This guide is part of a package developed for people with disabilities and professionals wishing to conduct advocacy courses by Skills for People, a British advocacy group. The guide contains 13 sections: (1) why this guide was written; (2) how to use this guide; (3) how to have good meetings; (4) checklist for genuine involvement; (5) checklist…

This study was conducted in order to determine how beginning teachers evaluated preservice teacher education and performance. A survey was conducted of University of North Florida graduates who had been hired by school systems within the state of Florida. The graduates were asked to rate themselves on 27 generic teaching competencies and to write…

In October 1992, a task force on professional development was established to identify ways in which the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) could use professional development to enhance its educational programs and services. This report provides information on the development of the task force, discusses findings, and presents recommendations…

This advisory report investigates the possible simplification of the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and considers the issue of federal direct lending. The evaluation indicates that complexity in the FFELP is due to multiple, overlapping loan programs with conflicting terms and conditions. Nonstandard policies, procedures, forms, and…

The adaptation and use of local area network (LAN) computer technology as an educational enhancement and as a social process in a university teacher education program were studied. The LAN technology, electronic bulletin board, and facsimile machines were used to enhance university supervised clinical settings for novice teachers in the public…

The three principle elements of Total Quality Management (TQM) are a focus on customers; an attitude of continuous improvement of a system; and the involvement of everyone within an organization. At Delaware County Community College (DCCC) in Media, Pennsylvania, the first phase of implementing TQM focused on educating top management for the…

Institutional change requires that "restraining" forces (those forces resisting change) be minimized and "driving" forces (those forces moving in the direction of change) be maximized. Lasting change involves broad-based staff participation in the change process; this requires the establishment of multiple feedback levels or…

This report examines the long-term impact of Academic Program Improvement (API) grants made from 1980 to 1986 at the California State University (CSU), by assessing the factors that contributed to or inhibited permanent adoption of successful innovations. Questionnaires from and interviews with project directors and administrators associated with…

When evaluation is applied to teacher education programs in higher education, a myriad of issues emerge which make assessment complex and critical, especially during the era of reform. The purpose of this paper is to establish a comprehensive overview of assessment processes and reform efforts in teacher education programs. Organized into five…

This publication contains two reports describing the development and beginning evaluations of two separate programs of the Baltimore (Maryland) School and Family Connections Project designed to increase parents' involvement in their children's learning in urban middle grades schools. The first report, "Reactions of Parents, Students, and…

Two major recommendations are offered to teacher education reform efforts: (1) increased collaboration for both leadership and program planning in teacher education; and (2) changes in the roles of public schools and universities in the preparation of teachers. The recommendations emerged intially from a study that focused on discrepancies between…

Higher education's priorities during the next decade for the improvement of secondary and higher vocational education programs were identified. The Delphi technique analyzed a national sample of six vocational education leaders. The respondents, former American Vocational Association presidents, identified 38 priorities higher education should set…

Criticisms of teacher education, the low economic and political costs of trying to reform schools by reforming teacher education, along with the difficulty of filling some teaching positions with persons certified in traditional ways, have fueled a movement to create alternative routes to teacher certification in the vast majority of states. This…

The Implementation of Job Placement Services Guidelines Project was designed to strengthen placement programs and services for California community college vocational students, and for all students needing part-time employment to realize their educational goals. The project was designed to test the validity and relevance of quality indicators…

The Office of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment of the New York City Public Schools evaluates the Chapter 1 Math Skills program annually. Objectives, which were set by the Division of High Schools, are that at least 50 percent of full-year program participants will demonstrate a normal curve equivalent (NCE) gain of at least 1 unit as measured…