This report provides initial results of Illinois' Shifting Gears Initiative that operated between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2009. This mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) evaluation sought to accomplish three goals: (1) to assess program and student outcomes for two models (adult education and developmental education) for two target groups…

Using a framework that draws upon current organizational theory and assumptions about knowledge utilization and school improvement this report examines the process of change at the school level. The model developed attempts both to categorize the "strategies" employed by the Research and Development Utilization (RDU) program/projects and…

Based on two papers presented at the American Educational Research Association meeting in 1981, this report provides an overview and major outcomes of a three-year study of the Research and Development Utilization (RDU) program. The RDU program tested and assessed a comprehensive model for assisting schools to use results of educational research…

Project Priority: Occupational Emphasis was designed to assist New York State two-year colleges in the application of cognitive style information to vocational programs. The project consisted of four phases: (1) a workshop on cognitive style assessment, case studies, and information application; (2) campus visitations by project consultants in…

The fourth publication in the Model Schools series, this guide for administrators suggests changes and procedures that come mainly from the authors' experience in the Model Schools Project, a five-year program sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The project's purpose was to demonstrate in a group of schools that…

The Research and Development Utilization (RDU) program research component examines the successes and administrative dilemmas faced by demonstration projects that attempted to develop interorganizational networks in a knowledge utilization and school improvement process. A framework is presented for looking at RDU projects as a group of…

This three-phase project sought to ascertain the effectiveness of cross-divisional Educational Development Teams (EDT's) as residential change agents for program planning and development. Staff of 14 North Carolina community colleges and technical institutes were trained for roles as change agents. Developmental or remedial programs for…

The full-purpose partnership (FPP) schoolwide model primarily focuses on prevention and early intervention. This model brings the tenets of service coordination directly into the school and focuses efforts to involve families from a strengths perspective before behavioral issues become significant. A preliminary evaluation has shown that this…

A 1-year demonstration project was conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to help remove or reduce barriers to the participation of low-income family day care homes in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). FNS funded six grantees to conduct a demonstration of three different strategies.…

These technical appendices are bound separately from the report "Strategies for Knowledge Use and School Improvement" which evaluates the National Institute of Education's Research and Development Utilization (RDU) program. Appendix A contains a preliminary report on the statistical quality of the quantitative data, focusing primarily on…

In fall, 1988, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) in Alexandria, Virginia selected 12 districts to comprise an Early Childhood Consortium. Consortium members attended two meetings a year for 3 years; received assistance in such areas as child-centered instruction and developmental curricula; planned an exemplary…

This brief report summarizes the staff development benefits that occurred as a result of teachers participating in the Research and Development Utilization Program (RDU). Surveys of 540 teachers revealed the five most frequently cited staff development benefits to be: (1) learning more about curriculum development; (2) learning more about the…

This paper describes the Community Collaboration Project, a program in one rural Vermont community (Addison County) to maximize resources serving children with serious emotional disturbances. The project uses an interagency collaboration "wraparound" model which emphasizes consultation instead of direct services. The project utilizes an…

This publication reviews a statewide change effort in New York conceived of as a comprehensive, systematic process of change involving the participation of a total community in the examination and redefinition of its educational needs and goals. As a change strategy, Redesign attempts to deal with the entire system of education and is concerned…

After a brief introduction offering three reasons people and institutions hesitate to commit themselves to a continuing process of "self-study-in-action," four types of administrative leadership activities are distinguished, those that: (1) respond to external emergencies/opportunities, (2) accomplish role-defined tasks, (3) define and…