Analysis of the United Kingdom's Modern Apprenticeship program, designed to increase intermediate job skills, shows that in many sectors, apprentices leave without completing qualifications, especially in sectors with no history of apprenticeship. A key problem is lack of employer demand conflicting with the government's focus on improving social…

Presents journal entries over one semester of the author's experiences teaching poetry to "SIE VII" special education students at PS 162M in Harlem. Notes that "SIE VII" is a New York City Board of Education classification for children who "display severe emotional disturbances, such as infantile behaviors, lack of self control, and withdrawn or…

Describes how two university instructors implemented the staff development component of a competitive U.S. federal literacy initiative in two elementary schools. Notes that Reading Excellence Act (REA) was enacted to give schools direct financial assistance to improve reading instruction. Suggests the greatest lesson the authors learned was…

Attempts to define what counted as policy documents and discourse during the three days of a Reading Leadership Academy, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Presents a discourse and critical policy analysis of the Reading First initiative. Explores further the statements around what constituted good programs and, by inference, what…

Describes how the purpose of the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) is to provide "a steady and consistent strategy" for raising standards in literacy over a 5- to 10-year period. Discusses reading and writing in the Literacy Hour and evaluation of the strategy. Notes that the NLS in England has been successful to a point. (SG)

Training infrastructure in 33 large U.S. city governments was analyzed using data from the Government Performance Project. Results were used to develop a strategic systems training model, an integrated approach that encompasses individual and organizational training structures within the context of the external environment. (Contains 24…

Studies intervention strategies that would help African-American adolescent first-time fathers develop better and more consistent relationships with their young children. Findings indicate that fathers who both participated in a parenting class and met weekly with a social worker made significant gains in employment, vocational planning, feeling…

Reviews different types of advisory boards; explains what they can contribute; describes an alumni advisory board that has worked exceedingly well at one institution; and provides an example of how the business communication curricula and function benefited. Shows how to modify the model easily to work for any business communication program. (SG)

Explains the creation and validation of the Narrative Comprehension of Picture Books task (NC task), an assessment of young children's comprehension of wordless picture books. Creates and tests assessment materials and procedures that can be used with young children, whether or not they can decode print. Discusses how narrative comprehension is…

Steps in developing a major college donor weekend program are outlined, including goal setting; tailoring events to reflect the best the institution has to offer; drafting an appropriate guest list; calculating costs; dealing with common problems such as low attendance, damaging media coverage, and guest list errors; and getting feedback. (MSE)

The partnership program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine in which less experienced students are paired with more experienced students during the last four years of a six-year curriculum was evaluated. Results indicated satisfaction with the program and that most partnerships worked well with improved teamwork being a…

Examines the effectiveness of the Cooperative Extension Service effort in financial planning and management. Results show that the home economics extension programs on family financial management had a substantial impact on participants. (JOW)

Fairfax County (Virginia) has pioneered the use of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs since 1974. Students come from 101 different countries and speak 150 different languages and dialects. Teachers are emphatic in claiming that the cultural diversity strengthens education in general. (MLF)

The best dropout prevention programs give students a chance to succeed, promote a sense of personal responsibility, build self-esteem, structure work so it can be done well, and celebrate accomplishment of any kind. (MLF)

This article reports the progress of 13 learning-disabled students after 1 year of planning and 1 year of implementing the "Mainstream Experiences for the Learning Disabled" (MELD) model in an urban elementary school. Students made no significant progress in reading or math and earned lower grades during the implementation year. (DB)