Forty-eight professors of English or education at state universities throughout the United States were surveyed to discover what concepts state institutions were emphasizing in English writing. The survey asked 10 preliminary questions about what writing courses were offered or required for prospective undergraduate English teachers and 13…

This paper provides: (1) a statement regarding the political context for energy conservation education programs; (2) a brief description of the types of program efforts reflected in the literature; (3) an overview of the purposes and approaches to energy conservation education program evaluation reflected in available literature; and (4) a…

The computer-based reading and study skills curriculum which is described was developed to meet the need for a more efficient and effective means of increasing the reading and study skills of Navy recruits. The parameters specified by the Navy led to the development of a curriculum composed of a modified version of an existing reading curriculum…

Like all models, the new model is also based on a theoretical foundation; constructivism, which emphasis is placed on the learner or the student rather than the teacher or the instructor. Students learn by fitting new information together with what they already know. People learn best when they actively construct their own understanding. The new…

In 1989, a study was conducted of the demographic and educational characteristics of honors students in the San Diego Community College District. Focusing primarily on students enrolled in fall 1987 (N=270), spring 1988 (N=285), fall 1988 (N=264), and spring 1989 (N=245), the study gathered quantitative data from the Student Profile Questionnaire…

From 1986 to 1988 the associates of the Enhancing Secondary Science Education through Science/Technology/Society (STS) for Urban Minority Youth Project worked toward establishing guidelines for STS in secondary science. The guidelines, based on study, research, discussions, and a consensus-building process, are presented along with 12 background…

This collection contains eight papers on nontraditional adult education by Donald J. Breckon, president of Park College (Parkville, Missouri). The papers were originally given at educational conferences around the country and/or published in other sources. The following papers are included: (1) "The Nation Is Our Classroom"; (2) "An…

An educational program on family resource management was evaluated to judge the goodness of fit of multiple regression equations for predicting program results across multiple sites. The applicability and effectiveness of the 11-lesson MONEY SENSE program was evaluated in six California locations for 190 clients. Indicators of effectiveness were:…

What is taught to undergraduates during the 3 or 4 years that lead to their first degree in the United Kingdom is examined. Analysis is presented in terms of theories of knowledge, the socio-economic context of higher education, and models of student development. The main thrust of the book is analytic, with several chapters exploring three main…

Decision-making and change models can take many forms. One researcher (Nordvall, 1982) has suggested five conceptual models for introducing change: a political model; a rational decision-making model; a social interaction decision model; the problem-solving method; and an adaptive/linkage model which is an amalgam of each of the other models.…

This paper discusses the relationship of the content of nationally standardized and normed achievement tests and that of local school curricula and the effect that relationship has on the meanings and uses of the test scores. The following questions are considered: (1) whether tests have to match what is taught to be useful; (2) whether it is fair…

In fall 1987, a study was conducted by the Learning Assessment Retention Consortium (LARC) to closely inspect the reading courses and programs currently offered in the California community colleges. All 106 community colleges in the state were surveyed regarding testing instruments used, the number and level of reading courses offered, entry and…

This report describes a computer assisted process that resulted in the development of a comprehensive database of actual courses taken by undergraduates in teacher preparation programs for use in decision making about possible curriculum redesign for teacher education majors. The creation of the database required four stages: (1) selecting majors…

Year one of a three-year curriculum implementation effort focused on facilitating curriculum implementation through diagnostic-prescriptive staff development guided by the concepts and tenets of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model. This curriculum implementation effort involved 12 kindergarten through sixth grade generalist teachers in an isolated…

Curriculum alignment (CA) refers to the congruence of all the elements of a school's curriculum: curriculum goals; instructional program--what is taught and the materials used; and tests used to judge outcomes. CA can be a very powerful can be a very powerful factor in improving schools. Although further research is needed on CA, there is…