This publication presents manuscripts and research reports by graduate students. Accompanying papers from their mentors establish a context for the student papers. In this volume the works are organized by sponsoring university. Student papers presented are: (1) "A Naturalistic Study of Art Choices in a Preschool Setting" (Karen Thomas);…

The California Literacy Campaign (CLC) is a statewide, community-oriented, library-based adult literacy program initiated by the California State Library in 1984. A key feature is the latitude given individual sites for developing literacy services to meet the needs of the local population. Two evaluations suggested that current learner progress…

The use of vocational assessment instruments with Texas special needs students was investigated as part of the requirements of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. A nonrandom sampling method was used to identify the population. Transition from School to Work Coordinators in each of 20 regions collected 130 completed survey instruments…

This case study, one in a series of research efforts designed to examine the utilization of the Administration on Aging's research, discusses reasons for the wide utilization of the Older Americans Resources and Services (OARS) research. (The OARS methodology assesses the levels of functioning of individual elderly persons. The resulting…

Developed by a suburban school district, this manual provides guidelines for the early identification of gifted preschool children and describes Project Unicorn, a project to conceptualize, plan, and implement a classroom curriculum model for gifted young children. Project activities were based on Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development and…

The concerns of Kansas educators about the implementation of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142) mandate are examined in this research report. Five different samples of public school educators, totaling 7,000 persons, were randomly selected and stratified according to district size. Each sample was sent either the Stages…

A program of self-evaluation was developed for teachers to use in creating a personal profile which could become the basis for designing a long-range professional development program. Seven areas for self-assessment were philosophical belief system, personality traits, interpersonal awareness traits, self-concept, learning style, teaching style,…

Investigations of (1) the extent to which parent involvement training is included in the pre-service training of elementary and preschool teachers, (2) external and mediational influences on parent models of child socialization, and (3) the relevance of parent education programs to changing family structures are reported. Data were gathered from…

This final report of the National Day Care Study (NDCS), Volume II, provides researchers, social scientists and lay readers with information for judging the soundness of the evidence underlying NDCS conclusions about relationships between regulatable center characteristics and the outcome of care for the child. Thus, Volume II makes free use of…

This document provides a compilation of measures of progress toward school readiness and three contributing conditions as used in several local, state, and national surveys. The report begins with a legend listing the surveys examined, their acronyms, and contact information. The remainder of the report, in tabular format, lists measures of…

There has, in recent years, been a reemergence of interest in the early years and a renewed emphasis on the importance of early education programs to ensure that all children start school ready to learn. At the same time, the move toward evidence-based policy development has led to the need to demonstrate the effectiveness of early education…

This comprehensive and easy-to-read book explores both the theory and practice of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) assessment and is full of work samples, ideas, organizers, and personal experiences that all readers can use or adapt for their own situations. The primary goal is to provide proven and effective assessment methods. As ESL students…

This guide to pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) or autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) first provides a review of the literature on defining characteristics of PDD/ASD, causes of PDD, and diagnosis of PDD. Review of intervention and treatment comprises the major portion of the paper. After briefly considering parent education, this section…

This test manual provides information on the Adaptive Behavior Education Scale-Revised (ABES-R), a 25-minute behavior scale designed to evaluate adaptive skills in students with behavioral, learning, and intellectual disabilities, including educationally relevant behavior which may be identified as contributing to more appropriate diagnosis,…

Examined psychometric properties of Parenting Stress Index. Subjects were 191 low-income, urban African American mothers. Found acceptable subscale internal consistency and stability over six months. Concurrent validity revealed high convergence across measures among mothers reporting consistent stress. Subjects reported elevated stress levels in…