Although a growing body of research points to the critical need to foster reading, writing, speaking, and critical thinking skills for students in order to ensure their success in college, careers, and life, these efforts have tended to focus more on developing literacy skills in the early years, often ignoring secondary students. The outcome has…

This paper outlines the role that Forest School can play in children's development. With over 100 Forest Schools in England, 20 in Scotland and 20 in Wales, this concept is growing across Britain. Forest School involves children having regular contact with woodland over an extended period of time; it allows them to become familiar, and have…

This primary purpose of the study was to expand the work of Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, and Yoon (2001) by creating and psychometrically testing an instrument designed to measure teachers' perceptions of characteristics of professional development. Elementary teachers (n = 406) from five school districts in Washington State participating in a…

This guide explores the key issues in the development, sustainability, and effectiveness of after-school programs including before school, weekends, and summers, and identifies federal strategies to promote effective programs. The first part of the booklet presents the core elements of an effective after-school program, noting that programs…

This report argues for the central involvement of faculty themselves in collaborative peer review for the improvement of college teaching. An early section makes the case for formative evaluation to improve teaching and argues that collaborative peer review is well suited to the formative evaluation task. The next section examines faculty roles in…

The status and future of academic advising is examined in this American College Testing Program (ACT) monograph, providing an in-depth look at the topics consistently viewed as critical to the success of advising programs. In chapter 1, Wesley R. Habley introduces the monograph by examining the trends in advising over the past 15 years, focusing…

A study was conducted of the early childhood programs in the McAllen (Texas) Independent School District. This qualitative study used data collected through observations, interviews, document analysis, questionnaires, and site visits. Current practices were described and compared to developmentally appropriate practices as defined by the National…

There has been a decline in the enrollment in sociology courses and a decline in the number of students choosing to major in sociology. To counteract this decline, departments need to continue to offer a traditional academic sociology curriculum, but also need to offer stronger training in research methods and statistics, interdisciplinary…

This guide sets forth minimum approval criteria for vocational education food service training programs in Oregon. The information in the guide is intended for use by district-level curriculum planners, teachers, regional coordinators, or state education department staff involved with new program development or revisions of existing programs. The…

This guide sets forth minimum approval criteria for marketing/distributive education programs in Oregon. The information in the guide is intended for use by district-level curriculum planners, teachers, regional coordinators, or state education department staff involved with new program development or revisions of existing programs. The guide…

Reporting the effectiveness of Phase II of Portland's Career Guidance and Counseling project, this document presents the summative data documenting the goals, objectives, and participant attitudes toward the project. (Phase I centered on strategies to improve counseling staff involvement in cooperative efforts to upgrade career guidance and…

The panel which conducted this study was invited by the Florida Teaching Profession--National Education Association (NEA) and the NEA to assess the educational soundness of implementation of the Florida Accountability Act. The panel felt that the overall purpose of the accountability program was praiseworthy, but that the minimum competency…

THIS EVALUATION REPORT OF HAWAII'S ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT, TITLE I, ACTIVITIES PRESENTS INFORMATION ABOUT THE NUMBER OF PROJECTS, THE NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS AND SCHOOLS COVERED BY TITLE I, AND THE ALLOCATIONS OF TITLE I FUNDS IN THE SEVEN SCHOOL DISTRICTS. IT ALSO DISCUSSES PERSONNEL, SERVICES, PROJECTS, EQUIPMENT, AND…

This report to the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare is based on the research findings of a private research contractor, Greenleigh Associates (See VT 005 948 and VT 005 949), site visits, and interviews with persons connected with about 30 federally supported job training programs. The 30 programs are of two types:…

The first 38 pages of the document describe the project designed to develop a coordinated, comprehensive system to deliver community services and continuing education services throughout Maryland higher education institutions. Discussed are project objectives, operations, and accomplishments, the final evaluation summary, the impact on the…