Summaries are presented in this book of dissertations, master theses, and master reports relating directly or indirectly to vocational education which were conducted by faculty and graduate students in the universities and colleges of Kansas between 1969 and 1975. The objectives in presenting these summaries are noted: (1) to encourage new…

Argues that a greatly expanded attention given to futurism in educational institutions and an intensive, systematic use of futures research applied to educational policy making can go a long way toward meeting criticisms that education is backwards looking and resistant to change, and that education tends to develop an in-capacity for future…

In five chapters and two appendices, this report discusses the goals and activities for 1978-79 of the National Institute of Education (NIE) and the National Council on Educational Research (NCER), which is the policy-making body for the NIE. In the first chapter, outgoing NCER chairman John E. Corbally reviews problems involved in utilizing NIE…

The articles and background information in this publication will be useful to K-12 principals and teachers interested in starting a global education program. The material presented is drawn from a variety of sources, including "Principals," the journal of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, from which a number of articles…

A study investigated the influence of users' attitudes and sources of information on their adoption of a training research project. A two-part questionnaire was administered to 111 Army participants attending TRADOC/FORSCOM Training and Evaluation Workshops to gather attitudinal and usage information relating to the adoption of the Training…

Focusing on the problems of the federal role in education, the educational "competency" of federal programs, and the usefulness of research-based knowledge for educational practice, this report evaluates the Experimental Schools Program (ESP), a small federal program in the early 1970s that aimed to help poor and minority students by…

To gain insight into the nature of cooperative and collaborative processes and to contribute information to those considering similar research, an effort was initiated by a school district and a research center to work together in a "collaborative" mode. It was anticipated that the needs of the school district would be addressed, that the goals of…

It is noted that current methods of textbook selection are characterized by subjective judgments and faddish trends. It is felt that rarely in the process of selection are research findings that are available or principles of educational psychology seriously considered. A systematic selection process of entire series of textbooks, based on the…

Focusing on whether and how research actually contributes to the formation of public policy, this paper explores the critical problems in the linkage between science production and the systems that formulate educational policy. The authors suggest that the utilization of social research is limited more by problems of integrating research into the…

The distance between educational researchers and classroom teachers benefits disinterested observation, but dispossesses the researchers of participatory modes of understanding. In attempting to resolve this problem, some researchers have developed the theory and practice of teachers as researchers, similar to Kurt Lewin's action research. Lewin…

Educational planning is presently confronted by an identity crisis. As long as it was believed that educational expansion was a principal ingredient for securing economic growth, democratic political processes, and greater equality of economics and social participation, the tenets and practice of educational planning were rarely questioned.…

A survey of 1,127 public two-year colleges was conducted to determine the extent to which the colleges had been involved in formalized needs assessment projects from 1976 through 1979, the strategies they had used in planning and conducting these studies, and the ways in which the colleges had used and benefitted from this research. Survey…

The Research and Development Utilization (RDU) program research component examines the successes and administrative dilemmas faced by demonstration projects that attempted to develop interorganizational networks in a knowledge utilization and school improvement process. A framework is presented for looking at RDU projects as a group of…

A study of the National Institute of Education's Research and Development Utilization (RDU) program illuminates several policy choices for federal and state support of dissemination and school improvement projects. RDU was established in 1976 to disseminate educational materials and thereby help schools clarify and solve local problems. Seven…