Namata, Issa; Oumarou, Hamissou (2006). Basic Education Awareness Campaign Conducted in Niger with Trade Unions, Parents' Representatives and Political Authorities at Various Levels. Prospects: Quarterly Review of Comparative Education, v36 n1 p83-96 Mar. Education policy in Niger is made up of all the tendencies and decisions, which over time have determined the development of Niger's education sector and its components. In this article, the author discusses the implementation stages of education policy, that is: (1) Adoption of the General Policy Act; and (2) Planning of the implementation of the Act. Act No. 98-12 of 1 June 1998 aims to re-establish the system on new and realistic foundations, while emphasizing the sharing of costs and responsibilities between all the stakeholders, partners and beneficiaries involved. By adopting Act. No. 98-12 of 1 June 1998, the political authorities of Niger confirmed both their intention to make education one of their top priorities and their commitment to that policy. It was in this spirit that the ministries responsible for education, in consultation with technical and financial partners, prepared the 10-Year Programme for the Development of Education in Niger (PDDE) covering the period… [Direct]

(2006). Workforce: New Mexico. Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education In New Mexico, the demand for well-educated employees will only increase over the next several years. In the decade leading up to 2012, healthcare occupations will see growth of 32 percent. Teachers will be in high demand: nearly 12,380 educators (including librarians) will need to be hired. Managers will see their ranks swell by 21 percent; when you add in retirements, over 2,310 openings will need to be filled each year. The growth of these sectors is good news for New Mexico's citizens, since wages for jobs in these areas are significantly higher than the average for New Mexico in general. Most positions in these fields will require a bachelor's degree or higher, and the question for New Mexico is how, in a time of tight budgets, to meet the increasing demands on higher education and thereby meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated economy. The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) was launched specifically to address the shortage of workforce-training… [PDF]

Stencel, Sandra, Ed.; And Others (1995). Networking the Classroom. CQ Researcher, v5 n39 Oct 20. This issue of "CQ Researcher" examines the theme of computer networking in the classroom and discusses uses past and present. It begins with an essay by Christopher Conte that discusses: "Does computer networking really enhance learning? Are teachers adequately prepared to take advantage of computer networking? Will computer networking promote equality or widen the gap between poor and affluent Americans?" The "Background" section looks at barriers to use, the limited early role of computer assisted instruction, and the present, more advanced uses of computers. The "Current Situation" section contains brief articles on high costs and federal initiatives associated with computer networking. The "Outlook" section considers technology and educational reform. The "Sidebars and Graphics" segments include: (1) "Sharing Computers," a United States map with shadings that indicate ratios of students per computer; (2)… [PDF]

Hillkirk, Keith; And Others (1997). Strengths and Challenges of a Rural Professional Development Collaborative. Educators from public schools and universities in 13 southeastern Ohio counties formed the Southeastern Regional Professional Development Center (SERPDC) in 1991 to address the needs of rural teachers for purposeful professional interaction and staff development. In 1992, state funding was provided for the SERPDC center, serving the Appalachian area of Ohio. The area is poor but there is a strong tradition of self-reliance with a culture of sharing and a sense of interdependence. These have led to strong volunteer support and commitment to the center. Interviews with teachers have revealed these to be the greatest strengths of the center. Other perceived strengths are: the center's rural location and culture; effective collaboration between public school educators, institutions of higher education; and the sub-regional infrastructure that has fostered the intended sense of local responsiveness and ownership; teacher empowerment and leadership; and the center's emphasis on raising… [PDF]

Scheffer, Ludo C. P. (1995). SHELCOM: Going High Tech with the Homeless. NCAL Connections, p4-6 Feb. SHELCOM, an adult education project in homeless shelters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, investigated the effects of using computer technology on participants' writing and communication skills. The project consisted of 2-hour workshops, twice weekly, complemented by online support and instruction. Learners paired across the city worked on creating a publication through online communication with each other and their instructors. Collaboration occurred through file-sharing in a modem communication network established between the three shelters and the National Center on Adult Literacy. Computers were the overwhelming reason learners signed up for the project. All participants thought learning to use the computer could help them improve their writing. Being able to work on a composition, answer questions from a writing partner or project director, and write requests for help at any time of the day was considered invaluable. All participants stated they thought the computer had played an… [PDF]

Kunz, Russell D. (1994). Total Quality Education: A Concept in Reality. To facilitate an increase in student learning, the curriculum for the Principles of Management course at Collin County Community College was redesigned to reflect a business organization environment. This course differs from the traditional approach in the following ways: (1) the course is based on 47 competencies a team of corporate managers deemed critical to job success; (2) a 300-page study manual containing detailed lecture notes and class materials supplements the text; (3) students have access to over 500 files of research, articles, class notes and previous projects; (4) projects are created by student teams to demonstrate mastery of each competency; (5) when the course is completed, students have a documented portfolio of all skills mastered and the level of mastery; (6) exams are pass/fail and students must reach a score pre-determined by the class; (7) exams are taken in teams; (8) teams write a code of conduct outlining their expectations of team members; (9) teams… [PDF]

(1995). Preliminary Training Proposal for Cessna Aircraft of Independence. This proposal for a program designed to train workers to manufacture single-engine, piston-driven aircraft for Cessna Corporation was developed by Independence Community College in conjunction with Pittsburgh State University (Kansas) and the Southeast Kansas Area Vocational-Technical School. The proposal provides for on-site training in a state-of-the-art 8,400 square foot training facility; a job training director; a customized training curriculum; a total quality management training staff; selection and assessment screening of employees using college-administered tests chosen in conjunction with Cessna officials; utilization of government-funded grants totaling over $2 million; a state-of-the-art aviation training model; and ongoing training and retraining. Specific training topics included in this proposal are: (1) assumptions and exceptions with respect to materials, processes, and manufacturing methods; (2) training process flow; (3) selection and assessment of employees; (4)… [PDF]

Freund, Maxine; Wald, Penelope J. (1995). Community Integration Project: Project CIP. An Early Education Program for Children with Disabilities. Final Report. The Community Integration Project (CIP) was an outreach project implemented in four Virginia and Maryland school districts to support the inclusion of children with disabilities and their families in school and community early childhood programs. The project focused on the sharing of resources between local education agencies and school and/or community early childhood programs and on the development and support of early childhood inclusion teams. Four strategies were used to accomplish these objectives: (1) facilitate development of shared leadership between early childhood special and regular education programs; (2) build early childhood inclusion teams; (3) increase competencies of team members; and (4) assist teams in developing and implementing site-specific inclusion plans. During its 3-year period the CIP staff offered intensive training and technical assistance to approximately 320 professionals and paraprofessionals; hosted visits of professionals at model sites; sponsored… [PDF]

Dunning, Chris (1994). Adventure Based Interventions: The Case for Support. The Rank Foundation's director of youth projects for northern England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland presents personal views on at-risk youth and ways that adventure-based interventions can meet their needs. Young people today suffer from the constant bombardment of advertising campaigns promoting material consumerism as the criterion for success. There is little in young people's lives to help them question such messages or develop their own values and spirituality. The adventure-based experience contains an extremely strong spiritual component, not only in the outdoor element but also in the sharing of oneself with something or someone else. The varieties of agencies and professionals that work to help young people reach their potential must overcome their conflicts of interest and begin networking. Competition among agencies for work, sometimes trying to be all things to all people, does harm to public perceptions of such developmental programs. Three programs that demonstrate a… [PDF]

Kirby, Maxine R. (1992). Increasing the Authentic Reading Experiences of Kindergarten Students through a Teacher In-service Program. A practicum was designed to assist 30 kindergarten teachers in increasing the authentic reading experiences of kindergarten students in their classrooms. The goal of the practicum was two-fold: to provide the teachers with alternative instructional strategies to drill and practice basic reading skills; and to provide adequate, developmentally appropriate reading materials for the students in the target teachers' classrooms. Survey results, classroom observations, and a review of pertinent literature were used to plan a 19-hour in-service program which was carried out over the school year. Data gathering methods were a student interest and attitude survey, questionnaires, checklists, professional literature, and videotapes on reading strategies. An analysis of the data revealed that the teachers used the knowledge that they gained to select quality children's books and to increase the authentic reading experiences of their students. At the same time, the teachers decreased their use… [PDF]

Sagor, Richard D. (1991). Operationalizing Transformational Leadership: The Behavior of Principals in Fostering Teacher Centered School Development. Researchers have found the categories of transformational and transactional leadership to be effective descriptors of administrator behavior. While the direction of the management literature has stressed the value of transformational over transactional leadership, the recent direction of many school reform efforts has, in many cases, emphasized the opposite, at least in regard to the principalship. This study attempts to provide additional empirical support for the value of transformational leadership by building principals. The work of Greenfield (1991) is used as a knowledge base that distinguishes between personal qualities, behaviors, aims, and outcomes of leadership. The paper provides documentation for the thinking and behaviors of three principals who have been leading schools (two elementary, one middle) in a teacher-centered school development process as part of Project LEARN (League of Educational Action Researchers in the Northwest). While the outward styles of those… [PDF]

Inderbitzen-Pisaruk, Heidi; And Others (1991). Identification of Social Behaviors Important for Adolescent Peer Acceptance: Implications for Social Skills Training. Although much attention has been devoted to the study of social competence in the past decade, few researchers have examined the adolescent age group. These two studies examined what behaviors are important for positive peer relations in adolescence. In the first study 1,142 ninth-graders (577 males, M age=14.78; 565 females, M age=14.61) from 7 public junior high schools completed a questionnaire which asked them to select the three same-gender classmates whom they liked the most and the three they liked the least from an attached roster of all same-gender ninth-graders. Students were also asked to write down reasons for each nomination. Cooperativeness, initiation of activities, enjoying jokes, sharing common activities and interests, loyalty, friendliness, and support were all related to positive peer relationships in adolescence. In the second study ninth-graders (N=1,142) from seven public junior high schools completed questionnaires assessing an adolescent's social skills and…

Cross, K. Patricia (1983). Cooperation and Competition in the Learning Society. The role of higher education in society has changed dramatically in recent years and is likely to continue to change. There will be an increased need for more learning for more people for more years of their lives. There will also be an increase in the number and types of organizations providing education and the development of a worldwide perspective on lifelong learning. Among the ways in which the role of colleges and universities is changing under the impact of the \learning society\ are: (1) higher education no longer enjoys a monopoly on the provision of educational services; (2) the roles of educational providers are increasingly blurred, e.g., the distinctions between education and training and between credit and non-credit courses are difficult to maintain; (3) higher education no longer has the full-time commitment of students or of faculty; (4) learning has become a lifelong necessity for almost everyone since there is a constant need for upgrading of skills and… [PDF]

(1987). Medicare and Medicaid: Effects of Recent Legislation on Program and Beneficiary Costs. Report to the Chairman, Select Committee on Aging, House of Representatives. The General Accounting Office reviewed the effects of major legislative changes on Medicare and Medicaid program costs and the out-of-pocket costs to the programs' beneficiaries. Of 30 laws that affected Medicare and Medicaid enacted by Congress during the period 1980 through 1986, 5 were estimated to have the greatest effects on the costs of the two programs. Medicare cost growth trends were compared before and after the legislation for inpatient hospital care under Medicare part A and part B services. The results suggest that the five major laws passed during 1980 through 1986 contributed to a slowdown in Medicare cost growth during fiscal years 1981 through 1985 as compared with 1970 through 1980 data. Fiscal year 1982 Medicaid costs increased about 8 percent over 1981, a decline from the average annual cost growth rate of about 15 percent from 1973 through 1981. Some legislation contributed to the trend among states to increase Medicaid costs by expanding program eligibility and… [PDF]

Linksz, Donna (1990). Faculty Inventory: Seven Principles for Good Practices in Undergraduate Education. In 1990, the full-time teaching faculty of Catonsville Community College (CCC) were given a faculty inventory as part of a staff development activity. The staff development program included a faculty meeting devoted to a panel discussion of the seven principles for good practices in undergraduate education designed by the Center for Teaching Excellence. Responses to the faculty inventory were received from 117 faculty members from units throughout the campus. Major results of the survey are as follows: (1) activities such as faculty sharing of experiences, knowing students by name, mentoring, and making special efforts for a diverse student body were often or very often practiced, while activities pertaining to student life and extracurricular activities were the least often practiced; (2) the most frequently practiced activity related to cooperation among students dealt with using performance criteria to determine grades, rather than comparing students to each other; (3) active… [PDF]

Balding, John (1989). We Teach Them How To Drink!. Since 1983 the Health Education Authority Schools Education Unit has been providing a survey service to schools throughout the United Kingdom. The purpose is to make the planning of programs in Health and Social Education in the schools more realistic. Health behaviors in the areas of substance use, dental care, diet, homework, jobs, leisure, medication, money, physical activity, road use, self-esteem, sharing problems, social activities, smoking, sleeping times, and television habits were examined. The 1988 sample included 33,459 students between the ages of 11 and 16. This document focuses on alcohol-related statistics. Discussion of results in these areas is presented: (1) age of onset of regular drinking; (2) percentage of boys and percentage of girls who consumed shandy, beer or lager, cider, wine, fortified wine, or spirits; (3) percentage of children who obtained alcoholic drinks from home, a pub or bar, supermarket, off-licence, friend's home, relative's home, or disco or… [PDF]

Jantzi, Doris; Leithwood, Kenneth (1990). Transformational Leadership: How Principals Can Help Reform School Cultures. Collaborative school cultures have been associated with achieving various school reform objectives for both teachers and students. One central dimension of school restructuring is the empowerment of teachers within a school culture that is both shared and technical. Little is known about how such cultures develop and whether or how school administrators can facilitate that process. This report describes results of a study examining administrator practices in 12 Ontario (Canada) schools that had developed highly collaborative professional relationships over a 3-year period in the context of school improvement initiatives. The study specifically examined the extent to which these schools had achieved collaborative cultures, the significance of improvement processes, and the strategies used by administrators to develop more collaborative school cultures. Data were collected by two interviewers during a 2-day visit to each school. A causal network was developed for each school and… [PDF]

Brittingham, Barbara E.; Pezzullo, Thomas R. (1990). The Campus Green: Fund Raising in Higher Education. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report 1. This report reviews the research on fund raising in higher education in the United States. It considers such questions as: What are the costs of fund raising? What is known of donor motivation? and What is the connection between successful intercollegiate athletics and successful fund raising? Research findings indicating the consistent association between dollars spent on fund raising and results of fund raising, and the preference of exchange models over models of altruism in understanding donor motivation are noted. The first section of the report looks at the American tradition of private philanthropy by considering annual alumni funds, charitable gifts from business gains and professional fund raising and fund-raiser organizations. Institutional effectiveness, policies, and programs are examined next, and this is followed by a brief consideration of organization and costs in the third section. Donor behavior and motivation are discussed in the fourth section, which takes up the… [PDF]

Shelton, Terri L.; And Others (1987). Family-Centered Care for Children with Special Health Care Needs. The book defines and discusses eight key elements of a family-centered approach to care for children with chronic illnesses and special health care needs: (1) recognition that the family is the constant in the child's life, while the service systems and personnel within those systems fluctuate; (2) facilitation of parent/professional collaboration at all levels of health care; (3) sharing of unbiased and complete information with parents about their child's care on an ongoing basis in an appropriate and supportive manner; (4) implementation of appropriate policies and programs that are comprehensive and provide emotional and financial support to meet the needs of families; (5) recognition of family strengths and individuality and respect for different methods of coping; (6) understanding and incorporating the developmental needs of infants, children, and adolescents and their families into health care delivery systems; (7) encouragement and facilitation of parent-to-parent support;… [PDF]

Chavez, Martin, Ed.; And Others (1977). LULAC National Scholarship Fund for Americans of Spanish Origin, 1977. Many of the problems facing Hispanos stem from inadequate representation in the economic, social, and governmental processes of American society. The LULAC National Scholarship Fund for Americans of Spanish Origin (LNSF) was established in 1975 as a means of weakening the poverty cycle which has inhibited full participation by Hispanics in American society. As a component of the LULAC National Educational Service Centers (LNESC), the LNSF is the only systematic network existing on a national level specifically aimed toward helping Hispanic students. LNSF utilizes the Fund-Sharing Concept. Under this concept, monies are raised on a local level by individual LULAC councils and on a national level by the LNSF Washington, D.C. headquarters. At the end of the year, national funds are distributed to local councils based on the relationship of their particular local amount raised in proportion to that of all other councils raising scholarship funds. The growth rate of the LNSF has been…

Dommel, Paul R.; Nathan, Richard P. (1977). The Cities. Over the past two decades, direct payments from the Federal Government to local governments has increased more than sixfold as a percentage of the revenues local governments raise on their own. Both the Ford budget and the Carter budget revisions for 1977 and 1978 contain policy changes with important implications for cities. In this document urban conditions, the problems of cities, and the role of the Federal government in relation to them are examined. The population shift away from the northeast quadrant to the Southern and Western States is discussed as it relates to urban decline. Three factors are used as indicators of city problems: population decline, old age, and economic conditions. Regional differences in the effects of these phenomena are cited. It is stressed that the urban crisis is not nationwide, as many large cities are well off. Structural and demographic differences among cities are shown to complicate Federal efforts to formulate effective urban policy. Various… [PDF]

Maron, Chris (1980). Children's Feelings About Themselves. Unit for Child Studies Selected Papers Number 1. A positive self-concept is important for all children. Parents can assess their children's feelings about themselves and improve their children's self-respect. Feelings about the self are important because they affect children's success, sense of worth, ability to love others and to learn. Adults may inadvertently undermine a child's self-esteem so that he/she does not have sufficient ego strength for taking the risks inherent in learning. Questionnaires can be used by parents to gain a more detailed understanding of a child's identity. After the level of the child's self-concept has been ascertained, many types of activity can be employed to raise the self-respect of a child who has a low self-concept. In an atmosphere of trust, teachers and parents may explore the outcomes of the following games and activities: (1) providing a personal time line on which children may record personal experiences on cards clipped to the line; (2) sharing success symbols such as photos or…

Prokos, George (1978). This Is About Attendance Counselling. The days of the formidable truant officer who chased after hooky-playing delinquents and led them back to school by the ear are gone. Today's "attendance counselors" see their function as protecting a child's right to a meaningful education. Although their goal is still to get absent students back to classes, their approach is now a more understanding and sophisticated one. A questionnaire study was sent to 73 Canadian school boards concerning the roles and opinions of attendance counselors. Of the 39 respondents, most thought that attendance records should be forwarded to a new school. Nearly all counselors thought that parents should be informed of responsibilities, school policy, transportation, and consequences of rule infractions. They favored notes from parents explaining absences over those from students and approved of a five- to ten-day suspension when necessary. Slightly less than half the boards specified that their attendance workers are known as attendance…

(1975). Council for Cultural Cooperation and Cultural Fund. Annual Report 1974. This report summarizes programs, studies, and symposia conducted by the Council for Cultural Cooperation (CCC) to enhance communication and interaction on educational and cultural matters between the members of the Council of Europe. The first section describes activities undertaken to promote European interaction. These include (1) exchange agreements for teachers and students, (2) improved multi-media language programs, and (3) activities concerning equivalence of qualifications and mobility of students and college faculty. In the second section, "Co-operating in Remodeling Educational Systems," a long-range goal goal is defined as education extending over a lifetime. Activities at all levels of education are discussed, including pre-school, vocational, and adult education. This section also examines the coordination and cooperation in the production, development, and use of multi-media materials. The European Documentation and Information System for Education (EUDISED)… [PDF]

Adams, L. La Mar; And Others (1975). Evaluation of One Type of Non-Traditional Program of Higher Education. Creative Learning through the Application of Sociological Principles (CLASP) is a nontraditional program designed to help students develop their own concepts, theories, and skills during a nonstructured sociology semester. The program consists of seven phases: (1) first week: testing, simulating, and preparation; (2) second-third weeks: human relations and survival lab in wilderness; (3) fourth-seventh weeks: post-wilderness community problem solving upon return to campus; (4) eighth week: midterm evaluation; (5) ninth-twelfth weeks: skilled experiences; (6) thirteenth-fourteenth weeks: reporting, sharing, discussing, and analyzing; and (7) fifteenth-sixteenth weeks: evaluation and grading. A group of students who had completed two evaluation phases of an outdoor survival program and two different CLASP groups all involved in wilderness educational programs, were examined together with two control groups. The control groups were a conventional beginning class in sociology and a… [PDF]

Malan, Vernon D. (1958). The Dakota Indian Family. Community Studies on the Pine Ridge Reservation. South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 470, May 1958. The traditional kinship organization of the Dakota Indians was compared with contemporary patterns of family living on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Effects of the cultural change on the economic and social conditions of the present day Pine Ridge Indians were evaluated. The study revealed remnants of the traditional kinship pattern and the nature of the changes which had taken place in the family organization during the transitional process, and offered suggestions to guide the direction of future change on the reservation. Three communities, located in a contiguous area on the Pine Ridge Reservation, were characterized as traditional, transitional, and transpositional. During the summers of 1956 and 1957, information on 86 families from these communities was gathered, using a series of previously prepared questions. Among the findings were: the traditional community had the smallest average family size and number of children per family and had most nearly retained elements of the… [PDF]

Lecher, Mark (2005). Academic Honesty through Technology. Association of Small Computer Users in Education (ASCUE), 38th, Myrtle Beach, SC, June 12-16,. Over the past two decades, technology use has increased in the classroom. What started out as a single computer in a classroom has evolved into a laptop or handheld for every student, with a wireless connection to the Internet and other network resources. Cell phones, PDAs, and other electronic tools have opened up new horizons for utilizing technology in the classroom to better educate students. With these advancements have also come the inevitable drawbacks. With ubiquitous connections to the outside world, students have even more resources to share information, knowledge, and work with each other. These same connections also allow students to access unprecedented means for plagiarism and cheating. Today's students are in a \always connected\ or \always on\ mode where they have access to many different methods of communication. On most college campuses, there is an ever-present wireless network that students can use to access Internet resources. Students also use cellphones, PDAs,… [PDF]

Farfan, Jose Antonio Flores (2002). The Use of Multimedia and the Arts in Language Revitalization, Maintenance, and Development: The Case of the Balsas Nahuas of Guerrero, Mexico. Even though Nahuatl is the most widely spoken indigenous language in Mexico, it is endangered. Threats include poor support for Nahuatl-speaking communities, migration of Nahuatl speakers to cities where English and Spanish are spoken, prejudicial attitudes toward indigenous languages, lack of contact between small communities of different dialects, and decreasing intergenerational transmission. Schools are not the best places for language revitalization because the Mexican state's policies promote Spanish and perpetuate a degrading stereotypical view of indigenous people. An innovative program organizes workshops during key moments in local ceremonial life, such as patron saint festivities. Workshops are conducted in Nahuatl, and videos narrated in Nahuatl are shown. Audience participation is encouraged by giving books or tapes on which the videos are based to those who can understand or retell the story. Riddle contests and tales, which are highly valued by these communities, are… [PDF]

Gretes, J. A.; Kim, R. H.; Mohanty, G. P.; Peindl, R. D.; Razavi, H. M. (1994). Development of Computer-Based Workstations for the Operation of Engineering Laboratories. Final Report. Laboratory instruction in engineering disciplines in recent years has been adversely affected by a variety of structural problems making it increasingly difficult to provide students with adequate hands-on lab experience on par with the ever expanding requirements of the technical job market. As a possible approach to deal with some of the underlying issues, this project was concerned with the development of computer integrated laboratory facilities or "laboratory workstations" with capabilities for conducting experiments directly from computer terminals. The objective was to streamline the laboratory delivery process, in addition to improving the effectiveness of hardware utilization and enhancing the overall laboratory experience of the students. The computerized system incorporates data, control signal, and video links with the laboratory facilities, and permits operational control over the hardware functions along with data acquisition and analysis, allowing students… [PDF]

Larose-Kuzenko, Michelle (1997). We've Done Research, Now What? Multimedia Authoring as a Report Tool. The professional literature and research conclude that new technologies produce either similar or superior results to conventional classroom instruction, arguably because technology has positive effects on students' attitudes toward learning and gives students more control over their learning. Teacher- librarians, as information specialists, facilitate the student's gathering and understanding of information from all available sources, including electronic. The use of multimedia authoring as a forum for reporting follows logically. Teacher-librarians, as technology coordinators, can facilitate the many aspects of a multimedia project–working with various-sized groups, deciding on the best use of resources, planning with classroom teachers, timelines, and handling challenges. Multimedia authoring extends the reading, writing, and problem-solving skills of the students beyond the basic abilities required in the curriculum, while having fun. It provides a hands-on means of interacting… [PDF]