair system is an urban school district that has achieved success in desegregating its schools…

To provide administrators and teachers with a set of essential elements and principles to consider in using inservice programs for school improvement, this document presents a model comprised of 27 dimensions identified as important elements of effective inservice programs. These dimensions were identified through a review of the research…

Within the context of current discussions on improving urban public education, this report provides an analysis of the magnet school as a model for educational quality and excellence and gives an objective assessment of its potential as a method of improving urban education. A comparative case study methodology combined the collection of…

This report discusses findings from a comprehensive national survey of the effectiveness of magnet schools in improving the quality of public education and in assisting school desegregation. Chapter I provides background information on the concept and evolution of magnet schools; discusses the purposes of the national survey and several issues…

This bulletin highlights elements of the music programs in two Oregon school districts--David Douglas School District 40 and Salem School District 24J--that have kept these programs viable in spite of financial constraints. Ingredients for success of the overall music program at David Douglas are first described. Important elements include hiring…

Illinois-funded Project IMPACT was designed to identify and develop procedures for complying with the impact requirement of Public Law 94-482, with regard to the effect of vocational education research and development on vocational education programs. The study addressed itself to three problem areas: (1) how to define impact, (2) how to assess…

As part of Project IMPACT's efforts to develop procedures for complying with the impact requirements of Public Law 94-482, a case study was made of the Illinois Occupational Curriculum Project (IOCP). The top-down study traced the IOCP from its developers to its users and documented measurable changes in the 1971 versus the 1979 curriculum…

Helping low-income families in rural areas find gainful employment and achieve economic self-sufficiency is an ongoing policy concern. The Rural Welfare-to-Work Strategies demonstration is using rigorous experimental designs to build knowledge about how to help low-income families in rural areas strive toward sustained employment and…

To help students through the difficult process of transfer, many institutions nationwide have developed Transfer Centers, physical locations where students can come to learn more about the transfer process. The mission of Transfer Centers is to promote and support community college students who are seeking to transfer to four-year institutions.…

This study was designed to fill the "implementation measurement" gap. A methodology to quantitatively measure the level of Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) implementation that can be used across a variety of CSR models was developed, and then applied to measure actual implementation of four different CSR models in a large number of schools. The…