Beginning in fall 1991, Napa Valley College (NVC), in California, switched from essentially mandatory placement of incoming students to an advisory, self-selection system, where students receive course recommendations based on assessment test results. In order to evaluate the validity of NVC's assessment procedures, a study was conducted of…

Data collected from a sample of over 200 elementary school children from Tennessee were used for studying their perceptions of the future. An interview guide-questionnaire provided information regarding children's perceptions along the following three different dimensions: how children perceived their own personal future; how they perceived…

This primer consists of eight chapters, a glossary, 48 references, and an index. Chapter 1 gives an introduction and overview of distance education, including a summary of the international roots of distance education and the evolution of distance education in Alaska. Chapter 2 covers the factors enhancing effectiveness in distance education.…

This report describes four programs identified as fitting the criteria of a program that bridges the worlds of learning, earning, and adulthood for all students. "Overview: Making School Work for All Students" (Linda Chion-Kenney) provides background and describes criteria to be met by schools serving needs of vocational students.…

Prepared for an audience unfamiliar with Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC), as well as for college personnel, this factbook provides a historical overview of the college, information on success and impact, perceptions of MDCC at state and national levels, and information on college resources. The factbook provides: (1) a list of MDCC's values…

This learning activity package is designed to help the learner understand classes in apprenticeship-related instruction. Three units address what happens in apprenticeship classrooms, what should not be done in apprenticeship classrooms, and how to do one's best in an apprenticeship classroom. Each unit discusses problems that many students have…

This study examined the characteristics and developmental patterns of National/State Teacher of the Year (NSTOY) honorees, through analysis of 196 honorees' responses on "The Great American Success Quotient Test." Results are analyzed in terms of personal characteristics or traits, experiences in chosen field, academic experience,…

This study investigates definitions and usage of the term "mental retardation" worldwide, via a review of the literature and a survey of 20 countries. Nineteen of the 20 responding countries reported using some sort of intelligence quotient (IQ) criterion to determine mental retardation, though the criterion varies. In some countries, there are…

Noting the increasing need for Head Start's efforts to support parents' personal and professional success, this guide for Head Start staff examines the success process at both the individual and the program level, and explores strategies that strengthen the larger community's support for families as they define and build upon success. Following an…

This book contains a series of essays in education intended for those who teach or plan to teach, and for parents of children in schools. The book argues that educators need to focus on the seminal thinking which developed in the 1940s and 1950s and utilize the insights developed then to focus on critical areas that the teaching profession faces…

This Chabot College (California) Student Satisfaction Survey sampled 1,149 students in 59 course sections. Conducted in fall 1997, the five-page survey focused on the following factors: educational goals and reasons for attending Chabot, satisfaction with the college and its facilities and services, campus safety, campus climate, course…

This publication discusses issues of parent-teacher partnerships that affect children's development. An introductory chapter suggests that the central figures in fostering the development of a child's potential are the significant adults in the child's world. Chapter 2 considers family relationships as prototypes for later partnerships, and lists…

This report describes how 20 states and Puerto Rico used $2.7 million awarded by the Gannett Foundation to build and expand adult literacy activities in a coordinated fashion statewide. Chapter 1 presents information on development of the Literacy Challenge grants program and brief descriptions of each project, including year funded, amount of…

This document is designed for elementary school teachers to teach students concepts of personal responsibility. Daily lessons are organized around the following "twelve steps to success": be confident; be responsible; be here; be on time; be friendly; be polite; be prepared; be a listener; be a doer; be a tough worker; be a risk taker; and be a…

Efforts of immigrant and minority youth to make the school-to-work transition successfully are adversely affected by social, psychological, cultural, familial, and individual factors. Complicating their struggle to attain a sense of competence and personal identity, which is common to all youth, are "outsider status," language problems,…