An academic teacher at a maximum-security prison in Virginia conducted a study to determine how to improve instruction and motivate adult learners in a correctional facility. Data were collected through a survey that was distributed to 22 individuals and completed by 20 of them (2 academic teachers, 1 vocational instructor, 6 students, and 11…

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Area Labor-Management Committee (SPALMC), which serves approximately 180 adult students annually, was experiencing inconsistencies in performance among its adult education staff. The problems included teachers arriving late 50% of the time and individualizing instruction only 70% of the time. To remedy these problems,…

This monograph is part of a series on institutional support for student assessment. This report, which covers the second stage of the study, analyzes the results of a national survey of postsecondary education institutions that examined how institutions approach student assessment, their patterns of organizational and administrative support, and…

This document summarizes findings from a 1998-99 study of teacher development that investigated California's challenge to provide high quality teachers for all students. California's set of standards to improve education for all requires that all students have qualified teachers. In order for California's move toward academic excellence to…

This paper describes the University of South Carolina Professional Development School (PDS) Partnership Network. The first section examines initiation of a partnership for educational renewal, implementation of threshold conditions, institutionalization of the PDS, and the current period of transition as a new period of institutionalization has…

This paper presents a policy framework for the implementation of goals for special education in Michigan. The first part of the paper is a memorandum that recommends the policy framework. Attachment A presents goals for providing a support system to students with disabilities to foster their progress in the general curriculum. Goals include: (1)…

Project GRAD (Graduation Really Achieves Dreams) is a not-for-profit school-community collaborative designed to improve instructional quality and culture within at-risk feeder school systems in inner cities. This research-based school reform model reforms large urban school systems through incremental expansion, one K-12 feeder cluster at a time.…

This publication includes six essays that were presented at the first of three tri-national seminars on diversity issues in higher education. The seminars brought together representatives and observers of higher education from India, South Africa, and the United States to explore the role of higher education in promoting understanding of human…

This publication reports on the work of four universities in "The Public Schools Rewards Project: A Higher Ed Tough One, which was begun in 1995 and was designed to enhance the value that university rewards systems placed on faculty work with K-12 schools and teachers, and ultimately to improve the quality of education delivered in K-12…

A study investigated the perceptions of vocational education and training (VET) students and teachers from New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria about ways students engage in learning in VET, practices currently used by VET teachers, and factors shaping learning and teaching in initial VET. Data were collected from the following sources:…

This paper examines Japan's current educational reform and discusses its impact on student learning. Section 1 describes the main features of the reform efforts, which focus on choice, diversity, flexibility, competition, and excellence in education. Section 2 looks at Japan's changing system of teacher education, noting the dropping rates of…

Designed to help K-6 educators create child-centered classrooms in which all children can learn and succeed, this resource book contains article reprints, handouts, and reproducible pages pertaining to effective instruction. The book is organized into six subject areas: (1) learning/school readiness and kindergarten (including school improvement,…

Since the 1970s, federal legislation and public and private sector initiatives have attempted to increase the numbers of women employed in occupations considered nontraditional for females. In 1998, women accounted for 20-25% of employees in a handful of nontraditional occupations (NTOs) but less than 10% of employees in many other NTOs. Secondary…

This study evaluated how teachers perceived their efforts to improve their teaching practices by participating in the Jacksonville Urban Educational Partnership (JUEP), a Professional Development School (PDS). The JUEP was designed to create sustained, high quality, professional development systems for inservice educators in three PDSs. The study…

This three-volume report provides a comprehensive picture of the vocational education and training (VET) system in Australia, its key policies, initiatives undertaken, and achievements during 1999. This publication contains volume 3, which presents a detailed statistical report against the key performance measures for the VET system. Volumes 1 and…