The work of the visiting teacher in the country's school system is rapidly becoming a professional service of significance in the realization of the objectives of education, namely, complete development of the whole child. Like many new services, this phase of pupil personnel work has had a Topsy-like growth without adequate safeguards as to…

At a time when a large portion of the pupils who have completed the work of the secondary school continues into higher institutions of learning, neither the group of secondary schools nor the aggregation of colleges has a right to consider its problems out of relation to the level of education above or below it. During the past few years a…

This article presents the most recent results of a comparative review of early childhood education and care carried out by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Founded in 1961 and based in Paris, OECD is one of the world's most important sources of statistical, economic, and social data. Based on reviews in the…

The authors express reservations about additional federal funding for the National Science Foundation, including new funding for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education programs, provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. For more than 50 years, American political, business, military, and academic leaders…

As the national education policy community prepares for the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), revamping the school improvement approach leveraged by accountability systems has risen to the top of the agenda. There is an emerging consensus that the school improvement process should be systemic, led by states and…

In this paper, the authors review and analyze state policy regarding beginning teacher mentoring with a focus on special education. Mentoring policies guide the selection, assignment, and training of mentors and the process with which novice teachers are matched with veteran mentors. Mentoring is a component of induction; but induction also…

Early Head Start serves newborns through toddlers. It is an offshoot of Head Start, the 44-year-old federal program for low-income children ages 3 through 5. Social scientists studying brain development and emotional growth increasingly identify early education as critical to preparing children for kindergarten. As well, researchers have linked it…

Numerous studies have identified that delays in diagnosis related to the mishandling of abnormal test results are an import contributor to diagnostic errors. Factors contributing to missed results included organizational factors, provider factors and patient-related factors. At the diagnosis error conference continuing medical education conference…

Hawkeye Institute of Technology, Waterloo, Iowa, has developed a professional improvement program that provides instructors with sufficient time to upgrade their skills and knowledge while they continue to teach in their fields. (Author/MW)

A description is given of the development and implementation of an inservice program, "Project Excel," which was designed in accordance with andragogical theory. This theory is based upon four major assumptions: (1) as people grow, they become increasingly self-directed; (2) as people grow, a reservoir of experiences which provide a…

Data were obtained from Department of Defense (DOD) officials and installations having experience with gainsharing programs. (Gainsharing programs measure gains in employee productivity and share the resulting savings between employees and the organization.) Analysis of private sector studies on gainsharing efforts identified three major trends in…

The Louisiana Educational Employees Professional Improvement Program was designed to encourage continuing educational efforts by public school teachers. Participation in the program is voluntary and is open also to administrative staff, specialists, and other personnel for whom a valid certificate is required for employment. The current revised…

An emphasis on full staff involvement has been the focus of school improvement efforts at Beacon Hill Elementary School in Kelso, Washington. Following a process for improvement through the application of effective schooling research results in instructional programs, the school has involved staff in planning, goal setting, and extensive inservice…

This report summarizes a study that explored the relationships between efforts to improve schools, the definitions of effectiveness or success which drive those efforts, and how these are affected by the inner life, or cultures, of the schools. Three improving high schools were studied in an attempt to understand the deeply-held beliefs of the…

The gruesome fate of geriatric patients can be improved by teaching methods originally designed for children. (Editor)