Distance education programmes warrant the use of innovative intervention practices to enhance student learning experiences. Academic and social empathy by faculty has been shown to enhance student retention in programmes along with their critical thinking abilities. Using Holmberg's theory of teaching-learning conversations as the guiding…

For decades Colorado, USA, has had a shortage of school psychologists, especially in rural areas. The program "Giving Rural Areas Access to School Psychologist" (GRAASP) was developed to meet this need by offering a technology based distance education program that trained candidates from remote sites across the state. Through the use of…

The value of university-based programs of teacher education in preparing high-quality teachers is currently the focus of increasingly contentious debate among researchers, policy makers, and media experts. To a large extent, public awareness and understanding of the work of teacher education is filtered through one or another of these lenses…

One of the author's first assessment experiences at California State University, Sacramento, began when she was assigned to teach a graduate-level program evaluation research course in the Division of Criminal Justice. The chair of the assessment committee and the division chair approached her with the idea of conducting an assessment of the…

The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and the Wisconsin Geriatric Education Center (WGEC) are committed to developing educational materials for primary care physicians in training. In response to the opportunity created by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) competency mandate, an MCW-led interdisciplinary working…

This paper summarises the rationale, development, content, and delivery of a Post Graduate Diploma in Conflict Resolution and Peace Preparedness in Sri Lanka, a country that has experienced a violent and protracted social conflict over the last 25 years. It also describes the methodology which is being used to measure the peace impact of the…

The Asian Tsunami struck Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004. Sri Lanka was the second worst affected country after Indonesia, and this natural disaster killed in excess of 35,000 people and displaced over 1 million. The article explores the Tsunami Disaster Management Program developed by one Sri Lankan university: the Postgraduate Institute of…

The Special Education Professional In Training (SEPIT) program is a tuition assistance program designed to alleviate critical shortages of special education teachers and clinicians in New York City Public Schools. It gives individuals the opportunity to pursue post-baccalaureate study and obtain placement in bilingual and monolingual special…

A study focused on the development and pilot testing of a student satisfaction instrument, the results of which may be used to identify weaknesses and strengths of nontraditional degree programs. The literature review demonstrated little empirical evidence that could support positive or negative conclusions regarding student satisfaction within…

A study was conducted during the 1988-89 academic year of 1983 and 1988 Montana high school graduates to assess the impact of their enrollment in home economics courses on their knowledge in the areas of nutrition, consumer education, and child development/parenting. Fifty-three 1983, and 55 1988 graduates of randomly selected high schools in…

This document presents a summary of follow-up evaluation studies of basic and advanced education graduates, conducted by the Office of Educational Research and Services at Bowling Green State University (Ohio) over the last few years. (The university's evaluative follow-up endeavors have been closely tied to a needs assessment model, and a major…

When students choose postsecondary vocational education programs, they pay, in both money and in income lost during the time they are in the program. The public also pays by tax support for many educational programs. However, students often have little information about the effectiveness of these programs in terms of job placement, wage rates, and…

This study examined the relative worth of the various components of the teacher education program offered to graduates of the University of Manitoba for the years 1978 and 1984. Because it was assumed that teachers' assessments of the value of various aspects of their training program would change with experience, two populations with different…

This study followed up 79,812 vocational job training completers and 316 vocational job training leavers in Ohio for the school year 1981-82. Data were gathered in January 1983 for the 1982 graduating class. The results of the study showed that economic benefits resulted from completing a vocational job training program. Even with the severely…

A study was conducted at Broward Community College (BCC) to determine whether student performance on placement tests and enrollment in college preparatory courses have any bearing on graduation and persistence rates. Using data on first-time students entering BCC in fall 1985 and fall 1986, the study revealed: (1) of the 758 fall 1986 students who…