This report outlines the characteristics that appear to make the process of action research effective in improving student outcomes and summarizes some strategies that practitioners believe can be transferred using the process. Part 1 describes the process followed by the successful projects and shares the insights they gained. Characteristics…

This paper describes the role of local partnerships between public and private organizations in the delivery of workforce and economic development services in the United States. The paper grew out of a study tour, conducted by the Upjohn Institute in conjunction with the Local Employment and Economic Development Committee of the Organization for…

Assuring the quality of education provision is a fundamental aspect of gaining and maintaining credibility for programmes, institutions and national systems of higher education worldwide. Despite a long and generally successful track record, open and distance learning (ODL) is still required to prove that the quality of student learning is at…

Data from the California Development Department's Unemployment Insurance System were used to track the earnings and employment of more than 57,000 California Employment Training Panel (ETP) trainees served by ETP projects that ended in 1994-95 and 1995-96. ETP trainees' earnings gains averaged 15%, versus 11.8% in the case of similar workers who…

The Office of Education is requested frequently to supply information about education and community organization for aging. This publication adds to the literature in the growing field of professional and community concern. The publication may have its major use as a handbook for community and school leaders who wish specific information about…

A University of Minnesota pilot study of administrator evaluation had administrators (n=46) help define the leadership behaviors and outcomes on which they would be evaluated, then gain feedback from peers whose opinion they valued. The feedback process was computerized. Participants perceived the method as fair, valid, reliable, and personally…

Dull classroom environments, poor students' attitudes and inhibited conceptual development led to the creation of an innovative mathematics program, the Class Banking System (CBS), which enables teachers to use constructivist ideas and approaches. To assess the effectiveness of the CBS, the Individualised Classroom Environment Questionnaire…

This qualitative case study reports on processes and outcomes of the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded System-Wide Change for All Learners and Educators (SCALE) project at the California State University, Northridge (CSUN). It addresses a critical challenge in studying systemic reform in complex organizations: the lack of methodologies that…

The Illinois Community College Board provided more than $3.3 million to community colleges during fiscal year 2007 to provide workforce and economic development services through their Business and Industry Centers. The workforce development activities conducted under this grant include customized job training on campus or on-site at a business;…

The main objective of this research is to analyze the current status, the existing mechanisms for the regulation and quality assurance, and the impact of transnational commercial provision on the higher education system in six developing countries and a country in transition. The case-study research: (1) analyzed the principal forms and…

The nation's social agenda for improving education and training has converged with national economic forces (Hornbeck & Salamon, 1991). The emphasis on lifelong learning of the workforce through education, training and development, demands for ever-improving productivity and significant technological advancements have required new tools to…

This article presents a case study of the impact on student learning of introducing an electronic voting system (EVS) into large-group lectures for first-year undergraduate students undertaking degrees in marketing and business systems. We discuss the potential for using EVS-style interactive lectures in marketing and business programmes. We then…

Although there is great interest, and considerable investment, in adopting technology within Higher Education, it is less clear what this change means to the people who implement or experience it. Presently, there is no consistent framework used to study and explain this phenomenon. In this paper, we propose a framework that can structure and…

Ireland's Industrial Restructuring Training Programme (IRTP) was evaluated to determine its effectiveness as a vehicle for improving the managerial and supervisory skill levels of employees in existing enterprises. Data were collected from the following sources: review of all program-monitoring documents submitted since the IRTP's inception;…

This report presents the results of a study of the effects of Washington State's Professional Growth Option (PGO), a state regulation that requires schools districts to plan and implement programs for teacher professional development. Section 1 describes the study which was conducted by teachers who interviewed 23 teachers representing different…