ERIC Number: ED477976
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 2002-Aug-31
Pages: 410
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Elementary and Middle Schools Technical Assistance Center (EMSTAC). Final Report.
Hamilton, James; Dailey, Don; Mesmer, Eric; Ritter, Suzanne; Shami, Muna; Nishi, Laurel; McInerney, Maurice; Gerver, Miriam; Corwin, Heidi; Bauman, Wendy
This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of the Elementary and Middle Schools Technical Assistance Center (EMSTAC), which has developed a model of special education technical assistance (TA) to local school districts that can be implemented on a national scale. This report provides a comprehensive examination of EMSTAC's support to local school districts, reports findings regarding the local implementation of research-based practices, and discusses effectiveness of national TA activities. The EMSTAC model of TA included three distinct approaches. Strategy I involved face-to-face training of Linking Agents (LAs) and financial support for their salary and TA activities. Strategy II provided face-to-face training and Strategy III provided Web-based training. EMSTAC conducted annual evaluations of 32 districts that have completed LA training and found: (1) the delivery of TA at the local level takes unique shapes, regardless of the type of EMSTAC supports provided; (2) districts in Strategies I and II are positively moving through the change process at similar rates; (3) TA is influenced by the presence of mediating factors at the local level; and (4) EMSTAC LAs in both Strategy I and II have become less dependent upon EMSTAC supports over time. Appendices include descriptions of TA activities. (CR)
Descriptors: Change Agents, Change Strategies, Disabilities, Educational Strategies, Elementary Education, Inclusive Schools, Information Dissemination, Literacy, Middle School Students, Middle Schools, Program Implementation, Reading Instruction, Research Utilization, Teacher Collaboration, Teacher Education, Technical Assistance, Theory Practice Relationship, Training Methods, Writing Instruction
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Special Education Programs (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: American Institutes for Research, Washington, DC.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A