The purpose of this study was to develop a model for evaluating a professional development school program to enact an evidence-based model for a continuous cycle of program improvement. Guided by the logic model for program evaluation, we developed three survey instruments based on the professional development school standards of the National…

This paper explores both how male and female high school pupils (15-16 years old) perceive the engineering profession and their willingness to pursue a career in this area. A study was performed around a one-day outreach activity, Girls' Day, organized for the first time in Spain. During Girls' Day, students were exposed to specific activities…

This paper describes the design and implementation of a tool for experimenting with mobile robotics concepts, primarily for use by children and teenagers, or by the general public, without previous experience in robotics. This tool helps children learn about science in an approachable and interactive way, using scientific research principles in…

This report provides an overview of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and the author's plan for evaluating it over a five year period. It also presents a brief summary of the main findings of the four distinct topical reports that the author and his colleagues have completed for 2006-07--the baseline year of the evaluation. Those four…

Educational technology-related professional development (ETPD) can be designed in many different ways. ETPD varies by general purposes and goals, specific learning objectives, curriculum content, student grade levels for which the strategies and tools presented are appropriate, professional development models used, how it is matched to…

This paper describes three multigrade school reforms in Latin America: (1) Colombia's "Escuela Nueva", (2) Guatemala's "Nueva Escuela Unitaria", and (3) Chile's MECE-Rural. Each reform endowed primary teachers and students with special training and instructional materials, and encouraged new kinds of instruction in rural…

The authors discuss how to use economic techniques to evaluate educational programs and show how to apply basic cost analysis to implementation of school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS). A description of cost analysis concepts used for economic program evaluation is provided, emphasizing the suitability of these concepts for evaluating…

It is hard to overestimate the significance of the master planning process. The process is one of the most salient strategies that the Maryland State Department of Education utilizes for improving student achievement and closing the achievement gap. Until recently, many local school systems (LSSs) treated planning as a local endeavor that merely…

"Learning Around the Clock: Benefits of Expanded Learning Opportunities for Older Youth" identifies and describes Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELOs) that improve academic performance, college and career preparation, social and emotional development, and health and wellness outcomes for underserved youth. The term "expanded learning…

Founded in 1821, Widener University is a two-state (Pennsylvania and Delaware), four-campus, eight-college private institution serving approximately 6,700 students. Following arrival of the new senior vice president and provost in 2004 and subsequent reorganization of vice presidential responsibilities, Student Affairs is now led by a dean of…

The paper makes two premises: (1) excellence in mainstreaming requires modifications to regular classroom instructional activities, materials, and assessment, and support and assistance for the teachers making these modifications; (2) one criterion to judge the excellence of evaluation of mainstreaming programs is the degree to which an evaluation…

The paper describes and evaluates Disability Awareness Day (DAD), an activity at Indiana University designed to raise the awareness of the participants to the disabled community and strengthen the University's commitment to the disabled community. During the day four films were shown and disability simulations of the following handicapping…

The document presents the 1978-79 final evaluation report for the North Central Louisiana Model Preschool Program for Handicapped Children, which provides a model program of services for 30 to 40 preschool children, demonstrates this model to other school districts throughout Louisiana, and assists those who desire to replicate it. The project…

This formative evaluation study of Home Start uses a case study approach. A brief case study focuses on the administrative structure and staff resources and responsibilities of National Home Start. Also included are reports on seven local programs developed after two field visits had been made to each program. In the first visit, objectives chosen…

Any evaluation plan designed to evaluate arts in general education programs must reflect a reconsideration of the whole process of education evaluation. The evaluation plan proposed here has been used effectively to evaluate either arts education or music education programs. (Author/RK)