Six alternative school programs are evaluated to provide additional insight into their effectiveness in (1) promoting cognitive achievement, (2) developing positive student attitudes and self-concepts, (3) developing positive behavior change, and (4) providing long-term benefits to the students. (MJB)

A series of articles focuses upon the need for vocational agricultural student organizations to be member-centered and to serve nontraditional students. Emphasizes the necessity of using the talents of each member in order to achieve quality in an organization. (JOW)

Examines outcomes of a "bridge" course for first-year college students that emphasizes personal and psychological adjustment to the university experience to enhance the likelihood of academic success. Findings from 59 high-risk students who completed course suggest that goal of enhancing likelihood of academic success for such students was…

This article draws on historical and philosophical lenses and interviews with students to question some fundamental tenets underlying the practice of freshman learning communities (FLCs): that they develop community and improve students' learning experiences. The article brings to the discourse of FLCs some critical questions regarding their value…

Peer-led team learning (PLTL) is a program of small-group workshops, attached to a course, under the direction of trained peer leaders who have completed the course. Peer leaders ensure that team members engage with the materials and with each other, they help build commitment and confidence, and they encourage discussion. Studies of PLTL have…

Although portfolio evaluation is the key issue with which the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, currently struggles, the department has yet to develop a reliable quantitative method of assessing the portfolios. The department found itself ill-prepared to have the state immediately thrust it into new…

Describes a small group program in a nursing curriculum utilizing the Theme-Centered Interaction model, which attempts to combine and balance the cognitive, subjective-affective, and interactional modes. The method appears uniquely suited to the needs of student nurse clinicians who are expected to acquire and integrate psychomotor and affective…

Alaskan school counselors deal with diverse systems and conditions in order to deliver counseling services through the Alaska School Counseling Program. Wherever Alaskan counselors serve, the need for a comprehensive and sequential school counseling program remains the same. An effective school counseling program must enhance and support the…

This report is the third part of a policy research study of the counselor's role in Texas schools. It was conducted as a follow up on a key finding from a previous study, which led to the recommendation that counselors be relieved of extraneous duties in order to concentrate on guidance and counseling services to students. Case studies of 21…

Teachers are responsible for pupil progress-when they do make progress. Author asks who is responsible when they do not progress and offers some suggestions. (Author/RK)

Assesses high school students' levels of dispositional optimism and pessimism, explanatory style and anger in relation to the school setting. Results suggest that anger management programs focusing on cognitive restructuring and related strategies can be a powerful means for reducing aggressive behaviors at school. (Contains 38 references.) (GCP)

The Florida State University's e-portfolio program, FSU Career Portfolio (Lumsden and others, 2001), is a student-managed portfolio system that students and alumni can use to reflect on and integrate their learning experiences and document and showcase their skills and accomplishments (Reardon, Lumsden, and Meyer, 2005). Not only has this program…

It is unlikely that Harvard University (Massachusetts) considered "outcomes assessment" for its first class of nine students in 1640, and most certainly the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States did not offer a public relations curriculum. A short history of education in the United States shows increasing numbers of…

This study examines how 11 community colleges present and promote their service learning courses via the Internet. Of particular interest to this study are the following features of online presentations: (1) how detailed and developed the Web site is and the extent of the information provided; (2) whether the Web site provides student and faculty…

When questions about Title 1 ESEA went unanswered, Congress directed NIE to make a comprehensive study of compensatory education and how to improve it. (Editor)