This manual is designed to benefit those interested in the improvement of small programs, focusing on techniques used to check on a program's goal achievement. A small program is defined, for the purpose of this manual, as one that affects a limited number of students (less than 100) and is taught by a limited staff (5 or less) with limited or no…

The authors provide techniques for deciding how to allocate resources during financial cutbacks for extension programs. They focus on positive outcomes such as increased effectiveness and innovation. (CH)

The authors identify and discuss four components of teamwork in the Boston Secondary Schools Project: team viewpoints, team roles and power, team projects, and team continuity. The discussion is based on findings from a variety of qualitative and research techniques including interviews, participant observations studies, and content analysis of…

Volunteers can help extend and expand all types of programs. Issues and trends of volunteerism in the society and its agencies and organizations are explored. (DF)

Illustrates the need for process evaluation as part of cost-effectiveness/benefit studies. Identifies reasons for ineffectiveness in three outcomes for cost-effectiveness/ benefit analysis (enrollment, completion, employment), and suggests some general strategies for program improvement. (CT)

The role of the elementary school principal is critical in determining school effectiveness. This study analyzes the thinking and language of 22 "effective change" elementary school principals to discover common patterns in decisionmaking processes. The method of grounded theory delineates implicit theories principals use to make…

This summary outlines the key findings from a national evaluation of the first-year trials of the New Relationship with Schools (NRwS) carried out by a team at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). The trials took place in the period September 2004 to July 2005 and involved 93 schools in eight local educational authorities…

The convergence of two apparently opposite theories of urban educational reform is analyzed as it occurs in three middle schools in a New York City school district. The first theory, emphasizing small schools of choice, promotes close relationships between students and adults in distinctive school programs. The second--centralized, standards-based…

This article provides an overview of the history, development, and conceptual framework guiding a national certification initiative for child and youth care workers. Summarized are descriptions of three certification assessment measures (supervisor assessment, situational judgment certification exam, and portfolio assessment), integrated with…

The goals of this research are two-fold: (1) to survey the literature comparing the effectiveness (as measured by student achievement on state tests) of scripted language arts/reading programs in low-performing schools, and (2) to compare middle school teachers' attitudes (measured in questionnaires, interviews and surveys) on implementation and…

The social nature of language learning and development has been widely acknowledged, as has the importance of family relationships in language learning processes. The role that the first language plays in the literacy development of English language learners (ELLs) and their families is irrefutable. Advocates of family literacy programs have…

In October 2006, the California Men's Colony (CMC) in San Luis Obispo, faced with staff recruitment and retention difficulties, took an innovative step to utilize long-term sentenced inmates as peer mentors and primary counselors to lead their prison-based therapeutic community (TC) program. The program was designed, developed, and implemented…

Self-assessment has been held out as an important mechanism for lifelong learning and self-improvement for health care professionals. However, there is growing concern that individual learners often interpret the results inaccurately. This idea has led to skepticism that self-assessment in its current form can ever be truly useful for lifelong…

The impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is usually understood in relation to schools and districts, but the legislation has also affected community-based organizations that operate school-linked programs. This case study of an after-school program in California demonstrates how educational accountability systems that emphasize students' academic…

The purpose of this study was to identify current student preferences in order to improve distance education curriculum delivery of the distance education program of the United States Army Command and General Staff College (USACGSC). In this age of rapidly changing contemporary operating environments facing the United States Army, soldiers need…