In the domain of school-based tobacco control, there is a large gap between the research being performed and the type of research needed to inform school-based prevention activities. The tobacco module of the school health action planning and evaluation system is a data collection and feedback system designed to support school-based tobacco…

Children's right to participate as enshrined in Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is increasingly evident in the rhetoric of policy documents as well as in practice and research with children and young people. Children's participation in research is being facilitated in a range of creative ways, including as…

An emerging research tool used in recent years to better understand and improve teacher thinking has been the use of collaboration and collaborative action research. In our study, we were interested in whether teachers could enhance the learning of their subjects through the use of teaching techniques and strategies involving social interaction.…

This article is an abridgement of the author's dissertation research, which investigated the circumstances under which organizations and agencies in an urban community will make resources available for use in public schools. (Editor)

This study was an attempt to document and analyze the national effort of Columbia, South America to resolve its educational problems by the process of organizational and administrative reform. (Author/RK)

This paper reviews some major lessons learned by participants in the Follow Through programs about the process ofimplementing innovative educational programs and outlines how these lessons were recorded and formulated for use by others. Using a perspective and method derived from anthropology and oral history these program aspects are described:…

Reviews aspects of a study conducted to compile data concerning numerous features of allied health education programs in Wisconsin. Some of the problems in data collection, retrieval, and reporting are summarized. The author makes suggestions for gaining support and increasing participation in such endeavors among different groups. (Author/CT)

The basic sources and types of demographic data available for future planning for the developmentally disabled are reviewed and a frame work for data organization is suggested. It is explained that future forecasts may be undertaken by the following principles: trend forecasting or extrapolation; scenario construction; models, games, and…

A method for using routinely collected data from large management information systems for program development is described. The example of school lunch participation illustrates the use of time series data to explore causes for observed changes in performance at the various project sites where a program is being carried out. (PN)

Useful as a classroom text and self-teaching tool, this book outlines the process of designing and reporting action research projects in schools. The underlying assumption of the book is that research is not a domain that belongs only to academics, but is a powerful approach that can be used by practitioners to contribute to school renewal and…

The objectives of this project were to: (1) identify instruments that could be utilized to obtain followup information of vocational graduates, (2) develop a methodology that could be used to obtain followup information of vocational graduates, (3) field test the instruments and methodology for data collection on sample schools, (4) develop a…

Needs assessment is an activity undertaken for planning purposes. It is important to define the limits of the study and design it on a scale appropriate to the entire planning process. This paper suggests that a needs assessment be structured into two phases. In the pre-assessment phase, a conceptual framework and well-defined exploratory…

This handbook, designed as a guide for new evaluators in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, provides an orientation to the "Discrepancy Evaluation Model" and a detailed outline of the administrative procedures necessary to conduct day-to-day activities in the first two stages of program evaluation. Guidelines for use during the first stage of…

A between method triangulation strategy was used to evaluate a process for long-range program planning. One study team conducted interviews and the other used a mail questionnaire. The resulting problems in coordination between teams are discussed. (Author/GDC)

This book, in its second edition, is intended as a practical guide to conducting action research in schools--it outlines the process of designing and reporting an action research project. Contending that action research can be used as a powerful tool that can contribute to school renewal and instructional improvement, the book defines and presents…