The author offers advice on what organizations can do to enhance the mentoring process. She discusses finding a relevant focus, collecting data about the factors that promote and inhibit developmental relationships, implementing change, evaluating and monitoring impact, and taking the time to involve organizational members in a collaborative…

The article reports on surveys of agricultural education graduates conducted by Kansas State University which have been feeding back ideas and facts which are used to improve undergraduate teacher training. Wide practice of such a procedure is urged. (AJ)

This report is the second of a series exploring implementation of best practices in programs serving young children and families, and focuses on the uses and benefits of developing and using a logic model in programs serving young children and families. A logic model is described as providing a way to clearly articulate the program's theory of…

A study examined the implementation of the Indiana Early Literacy Intervention Grant Program during the 1997-98 school year, when the program funded a total of 133 projects and served 9,685 students in its first year. The study incorporated an analysis of existing databases, a systematic review of the research literature on reading interventions,…

Voluntary cooperative consortia among colleges and universities are increasing and show promising potential strength. (IR)

Discusses the substantial task facing university counseling centers, outlining the background of those problems. Presents concrete, remedial steps counseling center staffs can take. (RC)

Students (37) and graduates (108) responded to 567 questionnaires sent seeking impressions of the Lorado Taft Field campus' (Northern Illinois University) outdoor teacher education (OTE) program. The survey sought personal information, evaluations of achievement of OTE program goals and objectives, impact of program on students, and new directions…

Program reviews for alumni administration are advocated. Cooperative planning; creating a formal study committee for sorting out ideas, getting preliminary direction, reviewing past programs, and discussing possible changes; program evaluation; and encouraging change are discussed. (MLW)

If distributive educators are concerned with providing the best training available, cooperative vocational education must not be viewed as an add-on to the distributive education program. The cooperative program can provide the opportunity students need to hone the skills, knowledge, and attitudes initially developed within the local distributive…

Discusses areas of revision on the 1996 British Government's Draft Adoption Bill: aspects of the welfare principles; criteria for dispensing with parental consent; orders for stepparents; and the use of residence orders as an alternative to adoption. Concludes that resolving those issues would be an important step toward meeting the diverse needs…

This introductory article to the issue, which focuses on the preparation of special education teachers, discusses the different perspectives of winners of the Teacher Education Division Publication Award. Evaluates whether special education departments should work with general education in teacher preparation. Provides list of winners and their…

Describes the standards and guidelines developed for learning assistance programs by the Committee for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), and those for program components by the National Association of Developmental Education (NADE). Suggests how they can be used to identify needs and improve existing services. (VWC)

Although focus groups continue to gain popularity in marketing and social science research, their use in program evaluation has been limited. Here we demonstrate how focus groups can benefit evaluators, program staff, policy makers and administrators by providing an in-depth understanding of program effectiveness from the perspective of…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe how one US Midwestern university implements quality principles, based on the value added premise in a teacher preparation program that yields accountability, teacher education standards attainment and ultimately improvement of teacher candidates and overall programs. Design/methodology/approach:…

A growing body of empirical evidence shows that some financial aid programs increase college enrollment. Puzzlingly, there is little compelling evidence that Pell Grants and Stafford Loans, the primary federal student aid programs, are effective in achieving this goal. In this paper, we provide an in-depth review of this evidence, which taken as a…