As noted in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD's) "PISA 2000 Technical Report" (OECD, 2002), the Austrian sample for the PISA 2000 assessment did not adequately cover students enrolled in combined school and work-based vocational programmes as required by the OECD's technical standards for PISA. The…

By and large, scholars of electoral behavior and civil society consider education to be the key predictor of civic participation. Indeed, civic education is held to be a fundamental institution of all deliberative democracies. Yet after decades of empirical research, we still know little about the causal mechanisms through which education fosters…

This report reviews the benchmarking practices that are presently being used at community colleges. It introduces the concept of a "culture of inquiry" as a means for judging their potential value. It classifies benchmarking efforts among three types--performance, diagnostic, and process--and characterizes each by its typical use. The…

This review of the current literature on second language learning was to inform the following four questions: (1) what are the effects of learning a second language on the first language? (2) What is the role of content instruction in offering a second language? (3) What are the effects of learning a second language on students with special needs?…

Intended for classroom teachers at all levels and for undergraduate students in teacher education programs that included a practicum or field experience, this book provides both a guide and a resource for meeting the needs of readers experiencing difficulty. This fourth edition focuses on providing teachers with techniques for recognizing readers…

This monograph provides information on identifying children and youth who could benefit from social skills instruction, highlights strategies for teaching social skills, and presents ideas for reinforcing social competence. After a chapter that introduces the issues, Chapter 2, "Social Competence," defines social competence and discusses…

This project at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (Fort Worth) evaluated the use of an artificial-intelligence-derived measure, "Knowledge-Based Inference Tool" (KBIT), as the basis for assessing medical students' diagnostic capabilities and designing instruction to improve diagnostic skills. The instrument was designed to…

This chapter from a North Dakota guide for early childhood special education personnel focuses on the evaluation and assessment of young children with special needs. Following an introduction, which summarizes requirements under Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, overviews of infant development and early childhood special…

One teacher's experiences teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to adults in community-based programs are drawn upon to illustrate how ESL syllabus design can better reflect the conditions that attract students to community agencies, and how the agencies can better serve students uninterested in or disadvantaged by formal educational…

This report examines the nature and extent of professional development activities, assesses the current National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) collection of professional development data, and recommends ways to enhance that data collection. Section 1, "Overview and Background," introduces the subject. Section 2, "Linking…

This document, which is intended for curriculum managers, student services managers, and learning support managers in further education (FE) colleges throughout the United Kingdom, presents the practical experiences of FE colleges that have implemented a range of approaches to initial assessment and offers technical information, good practice…

The Physical Therapy Department of Nova Southeastern University (NSU PT) changed its curriculum to problem-based learning, and in conjunction with changes needed new evaluation forms for accreditation and program requirements. The purpose of this practicum study was the development and validation of faculty and course evaluation forms for students…

This collection of readings is intended to provide teachers of children who are blind or visually impaired with guidelines and strategies for teaching the reading and writing of braille. The eight chapters are: (1) "Braille as the Primary Literacy Medium: General Guidelines and Strategies" (Diane P. Wormsley); (2) "Fostering Emergent Literacy"…

This paper describes the faculty evaluation process at the Health Sciences Center at Texas Tech University. It covers the Center's five disciplines: allied health, dentistry, medicine, nursing, and pharmacy. Faculty members in these disciplines must usually have certification and/or licensure in the profession as well as typical academic…

This book is designed for both adults with dyslexia and for professionals concerned with helping them, such as psychologists, tutors, therapists, researchers, disability advisors, and welfare officers. It also offers advice to employers on how to help staff with dyslexia. The text covers the nature of dyslexic difficulties and their effects, both…