This article describes a holistically oriented therapeutic intervention (Quiet Place) developed to promote a sense of peace and relaxation for children with emotional and behavioral disorders. Evaluation of the first cohort of British children (n=22) to complete the program indicates the intervention had a positive effect overall on emotional…

Discusses two danger signs for writing across the curriculum (WAC) program survival, dealing with their cross-curricular structure, and their heavy dependence on just one person for their health and continuation. Outlines two cases from the history of writing instruction at the University of Michigan providing a precautionary tale for both kinds…

The purpose of this chapter is to synthesize the results of the studies presented in this monograph and to discuss the implications of those results. The chapter is divided into four sections. In the first section state level assessment as a reform mechanism for high school physical education is discussed in terms of the South Carolina experience.…

This report identifies and synthesizes what is known about specific program features for children and youth aged 6-17 that might be manipulated or regulated-components such as staff wages, group size, activities, and theoretical approach that make up the "how" of program implementation. The authors have culled information from the limited extant…

The "Model Secondary (6-12) Plan for Reading Intervention and Development" has been designed to meet the cognitive needs of middle school through high school students whose reading performance ranges from those significantly below expectation through those reading at or above grade level. The reading needs of the population of students in need of…

The Governor's Educator Excellence Grant (GEEG) program was federally- and state-funded and provided three-year grants to schools to design and implement performance pay plans from the 2005-06 to 2007-08 school years. GEEG was implemented in 99 high poverty, high performing Texas public schools. This report builds on the previous GEEG evaluation…

The School Development Program (SDP), initiated 25 years ago by Dr. James Comer, is described, with focus on the need for knowledge about its child development component and the implications of this lack for program implementation and impact. The SDP program is recognized for its primary focus on child development and human relationships as its…

This paper begins by describing the basic design and scope of Tennessee's Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (Project STAR), which began in 1985. The project was designed to determine the effect of reduced class size on the achievement and development of students in kindergarten through grade three. Findings that demonstrated that students in…

This booklet discusses obstacles to effective drug education programs and suggests components that should be included in order to ensure effective programs. The first section presents six questions to ask of one's drug education program, noting that a poorly conceived program can do more harm than good. The second section focuses on convincing…

Staff development has been the focus of the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory's Rural Small Schools Initiative (RSSI) since it began in 1987. The research literature and RSSI's own survey of staff development practices in southwestern rural schools indicate that current staff development delivery systems are content rich and process…

The evaluations of substance abuse prevention programs have been criticized for being incomplete, for lacking a comprehensive approach, and for lacking a process evaluation component. Context factors have been found to have distinctive patterns among alcohol and other drug abusers. Among the variables of interest, family cohesion, family…

This publication presents an overview of all educational programs approved for national dissemination by the Department of Education. The projects are divided into the following sections: (1) adult education; (2) administration/organizational arrangements; (3) alternative schools/programs/bilingual/migrant programs; (4) basic skills--language…

This study examines two types of inservice activities in the Netherlands. With the first, school-focused inservice education, continuing education activities are focused on the interests, needs, and problems directly related to one's role and responsibilities in a specific school setting. This focuses on teachers' concerns and needs as well as on…

This paper examines critical issues for states and advocacy groups in trying to develop short-term goals to address mental health needs of refugees and to plan long-term strategies for state and county service systems for this population. The paper begins with a discussion of the following issues: (1) centralized versus decentralized state mental…

Meta-analysis of 17 studies was conducted to determine the effectiveness of retaining elementary school students in grade. Calculations with data from the 17 studies produced 217 effect size measures, most of which were measures of differences in reading and mathematics achievement. Some measures of differences in social adjustment, behavior, and…