A project was conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of competency-based, individualized instruction as a teaching technique in vocational welding programs for students with varying backgrounds, abilities, and special needs. Five Missouri area vocational schools participated in the project by field testing and evaluating welding instructional…

The purpose of the project was to provide current and/or prospective impact home economics teachers with opportunities to develop the sensitivity and skills needed to work with disadvantaged populations in inner city and rural areas. Twenty-four participants completed a one-week orientation workshop and a six-week internship. The orientation…

A project designed to train paraprofessional personnel (technicians) who could materially assist elementary classroom teachers in working with atypical readers is reported in two separate sections. The first section, titled "Highlights of the Reading Teaching Technician Project," describes the background, operation, dissemination, and…

A third party evaluation was conducted of the first phase, 1976-77, of the three-year Appalachian Maryland Experienced Based Career Education Project (EBCE). During this year, the project provided combined learning activities outside and within the classroom for twenty-four twelfth grade students. These experimental students and twenty-three…

This document presents the final report of a study conducted by the Committee on Evaluation and Training Programs to assess the impact of CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) on manpower programs. The report examines the differences between CETA Title I programs and their predecessors and compares legislative goals with results. It…

Work experience programs in secondary schools were examined to determine the costs and benefits associated with them. Data on students in these programs were compared with data on students with nonschool-supervised jobs and students with no jobs. Characteristics and experiences of current and former students were compared. A random sample was…

Compelling evidence from neuroscience about how early relationships and experience influence the architecture of the brain, and in turn early school success, has led to increasing policy and practice attention to implementing child development and family support programs like Early Head Start for infants and toddlers. But, there is also a group of…

The federal policy shift from skills training and toward work first strategies has come about, in part, from a misconception that "training does not work." A more comprehensive look at existing research reveals the documented effectiveness of skills training. A growing number of studies have shown skills training can increase earnings;…

These case studies and analytic essays are intended to give the reader a richer understanding of when and how top managers succeed or fail in their efforts to use performance management (PM) systems to improve the functioning of federal, state, and local government in the United States (U.S.). The question mark in the title is intended to remind…

These three case studies highlight the implementation and impact of Mid South Middle Start by: (1) contributing toward an in-depth understanding of what it means to be a school implementing Middle Start; (2) describing a holistic portrait of the schools' participation in Mid South Middle Start; and (3) assisting the Academy for Educational…

Coconino Community College (CCC) annually assesses its institutional effectiveness to demonstrate its commitment to improving programs and services to students. The 1996-97 Assessment Program Technical Progress Report records the assessment and institutional activities enacted during the academic year, detailing the assessment model, timelines,…

This document profiles the following 13 regional partnerships that together constitute Arizona's school-to-work (STW) system: Cochise STW Partnership; Coconino County STW Partnership; Eastern Arizona STW Partnership; East Valley STW Initiative; Mohave Workforce Development Partnership; Northeast Valley School to Work Consortium; Northland School…

The internship program at La Guardia Community College (New York) confirms the possibility of achieving the level of employer participation required for the success of an educational reform movement centered on work-based learning. The La Guardia program, which has existed for 25 years and has provided 1,800-2,000 internships annually, shares its…

This digest reviews the role of community colleges in delivering remedial education. With demand for remediation increasing, community colleges are under pressure to provide, with very limited financial resources, the bulk of developmental courses for students. In finding effective solutions to this dilemma, policy makers should consider a broad…

Although young people across the United States have suffered disproportionately in the recent recession, the economic and social effects of high levels of youth unemployment have received only scant media and political attention and few state or federal dollars. Analyses of successful youth and young adult programs identified seven core principles…