In 2009, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) produced its first "Strategic Plan for Autism Spectrum Disorder Research" (ED509368), providing a framework to guide the efforts of federal and private funders of autism research. The "IACC Strategic Plan," developed with extensive input from a broad array of federal…

Parents, educators, government ministers and policymakers in all contexts and countries around the world are concerned with learning and how to improve it. There are many reasons for this, but none is more important than the fact that learning is at the heart of success at the individual, community and global levels. Learning First is the title of…

A questionnaire was sent to 578 BACP Accredited Counsellors and 122 CMCS Approved Counsellors to survey the use, and attitudes to the use, of prayer as a spiritual intervention in British mainstream counselling. The data reveal that prayer influences the practice of a significant number of mainstream counsellors at a philosophical, a covert and an…

Summarizes a study that examined 3 cohorts of pupils passing through some 30 English secondary schools, using examination results as the outcome measure and controlling for prior attainment levels. Offers a multilevel strategy for conceptualizing and modeling data on schools' performance changes over time. Although several schools improved their…

The implication for universities of a trend to orient research and development to national needs is explored. University research policies are responding to fears of losing internally funded research and a growing reliance on external funds. (MLW)

Leadership may come from many different sources in a school. This paper examines the relative effects of leadership provided by principals, teachers, and those in other roles. A study based on surveys of 2,727 teachers and 9,025 students in 110 elementary and secondary schools (Ontario, Canada) analyzed the effects of "total leadership," including…

Available evidence on the supply of and demand for professional scientists and technologists (S&Ts) in the European Union (EU) was reviewed. The main data sources were as follows: approximately 450 reference documents; national and international governments, training and employer bodies, and key international organizations; more than 100…