To better prepare teachers who will be working with handicapped children, the Dean's Project on Mainstreaming at the University of Michigan has developed a mainstreaming field site in cooperation with the public schools. (This article is part of a theme issue on mainstreaming.) (Editor/SJL)

The elderly are faced with attempts to defraud, mislead, and confuse them about health consumerism. The development of consumer education classes directed toward the needs and interests of the aging population will combat the problem. The development, implementation, and evaluation of such programs are described. (Author)

St. Louis, Missouri's New City School begins each academic year by teaching multiple-intelligences theory to its students and by educating parents via portfolio nights. There is heavy emphasis on the personal intelligences, since the abilities to work with others and to capitalize on individual strengths are the keys to successful adulthood. (MLH)

Provides a description and evaluation of a community-wide implementation of a parenting program. Results indicate that it is possible to take a population health approach to parenting, successfully involve multiple services and professionals in the delivery of the program, and maintain the effectiveness of the parenting intervention in a…

Explored how teacher advisory programs are perceived and implemented in five middle schools in four different states with strong, group-oriented guidance philosophies. Found that schools varied widely in execution and organization of teacher advisory programs. All but one had large groups of students, which made meaningful guidance-based advisory…

To improve student's reading scores on the Test of Achievement and Proficiency, a rural Georgia high school initiated an improvement program based on Deming's continuous-improvement model in fall 1995. This model allows those closest to the problem to resolve it. By working continuously to improve students' testing environment, test-taking…

Outlined are curriculum issues concerning the development of a master's degree program in Environmental Education at Griffith University during 1990. This paper examines how fundamental considerations, purposes, objectives, course organization schema, and proposed teaching methods have evolved to meet the challenges of professional development…

Describes a resident camp program designed to teach girls ages 10-12 about photography. Goals of the one-week program included developing an eye for potential photographs; learning how to use cameras and equipment; and learning photography principles that produce quality pictures. Includes photography activities and projects. (LP)

Shows applications of the Talent Identification and Development in Education (TIDE) model in two suburban Midwestern school districts. In both large and small districts, TIDE changes the way school communities view gifted and talented education. A broader understanding emerges that recognizes nurturing of strengths, interests, and talents in every…

Describes development and implementation stages of a peer mediation program at an Illinois middle school. A key principle in the project was student ownership. It was important to let the mediators take disputants through a clearly defined process to arrive at a settlement. Despite time management problems, the program has been a success. (10…

In UK schools, improvement is demanded and expected. The 10-year-old Quality of Education for All project, emphasizing both structural and cultural change at the school level, has achieved demonstrable success in diverse school contexts. Insights on the theory, process, and practice of school improvement are discussed. (MLH)

Discusses internal and external change agents' roles in school improvement, drawing on England's Moving Schools project. Effective external agents or cadres work not just in the school, but in the classroom. Conceptual organizing, a whole-school viewpoint, commitment to action, and teacher development linkages are key to supporting cadres.…

Guilford County (North Carolina) Schools, a newly consolidated district, trained principals to become better evaluators of teachers' performance and develop individually tailored instructional improvement strategies. Project H.E.L.P. (Helping Evaluators Lift Performance) improved many teachers' effectiveness and trimmed 134 substandard performers…

Describes and analyzes a training program for school support agents carried out in Madrid, Spain, from 1990 to 1992. Explores the institutional, cultural, and personal factors influencing program implementation. Addresses problems involved in reconstructing the theory and practice of external support through inservice training of school support…

The Home Connections program aims to induce ongoing, meaningful parent-adolescent dialogue at home and follow up on those discussions at school. Students are assigned provocative weekly questions to ask parents and requested to turn in written results, which are discussed and tabulated. Implementation steps are outlined. (MLH)