This volume, the fourth of a five-volume series, contains three onsite case studies of organization development (OD) selected from a sample of 76 school districts. The purpose of the case studies was to analyze in detail different types of OD programs and their use. Each case study represents a different OD focus: case study A involves a survey…

A case study of the Science Education Project, aimed at improving South African science education, revealed that tactics for in-service education identified as important for the success of educational innovations in developed countries are also appropriate in developing countries. However, the context of the developing country gives rise to…

Although more and more students have the test scores and transcripts to get into college, far too many are struggling once they get there. These students are surprised to find that college coursework demands so much more of them than high school. For the first time, they are asked to think deeply, write extensively, document assertions, solve…

High schools have responded to the poor labor market primarily by encouraging college-for-all policies, leading the majority of seniors to plan to get college degrees, even those who perform poorly. School policies focus too narrowly on academic achievement, overlooking soft skills like motivation, dependability, attention to quality, and social…

The project Sharing and Celebrating Exemplary and Promising Programs annually identifies outstanding career and technical education (CTE) programs in secondary and postsecondary settings. The programs were evaluated by using criteria based on programs' quality, educational significance, effectiveness, and replicability. Programs and teachers also…

Western Michigan University (WMU) in Kalamazoo, Michigan, has partnered with Michigan community colleges to develop an occupational education studies (OES) program to prepare future career and technical education (CTE) instructors by allowing students to transfer their technical degree from the community college as their teaching major at the…

Since 1987, more than 1,100 high schools in 35 states have adopted the High Schools That Work (HSTW) improvement design. The effectiveness of selected school and classroom practices included in the HSTW design was analyzed to identify implications for federal policy, the conditions that improve students' chances for success, and practices that…

Because emotional well-being is increasingly being recognized as a predictor of success in school, family, and work life, many are advocating that emotional intelligence be promoted as early as elementary school. Emotional intelligence involves two competencies important to career success: (1) the ability to recognize personal and others' feelings…

This project described the characteristics and teaching behaviors of those successfully teaching AP® Calculus AB and AP English Literature and Composition to underrepresented minority students. Its purpose was to assist educators in improving the participation and performance of underrepresented minority students in AP classes. Study results…

The effectiveness of employment and training (E&T) programs in improving labor market outcomes can be assessed by measuring the impact on the future success of participants. The program with the greatest success in reducing dropout rates among at-risk youth is the Quantum Opportunities Project. Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA)…

A study investigated variables related to the success or failure of New Mexico Jicarilla Apaches in their pursuit of post-secondary education, including adequacy of high school experiences as preparation for post-secondary education. Subjects (54 males, 67 females) responded to a questionnaire using items from two instruments previously developed…

This handbook provides a model or process for examining the impact of a community school. Specifically, it provides a step-by-step guide to assessing impact by looking at voting, public opinion, attendance, and vandalism data. Other potential indexes of impact are also discussed. The steps involved in conducting an impact evaluation are similar to…

This collection of program descriptions consists of case studies of 47 programs that contain promising approaches to sex-fair vocational education. The case studies (which represent programs in 39 states and the District of Columbia) describe programs that address the educational and job-skill training needs of such groups as displaced homemakers,…

A demonstration student personnel services project was developed and implemented at the Prosser Vocational Center in Indiana. In the 1977-1978 school year, students from eighteen cooperating high schools participated in the program. This represented an increase, due to recruiting by both staff and students, career education beginning at the…

A study assessed the impact of the Career Intern Program (CIP) on participating students. (The CIP is an alternative high school designed to enable disadvantaged and alienated dropouts or potential dropouts to earn regular high school diplomas, to prepare them for meaningful employment or postsecondary education, and to facilitate their transition…