This publication contains the three communication skills units of the three levels of Support Materials for Agricultural Training (SMAT) in the area of occupational health and safety: Level 1 (starting), 2 (continuing), and 3 (completing). The units are designed to help the learner improve his or her written and spoken communication skills needed…

In this article, the author, the Principal of Saint Philip Neri School in Omaha, Nebraska, for 14 years, describes the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of being a principal. She notes that the "good" includes: (1) longevity--having been on the job for 14 years, she has been able to see many of the kids grow and mature; (2) a…

Schools in 47 high-poverty school districts located mostly along the Atlantic Coast of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia may have a head start on new requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, thanks to a $6 million grant from the National Science Foundation. Begun in April 2000, the five-year Coastal Rural Systemic…

This study supports efforts by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to foster greater state accountability and establish data-driven planning and self-assessment processes that help states and schools to address provisions of the recently enacted Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act…

Whereas the new administrator will seek to become comfortable and effective in a leadership role, former administrators back on the faculty will find the change of position and pace unsettling again.

Purpose: Since the end of the previous century social partners in different branches of industry have laid down measures to stimulate individual learning and competence development of workers in collective labour agreements. Special attention is given to stimulating learning demand among traditional non-participants to lifelong learning, such as…

Training in the motor vehicle repair and sales sector in the Netherlands was examined in a study that included the following approaches: review of the sector's structure/characteristics, institutional and social context, employment practices, changing conditions, and available education and training; in-depth case studies of four auto repair shops…

Training in the retail sector throughout the 12 European Community (EC) member countries was examined through in-depth case studies of 55 retail firms that were selected as representing a wide range of firm types (19 multinational, 36 national, 4 cooperative, 7 family-owned firms), forms of retailing (department stores, supermarkets, and chain and…

The Research About Teacher Education (RATE) project is an ongoing data collection effort to establish a reliable database about institutions of higher education where teachers are prepared, and about the faculty, students, and programs at these institutions. This study on the preparation of teachers in urban settings collected data from 230…

This module for a 1-semester Total Quality Management (TQM) course for high school or community college students covers the topics of benchmarking and the continuous improvement process. It includes the following components: (1) a narrative summary of the topics; (2) a discussion of benchmarking; (3) a benchmarking exercise (the "numbered ball"…

This module for a 1-semester Total Quality Management (TQM) course for high school or community college students contains a brief overview of the definition of processes, a section on process flow diagrams, and a section on process management as well as a description of process variation. Examples are used throughout the module to make processes…

This module for a 1-semester Total Quality Management (TQM) course for high school or community college students contains a brief overview of problem solving and offers a practical approach along with some of the tools that can be used. The following components are included: (1) narrative of the problem-solving process; (2) the problem-solving…

This manual is intended to serve as a resource document as well as a training guide for rehabilitation personnel to use in developing and implementing Projects with Industry (PWI) programs. Covered in a historical profile of PWI are the changing work environment, the evolution and definition of PWI, the impact of PWI on rehabilitation, and various…

This paper focuses on ways in which one state policy for improving education--standard-setting through testing mechanisms--affects the classroom teacher-learner relationship. That uniform policy-making is problematic is clear from observations of 43 Mid-Atlantic school district teachers. Responding to three types of standards, 45 percent found…

This competency-based curriculum was designed to aid teachers in West Virginia to provide students with information about careers in the personal services occupational cluster. The curriculum guide contains 43 lessons, organized into the four areas of attendant services, barber and beauty services, commercial services, and residential services,…