As of March 2008, over half of U.S. states are facing projected budget shortfalls for the coming fiscal year. During economic downturns such as this, opportunities available to hard-working, low-wage families are diminished. These conditions create growing concerns for policymakers who must, with fewer state resources, enhance opportunities and…

This paper provides an overview of U.S. Department of Education programs authorized and funded under federal law. It includes information as well on the laboratories, centers, and other facilities funded by the Department that provide important resources for education. Readers will find funding information, contact information, and a web site for…

Based on desk reviews and/or field studies of 102 projects related to women, this report synthesizes the results of A.I.D. experience since 1973 in targeting women in development (WID) activities. The major finding is that mainstream projects that ensure women's participation in accordance with their roles within the project's baseline situation…

This paper provides an overview of U.S. Department of Education programs authorized and funded under federal law. It includes information as well on the laboratories, centers, and other facilities funded by the Department that provide important resources for education. Each entry, which gives a brief overview of a program or resource, is listed…

The paper addresses the importance of developing a rural community's commercial sector for economic development by providing some analytical tools. Procedures are outlined to estimate commercial sector activity in a community, to estimate commercial sector activity for various counties within a state (Nevada is used as an example), and to develop…

This article reports findings from a two-year study of 17 change agents working in three New York City school improvement programs. Interview, observation, and ranking data from the change agents, their managers, and their school clients were analyzed, and a synthesis of findings resulted in a list of 18 key skills for educational change agents.…

Because negative stereotypes have direct implications for social scientists' functioning and inclusion on multidisciplinary teams working in international development, rural sociologists should be aware of these stereotypes, identify their sources and modes of perpetuation, and utilize strategies to dispel unflattering characterizations.…

The report, which is part of a series, provides a summary of a 1985 meeting. The meeting was intended to (1) provide an overview of the Secondary Transition Intervention Effectiveness Institute's programs, (2) discuss how participants could be involved in the Institute's programs, and (3) develop a format for networking the results of federally…

A two-part report, sponsored by the Northwest Regional Exchange, focuses on the role of technical assistance in educational settings. This document, part I of the report, presents an overview of major research and literature findings, including the extant knowledge base and the state of the art in technical assistance. The introduction discusses…

This paper describes one component of the Study of Dissemination Efforts Supporting School Improvement, which focused on the role that external facilitators play in helping schools implement new educational practices. The first part describes the external facilitator sample (95 respondents) and delineates the major formal role groups of external…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…

Written in both English and French this is a manual for the Canadian research community. It describes the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and its operations. The main objective of the IDRC is to assist scientists in developing countries to identify and conduct research into long term practical solutions to development problems.…

The intent of the investigation reported here was to study the impact of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) on educational evaluation at the state and local level. The study had three major purposes: (1) to investigate the state education agency (SEA) and local education agency (LEA) responses to changing evaluation…

The directory lists and describes 48 resources organized by: projects using microcomputers to instruct young exceptional children, other early childhood special education microcomputer projects, technical assistance projects, software evaluation projects, publications and projects on adapted toys and educational devices, online electronic…

This report summarizes the development, testing, and dissemination of an instructional improvement program called Achievement Directed Leadership (ADL) during the period of National Institute of Education (NIE) funding for ADL, from late 1977 to late 1985. A brief introductory chapter discusses the context and rationale for the work on ADL, whose…