This compendium of narrative and statistical information is an overview of the Oregon University System (OUS) and is produced every two years. The introduction includes a mission and vision statement, a listing of OUS campuses and centers, a history of the institutions, OUS degree partnership programs, and distance education degree programs, OUS…

This report summarizes survey results of Austin ISD teachers and campus administrators about their professional development needs for the 2006-2007 school year.

This article provides an overview of the development of disability employment policy and rehabilitation services in Australia. In particular, it focuses on recent legislative and policy changes that attempt to address the high rates of welfare dependency, low employment rates and workplace discrimination experienced by people with disabilities. An…

This article presents how Developmental Approaches in Science, Health and Technology (DASH) summer institute sparks the author to try and succeed in using inquiry with her young students. It is a program created by the Curriculum Research and Development Group, University of Hawaii, and funded in part by the National Science Foundation. DASH is an…

Introduction: Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) projects are difficult to evaluate when implemented at most organizations. There are many variables and some of these are qualitative and hard to assess. However, there are other variables that could be measured and, thus, for a specific CSCW system, management could have a performance…

The impact of increases in lay leadership in Catholic higher education is an issue of considerable debate. Opponents of the change believe that the traditional identity and mission of Catholic institutions may be significantly altered if lay leaders fail to intentionally nurture Catholic values and practices. Others believe that lay leaders may…

This study examines the association between three outcomes of the freshman and sophomore years (retention, academic achievement and student rating of instruction) and the amount of exposure to three types of instructors (regular full-time faculty, adjunct faculty and graduate teaching assistants). This study uncovered little evidence that…

The federal government recently enacted its first school voucher program as a pilot project in the District of Columbia. To be eligible, students need to be entering grades K-12 and have a family income at or below 185 percent of the poverty level. Although a rigorous analysis of the Opportunity Scholarship Program's impact on student achievement…

Recent language testing research investigates factors other than language proficiency that may be responsible for systematic variance in language test performance. One such factor is the test takers' cognitive styles. The present study was carried out with the aim of finding the probable effects of Iranian EFL learners' cognitive styles on their…

Monitoring the Future is an ongoing program of research intended to assess the changing lifestyles, values, and preferences of American youth. This publication, from the occasional paper series, describes a study that monitors drug use and potential explanatory factors among American secondary school students, college students, and young adults.…

In this paper we examine the research literature on teacher performance pay. Evidence clearly suggests an upsurge of interest in many states and school districts, however, expanded use of merit pay has been controversial. We briefly review the history of teacher pay policy in the U.S. and earlier cycles of interest in merit or performance-based…

This article relates the evolution of field-related accreditation standards since the 1982 Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Curriculum Policy Statement to the changes that have occurred in agencies, students, and educational institutions. It demonstrates how CSWE modifications helped solve some problems while creating new ones. The authors…

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to investigate the factors accounting for the lack of ambition among Greek female teachers in reaching managerial positions in the higher echelons of education's hierarchical structure. The analysis was performed on data collected from 304 female primary teachers during the academic year 1999-2000, randomly…

The Veterans Health Administration (VA) provides a case study for linking performance measurement, information technology, and aligned research efforts to facilitate quality improvement in a large, complex health system. Dialogue between clinical researchers and VA leaders occurs through structured activities (e.g., the Quality Enhancement…

This article presents the results of an 11-year longitudinal study of the impact of America's Choice comprehensive school reform (CSR) design on student learning gains in Rochester, New York. A quasi-experimental interrupted time-series approach using Bayesian hierarchical growth curve analysis with crossed random effects is used to compare the…