This technical report describes the development of "Finetuning Special Education Finance: A Guide for State Policymakers." The report's introductory section notes the need for information on special education finance. Section 2 describes how these needs were identified--through a national survey of 118 persons knowledgeable about state…

During the 1979-80 academic year, a study was conducted to determine the beliefs and attitudes held by individuals in four groups (students, parents, teachers, and administrators) directly associated with the student activity program in a small Mississippi high school using ethnographic techniques. Ethnographic techniques involve the direct…

A study was undertaken to improve the quality of student follow-up data submitted by the California community colleges in compliance with federal Vocational Education Data System (VEDS) reporting requirements. The objectives of the study were to conduct a follow-up of vocational education students from 14 community colleges, standardizing data…

Guidelines for conducting departmental reviews are presented to help review panels, departments being reviewed, and administrators. In planning a review, the following considerations are important: the purpose of the review and the terms of reference, the organization of the review and who will conduct it, and the information that will be…

This instructor's manual is designed to familiarize vocational education teachers with the use of computer-managed instruction (CMI) in competency-based vocational education programs. Discussed in the introductory section of the manual are the basic functions of CMI, tips for getting started, daily recordkeeping procedures, weekly timecard…

This report describes plans for the development of a major longitudinal research database designed to support the development and validation of new predictors of Army performance, and also new measures of Army performance against which the new predictors can be validated. The following aspects of the database are addressed: (1) the anticipated…

This paper deals with two questions: (1) what are the the applications that might be made of microcomputers in evaluation? and (2) what are the kinds of problems (personnel, organizational, and technical) that must be overcome if microcomputers are to be used effectively? The applications include proposals and planning, management, data…

Two participant observers evaluated the week-long camp experience of adult women in order to assess the appropriateness of participant observation research methods in the camp setting, to identify strengths and weaknesses of this method, and to develop guidelines for its use. The study was part of a larger evaluation of the 9th annual Women's Week…

The evaluation of federal programs such as the migrant education program causes a dilemma for state education agencies. The law places the prime responsibility for establishing, and accounting for, quality programs on state and local education agencies. However, no explicit directive requires that this be done in a uniform manner. A lack of…

The purpose of this research project was to develop techniques for analyzing user searches of the Syracuse University Libraries Information Retrieval Systems (SULIRS) to enable library staff to identify and test potentially high payoff modifications to the system and/or to user documentation. The first task was an exploratory analysis of recorded…

Author proposed a set of concepts and methods for the measurement of educational environments. He compared the activity-with-facility (synomorph) patterns of schools of both open-plan and traditional architecture. (Editor/RK)

Techniques are illustrated in this article for strengthening evaluative designs and methodologies relevant to educational programs that incorporate within their broad aims assisting in social problem-solving. (AJ)

A model procedure, implemented in 1976 at Thomas Nelson Community College (Virginia), for community based and continuous long-range planning is described in this report. The model involves extensive participation by all community segments and presents strategies for review, approval, and research in support of the plan. Planning components include…

This paper describes the use of the ethnographer's perspective in applying research knowledge to the improvement of educational practice. The Documentation and Technical Assistance Project (DTA) uses ethnographic methods to study problem solving in urban public schools. In the complicated culture of the urban school, social, economic and political…

Problems associated with uncoordinated proliferation of data collection procedures will not be alleviated until educational agencies and legislative bodies, at both state and federal levels, view data as a scarce resource which must be managed efficiently. Better linkages must be made between the data transfer requirements generated by the…