Reports on a study conducted by the Two-Year College Development Center to evaluate contract courses delivered by New York community colleges. Discusses findings related to the effectiveness of contract courses, implications of training opportunities, perceived value of training, and employer recommendations. (DMM)

Describes development and implementation of Life-Impact Curriculum at Children's Home Parkhill School for severely emotionally disturbed students in Tampa, Florida. Describes the home, the 16 students involved in the Life-Impact Curriculum, and the effects of participation in the curriculum. (NB)

Clarifies details of research design and procedures in response to critiques of six longitudinal comparative studies from the Early Intervention Research Institute. The institute's investigations examined the effects and costs of early intervention for children with disabilities. (BB)

Presents profiles of the Parent-Teacher Action Research projects of seven schools in the national reform network, the League of Schools Reaching Out, and one in Spain. Each school is carrying out a family and community involvement project, and each has an action research team to collect information on program effects. (SLD)

Describes a cross-national action research project involving 8 schools in the United States and 11 schools in 5 other countries studying family-community-school partnerships and the policies or political contexts that shape, and are shaped by, them. Early results suggest the usefulness of action research in emerging dialog. (SLD)

Discusses some of the instructional approaches advocated by the California International Studies Project (CISP). CISP proposes integrating global perspectives throughout the entire curriculum. They recommend examining the interdependence between different countries, resources, social issues, and academic subjects. Includes a complete list of CISP…

The effectiveness of three substance-abuse-prevention videotapes derived from contrasting theoretical frameworks was evaluated using 312 rural Mexican-American students in grades seven through eight. The assertion-training video produced higher levels of assertiveness among ninth-graders; the others had no impact. Discusses the importance of…

Describes a college service-learning project addressing a crucial need for school-age child care within the community. While creating and implementing the after-school program, students took responsibility for their decisions, cooperated to solve problems and delegate tasks, and developed leadership and self-efficacy. The result was student…

Argues that the political aspect of the Fulbright Exchange Program for college faculty has enhanced its academic effectiveness. The program's context, history, and method are described, and the Netherlands program is discussed in detail, noting particularly its transformation since 1947. Repoliticization of the Fulbright program in coordinated…

A 1998 National Science Foundation report says minorities and women are still underrepresented in science and technology fields. "Saturday Science," an enrichment program designed by the School Board of Broward County (Florida) and Broward Community College, substantially increased racial/gender participation and GPAs in nonintroductory…

The New Standards Project, attempting to create an assessment system comprised of performance exams, portfolios and projects, may not have fulfilled its promise to create a national system of tests worth teaching to. However, NSP did deliver high- quality professional-development opportunities for hundreds of teachers across the nation. (Contains…

This article summarizes how an organization designed and implemented a quality improvement infrastructure and an effective outcomes-based management system. Stages included: assessing the organization's current status and planning for buy-in, initiating data collection, ensuring data integrity, utilizing data in clinical assessment and…

Teachers in a Spanish/English dual language elementary school in Tucson (Arizona) promote Spanish literacy using a school-designed program. The schoolwide, nonscripted program has been successful in supporting the transfer of reading skills from Spanish to English and in including special education students in dual language schooling. (Contains 33…

Some colleges and universities claim they can't find "eligible" African-American undergraduates to recruit into science and engineering graduate programs. Those that find and enroll students sometimes fail to graduate them. Experts who are succeeding say it is primarily a matter of will. Statistical and anecdotal information are used in…

Explores benefits derived from the "Gardendale Family" (a vertically aligned team of K-6 classrooms). Describes how older students give guidance, feedback, and validation to those in lower grades as the younger children become active members of the literacy community; and how students use written and oral language in authentic and…