This guide identifies higher education strategies that effectively recruit and support future special educators from underrepresented groups. It begins with a list of common barriers to recruiting and retaining such students. Principles that make partnership efforts work are identified, such as a focus on connections, publicity, and…

A study investigated the outcomes of the Acute Children's Extended Services (ACES) program, a Salt Lake City, Utah, program designed to help children with emotional and behavioral disabilities reintegrate into the community from inpatient or residential care. The study examined outcomes of the ACES program within four domains: access, clinical…

This study demonstrates how an institutional research process focused on Ph.D. students contributed to programmatic changes that increased the effectiveness of the program for part-time, adult graduate learners. From 1985-92 faculty in an adult and vocational education doctoral program gathered feedback from students on challenges regarding…

A crucial question for evaluating nationally or internationally implemented programs is whether local adaptations detract from program quality and effectiveness. An evaluation examined the program successes and challenges encountered in the first 5 years of Home-Start in the Netherlands, a home-based family support program for families with young…

The Texas Effectiveness Study is an evaluation of the effectiveness of special education programs and services in developing life skills related to the transition planning process for Texas special education. One of the three components of the Texas Effectiveness Study is a study of adult outcomes. This component was implemented in the summer of…

The International English Training for Adults Program is an intensive ESL (English as a Second Language) program for foreign students. Students in the program take 18 hours of classes per week, including Conversation Partners, a 3-hour course designed to give students an opportunity to practice using English with Americans in a structured,…

This guide helps schools think about how effectively they ensure that all families in the community are welcomed into school efforts. It features four sections highlighting areas that are important when considering all families in school improvement efforts. Each section contains examples from schools which are doing well, items to respond to, and…

In 1998, the Illinois statewide coalition Work, Welfare and Families, in partnership with the Chicago Urban League, undertook a study to assess the effects of welfare reform on low-income families and children across Illinois. The findings were derived from three sources: a self-administered survey of 2,166 low-income clients of Illinois social…

This action research project addressed the problem of declining parent involvement at a Midwestern, suburban elementary school. In order to document parent involvement issues at the site, parent, educator, and student surveys were administered. Surveys were analyzed for effectiveness of home-school communication, perceived barriers to and benefits…

This paper reports the results of a mailed survey of beginning and mentor teachers who participated in the Wisconsin-Whitewater Beginning Teacher Assistance Program (BTAP) between 1988 and 1999, a university-based mentoring program for K-12 teachers. The program features graduate credit for required mentor training and beginning teacher…

A large-scale evaluation was conducted of Jobs-First GAIN, a strongly employment-focused mandatory welfare-to-work program. Its main features were an unusually intensive program orientation; high quality job clubs; job development activities; strong encouragement to take entry-level jobs and combine work and welfare in the short-term; and…

A proposed strategy for the National Assessment of Vocational Education (NAVE) uses school-wide data to identify secondary schools where students' academic achievement has been improving at a relatively fast rate and those where it has not. Schools with the most involvement in vocational education can be selected from the two groups. These two…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Crossroads Cafe program, an instructional program for adults that promotes a nontraditional learning environment with limited intervention by a professional teacher. It studied 475 limited-English-proficient (LEP) adult learners using Crossroads Cafe videotapes and text materials under field conditions…

After-school programs have the potential to keep children safe and out of trouble and can help to improve the academic performance of the increasing numbers of participating children. This report presents positive research on after-school programs and examples illustrating the potential of high-quality after-school activities to keep children…

This report details characteristics of 50 family care programs that provide comprehensive, individualized services to families struggling with various problems, as well as services that allow parents and children to continue living together in supervised living arrangements for extended periods. Data were collected through in-depth telephone…