(1996). Pre-Kindergarten to Eighth Grade Teachers Become Change Agents through Active Participation in School Reform. This practicum project used organized professional development to increase involvement of teachers at a preK-8 school in the school's reform process. All members of the school community actively participated in planning, data collecting, and sharing of pertinent reform information. The 3-month staff development intervention consisted of three phases: (1) meetings with stakeholders, including teachers; (2) professional development programs comprised of seven training workshops that covered infusion of technology, context of learning, multicultural values, parental involvement, whole-language instruction, continuous progress, and responsive classroom techniques, with teachers collaborating on workshop planning and presenting; and (3) professional development activities, such as receiving administrative leave to visit neighboring schools engaged in similar reform efforts. Data on teacher involvement were collected through journal entries, checklists, on-site observations, and surveys…. [PDF]
(1995). Career and Employment Counseling in Canada: The State of the Art. ERIC Digest. A major survey of career and employment counseling in Canada was completed in 1993, with over 1600 counselors, department heads and managers of counseling centers, and regional directors working in career and employment counseling centers being polled. Survey results indicated: (1) there is a strong need for evaluation in all aspects of career counseling; (2) counselors face a number of challenges, such as dealing with client expectations and personal barriers, as well as their own stress and frustration; (3) clients know what they want from counseling, but their initial expectations undergo changes; (4) counselors need to examine how they spend their time; (5) there is a need for more effective leadership in the profession; and (6) counselors need to become better at marketing what they do. A call is made for a different model for delivering counseling services, moving away from ineffectual individual counseling and toward more group work, evaluation, mentoring, marketing services,… [PDF]
(1994). A Three College Collaborative Teacher Preparation Program. Three institutions of higher education in central Washington State designed a collaborative venture to meet the needs of placebound students working toward Bachelors degrees in early childhood education. Placebound students are defined as students who, because of time, work, and/or family commitments, are unable to enroll in college courses taught during traditional time periods on a typical college campus. The collaborative program was initiated when a state-supported four-year branch campus was proposed for a rural area underserved by state-supported institutions of higher education but served by a private, nonprofit college (Heritage College). The demography of the rural Yakima Valley; the demography of the institutions (Yakima Valley Community College, Central Washington University, and Heritage College); and the history and development of the collaborative program are described. Six major areas of concern are addressed, including: integration of curricula and academic… [PDF]
(1993). Embedding Participation in Educational Finance Strategy: New Representations. A new approach to distributing educational resources is needed to continue public education. Under this new approach, investment does not rely on consumptive behaviors. Individualistic gain is not stressed at the expense of surrounding institutions, and participation, collaboration, and resource sharing dominate. The post-World War II era in the United States fostered consumption and cultural values of success and materialistic advancement. Illinois had worked under an educational model of additive and distributive consumption for many years. This model cause problems in the 1970s and 1980s as the economy slowed and fewer resources were available for schools. As educational needs have increased, state resources have decreased and local authorities have been given new responsibilities with little additional resources. These local resources are limited by property values that vary widely in the state and lead to inequities in educational funding. Also, as populations age, local… [PDF]
(1993). Clear Purpose…Complete Commitment: A Long-Range Program to Provide Louisianians with Library and Information Services Adequate to Their Needs, 1994-1998. This 5-year plan for the improvement of library service in Louisiana identifies specific existing inadequacies and presents specific goals and objectives as part of an overall plan to overcome barriers to the best possible library service in the state. It is noted that, in Louisiana, the State Library does not have administrative authority over any other library. Although poverty and illiteracy are prevalent in Louisiana, each of the state's 64 parishes has an established public library system. Circulation numbers are showing steady increases, demonstrating that people in Louisiana need and use their libraries. Fifteen goals are identified for the improvement of Louisiana libraries. Most deal with extending and improving existing services, and a number concentrate on specific populations of users, such as the disabled, the limited-English-speaking, or senior citizens. For each goal, status/needs, objectives, activities, and evaluation are detailed. Plans are also defined for…
(1991). Role Change in Britain's Chief Education Officer. Changes in authority relationships in the British government recently have had major consequences for the power of local administrators; a national report found an increased politicization of administrators in local government. This paper explores whether similar changes had taken place in educational administration. The effects of changes in authority relationships on eight chief executive officers (CEOs) immediately prior to passage of the Education Reform Act of 1988 are examined. Methodology involved interviews with eight CEO's of major local education agencies (LEAs) in the London metropolitan area. Findings demonstrate support for the hypothesis that changes in authority relationships have contributed to an increased politicization of local educational administrators. Widespread changes included increases in the following: challenges to established patterns of work, party control, party differences over school policy, and diverse politics on noneducational issues. Innercity…
(1990). Questions of Difficulty in Literary Reading. Report Series 4.6. Increasingly over the past several years, the reading of literature has been viewed as a social interpretive process. Conceptions of reading have changed from a largely cognitive process of print decoding to a socially situated one of understanding and appropriating a variety of discourse and text conventions. "Difficulty" is the result of the similarity or disparity between the text and the socially imbedded and motivated interpretive processes of particular readers. Students must learn to become comfortable with complexity and ambiguity in the presence of teacher messages that reward simple solutions. The literary "transaction" of reading involves several kinds of understandings: (1) self-understanding; (2) social understanding; (3) literary understanding; and (4) aesthetic understanding. Literary reading cannot be easily measured or defined, or developed discretely as a set of skills. The interpretive culture created by teachers' questions can stifle the… [PDF]
(2005). Technology-Rich Faculty Development for Teacher Educators: The Evolution of a Program. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (CITE Journal), v5 n3-4 p330-344. Many teacher educators lack the skills necessary to model effective technology use in their university courses. An effective faculty development program is critical in addressing this concern. This project focused on the development and implementation of a professional development program to assist faculty members in the integration of technology into courses taken by teacher education students. The article describes the evolution of this program over a 3-year period. During the first year, seven ways were identified to enhance the professional development experience including in-depth, hands-on practice, project-based approach, modeling, examples, ongoing assessment, and timesavers. These ideas were implemented in the second and third years. The workshop format was found to be an effective professional development tool. However, some faculty members required support beyond the workshops. The third year placed emphasis on addressing the individual needs of faculty members and… [Direct]
(1990). [Infant and Toddler Communication Disorders]. Zero to Three, v11 n1 p1-26 Sep. This newsletter issue contains four articles all addressing aspects of intervention with infants and toddlers having communication disorders. The first, \Assessing the Communication of Infants and Toddlers: Integrating a Socioemotional Perspective\ (Barry M. Prizant and Amy M. Wetherby) describes a new instrument, the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales, which provides an integrated evaluation and planning tool for young children at risk of developing communication disorders. Case studies of the scale's application are provided. The second article is \Communication Development in the First Two Years of Life: A Transactional Process\ by Lee K.S. McLean. It describes four communication stages from reactive perlocutionary communication to conventional illocutionary and emerging locutionary communication. \An Intensive Approach to a Toddler with Emotional, Motor, and Language Delays: A Case Report\ is the third article. The case study illustrates the importance of four processes,…
(1986). Long Range Program, 1987-1991. This long-range program, prepared as required by and in support of the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA), is intended to meet federal funding priorities and support the continuation of programs that have operated successfully in Massachusetts over the last decade. The purpose and background of the program are summarized, and the following aspects of the program are discussed: coordination of library programs; dissemination of information; evaluation; Statewide Advisory Council on Libraries; Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners; State Library of Massachusetts; regional public library systems; library networks; public libraries; major urban resource libraries; facilities; special libraries; institutional libraries; school libraries; academic libraries; library services to disabled persons, including those who are blind and physically handicapped; community information and referral; education for librarianship; automated technologies for libraries; the library… [PDF]
(1988). Employment in Perspective: Women in the Labor Force. First Quarter 1988. Report 752. A special survey on employer child-care practices conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in the summer of 1987 sampled 10,345 establishments with 10 or more employees selected from the BLS establishment universe file and classified by industry and size. The survey showed that over the last decade, the number of mothers in the labor force has grown by nearly 40 percent; for these women, obtaining reliable, high quality care for their children at reasonable cost is often a major problem. Approximately 11 percent of establishments with 10 or more employees offered some benefits to help them with their child-care arrangements. In addition, about 61 percent of establishments had the kinds of policies on flexible work schedules or leave that could help employees handle child-care arrangements even though these policies may not have been designed with that purpose in mind. About 2 percent of establishments provided day-care facilities, one-third of which were day-care… [PDF]
(1982). Criminal Justice Information Policy. Privacy and Juvenile Justice Records. Elected officials, justice professionals, courts and other institutions of our society are contributing to a reevaluation of juvenile justice information policy. The tenet that juveniles who commit crimes are not culpable is being challenged as the public's safety and economic well being is increasingly threatened by children engaged in criminal behavior. This document reviews the criminal justice information policy as it relates to confidentiality and juvenile justice in an attempt to identify those qualities of the policy which protect juveniles in a way that reflects the principles and character of the society. Part 1 describes the history and philosophy of the juvenile justice system with particular attention to juvenile record confidentiality. Part 2 focuses on the creation and maintenance of juvenile justice records from law enforcement and court system perspectives. Part 3 reviews disclosure of records including sealing and purging according to federal and state laws, sharing… [PDF]
(1982). Project Update. Final Report. The purpose of Project Update was to design and implement resource assistance activities to get 310 special projects into the hands of the adult basic education (ABE) classroom teacher and to provide inservice activities to ABE practitioners in Central Indiana. An advisory committee was established to counsel project personnel. To keep ABE personnel informed of statewide 310 projects and other innovative practices in adult education, these activities were completed: publication and distribution of a description of 310 special projects and a newsletter, workshops, project presentations and/or displays at conferences and workshops for adult educators, and establishment of cooperative relationships with existing resource centers. Other services were implemented to link ABE teachers with information sources and to encourage sharing of ABE ideas and methods, including dissemination of an annotated collection of resources, technical assistance, development of bibliographies relevant to…
(1982). The Impact of Intergovernmental Grants on Educational Spending. Empirical literature on the effects of intergovernmental grants on educational spending is reviewed in this document, which examines 40 published works covering the last two decades. Intergovernmental grants include both state grants to local governments and federal grants to state and local governments. The review's first section summarizes general observations on the studies, noting that the studies use either time-series or cross-sectional analysis, that their statistical techniques and models of governments' fiscal behavior became more sophisticated over time, and that intergovernmental grants are positively related to educational expenditures. In the second section the authors review 26 studies on state grants' effects on educational spending by states and local governments in general, by cities and municipal areas, and by school districts. The following section examines studies on federal aid, including six papers on pre-1966 data and seven on post-1966 data. Six studies are… [PDF]
(1982). Promotion of Collaborative Studies among RCUs. A Continued Chronology of Activities through 1981. This report chronicles the continuing joint efforts of several state research coordinating units (RCUs) and the National Center for Research in Vocational Education between July 24, 1979, and February 1, 1982, to develop multi-state, multi-year programs of study. These activities are summarized: general planning of the collaborative studies; preparing for RCU involvement; developing coordinated plans for each program area; sharing coordinated plans with the RCUs; further planning in one of the study areas (vocational education effectiveness); communicating progress and monitoring status; release of request for proposal; continued planning during the Sixteenth Annual Conference of the National Research Coordinating Unit Association; Telephone Conference on September 22, 1981; related developments during the fall 1981 meeting of the Southwide Research Coordinating Council; and reviews by mail and telephone conference of instruments for use in vocational education effectiveness study…. [PDF]