Challenges home economics teachers to reexamine their beliefs about the relevance of their programs. Looks at the history of high school home economics programs and suggests that it is up to home economics teachers to make their programs relevant for students. (JOW)

The delivery of French immersion programs in Canada is discussed in terms of whether an immersion program in lower, middle, or upper grades is the most effective. (three references) (Author/LB)

Evaluation of the work experience and job training (WEJT) program of Kenosha County (Wisconsin) suggests that it has no effect on length of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), a preventive impact on AFDC cases headed by never-married African-American teenagers, and a negative impact on unemployed parent cases. (SLD)

Defining hunger on the basis of poverty or other nonphysiological criteria is misleading. With nutritional data used by human-service agencies, suggests programs with such conception of hunger hurt the efforts at nutritional change. Uses central Mississippi as an example to propose objective nutritional definition and assessment. (TES)

Several features of a two-day national nephrology continuing medical education conference were analyzed using commitments for change and subsequent self-reports of implementation of change as the dependent variables. Subjects were those physician participants (N=84) who completed demographic information forms and agreed to participate in the…

Draws on child-care-quality research to inform our understanding of quality in early-intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. Presents conceptual issues in defining quality and methodological challenges for assessing quality of early-intervention services. Discusses efforts to design a measure of quality…

Fourth in a series of articles summarizing studies that examined the impact of comprehensive health-promotion and disease-management programs on health and cost. The focus is on worksite health promotion and education. Study results provide cautious optimism about the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these worksite programs and…

In fall 1999, teachers of two Wisconsin elementary schools met to discuss setting specific goals that are strategic, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and time-bound (SMART). Commonly used in government and industry, SMART goals are now helping educators evaluate their instructional processes and programs. (MLH)

Presents findings from a 1-year study of a network of neighborhood and youth programs in a low-income, Latino, Chicago neighborhood. Data from observations and interviews with workers and youths describe youth characteristics, the programs' daily functioning, how workers constructed and carried out their roles, the nature of worker-youth…

The Cognitive Training for Children (CTC) (K. Klauer, 1989) is a program that teaches thinking strategies that increase inductive reasoning. This study reviews 17 studies of the effectiveness of the CTC through a qualitative meta-analysis. Results suggest that it is neither better nor worse than available rival cognitive training programs. (SLD)

Examines the kindergarten level of four commercial basal reading programs published in 1991 and 1993 to determine the adequacy of phonological awareness instruction for learners at risk for reading disabilities and delays. Finds that the phonological awareness instructional procedures in the four basal reading programs failed to integrate critical…

Examines principles to consider when evaluating the impact of outdoor-based experiences, including developing a rationale for the evaluation, determining the emphasis of the evaluation, and applying appropriate criteria to the evaluation process. Discusses difficulties associated with control groups, sampling bias, time period of evaluation, and…

Compares the professional development programs developed by the Small Business Development Centers in Michigan and Florida. Looks at the staffing, needs assessment methods, program structure, training methods and materials, competency measurement methods, and program evaluation of the two programs. Provides a checklist for creating professional…

Four basic types of evaluation can be integrated into most existing school and program structures to assess a violence-prevention program's outcomes, qualities, and cost effectiveness: needs assessment, outcome evaluation, process evaluation, and cost -benefit analysis. Self-report, archival data collection, and classroom observation are useful…

A study to determine the extent of differences between inmates who used computer-assisted instruction and those who received traditional instruction in a prison education program found no differences in posttest scores. Possible explanations included attitudes toward testing, motivation, teacher support, dynamics of prison culture, and software…