For a number of years it has been suggested that distance education is a natural extension of existing teaching methods that includes learners who are separated from the instructor by time or distance. This paper takes an alternative look at distance-education research and evaluation and proposes an evaluation model built on that view. That…

This book describes the steps and tools of Total Quality Management (TQM) and their use in the academic units of colleges and universities for Total Quality Improvement (TQI), illustrated by a case study from the School of Arts & Sciences at a state university. Section 1 explains how to: (1) identify problems contributing to non-value-added…

This study examined to what extent teachers who choose to take a course about cooperative learning implement the innovation and which factors account for variation in use of cooperative learning in their classrooms. Nine female elementary teachers were observed and interviewed. Teachers were categorized as effective users, competent users,…

This report was prepared to provide information on school evaluation practices to the education community and the general public. It is intended to assist individuals in selecting school evaluation models that assess the dimensions and components of a school that are considered most relevant and most related to school improvement. Work on the…

The Personnel Preparation Curriculum is a collaborative consultative model for training professionals, including Head Start teachers, parents, and paraprofessionals, to work with families to address the educational needs of children. The activity-based model views families as being in charge, and professionals as partners with parents. Six…

The primary job of parents is to ensure safe passage for their children from infancy through adolescence to adulthood. Research has indicated many things schools can do to turn the privilege of safe passage into a right. Three research-based programs that work to achieve safe passage are described. The first is Caring Connection, a "one-stop-shop"…

The formative evaluation of the Self-Directed Literacy Distance Learning for Developmental Disabilities Workers project is intended to assess the effectiveness of the course materials, operations process, and implementation. Designed to provide 96 hours of workplace literacy training to 426 developmental disabilities workers in about 80…

Project WORKSMART was a Nashville, Tennessee-based workplace literacy project to provide an exemplary multidimensional workplace literacy program while simultaneously demonstrating products and practices that promote lifelong learning that can be customized and replicated in diverse work environments. The project was a partnership between…

Legislation has largely treated planning and evaluation in vocational education separately. There has been a history of increasing requirements in planning and evaluation and of diffusing responsibility. In addition, existing policy regarding vocational education's dominant mission shows a general lack of clarity. Such factors inhibit the linking…

A "grassroots" model for developing a parent-school partnership to help communities achieve the national Education 2000 goals is presented in this paper. The model is based on two assumptions about parenting: (1) parents are responsible for child-rearing; and (2) professionals are responsible for educating parents. Recommendations for a…

Collaboration as an effective means for developing resiliency in children is examined in this document. The first section summarizes findings of literature on collaboration to develop a new paradigm based on the following features: obtaining community ownership; developing and utilizing people's strengths; and actively engaging children.…

This review critically examines various aspects of school-based consultation between regular classroom teachers and teachers of special education. First, current approaches to consultation are described and obstacles to successful integration of elementary students with learning or behavioral problems into mainstream regular education classrooms…

Breaking the continuing cycle of low literacy levels transmitted from one generation to another is the philosophy behind family and intergenerational literacy programs. This Practice Brief describes some of the family literacy program models that are proving effective. It also summarizes strategies and resources that can help practitioners. The…

A project sought to determine if reluctant learners, about 30 percent of the adult basic education (ABE) population, can be retained in ABE classes through accommodations in the program structure and more effective teacher/counselor intervention. The project was based on earlier research findings that most ABE learners who drop out do so in the…

These two papers look at international aspects of quality in higher education from contrasting perspectives. The first paper, "Higher Education Quality: A European Dimension" by John Brennan asks whether there is a distinctive European dimension to quality in higher education and, if so, what are its implications for British institutions…