Discusses retention in community colleges, identifying four reasons that students leave college, including attainment of goals and frustrated expectations. Lists eight intervention strategies that have proved successful, and provides suggestions for retention, such as having faculty serve as mentors to students, and providing the most appropriate…

School reform is achieved through the collaboration and coordination among educators with the mutual goal of improved learning for all students. Given the complexity within and among educational systems, the need to develop and implement a common framework of school reform based upon mutually agreed-upon goals, standards, outcomes, and…

This report summarizes the 2006-2007 evaluation that was focused toward investigating one primary question: What changes in tool-based, student-centered teaching happen as a result of the infusion of technology and professional development? The research methodology involved the use of trained external researchers from Florida EETT schools…

This article describes two art-based service-learning experiences that can serve as models for an authentic community-university partnership by challenging college students' sense of place through an examination of "others'" places. College students face displacement in adjusting to a new location and a new direction in life, while youth…

This report of the Florida Commission on Social Studies Education reviews the status of social studies education in Florida public schools and makes recommendations for improving instruction to meet the needs of Florida students in grades K-12. In reviewing the status of social studies in Florida, the Commission concluded that there was no single,…

In 1990, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) included a Trial State Assessment (TSA); for the first time in NAEP's history, voluntary state-by-state assessments were made. In 1994, TSA was expanded to include non-public school students. The 1994 reading assessment considered students' proficiency in situations that involved…

The Florida Department of Education is monitoring the energy use of two adjacent portable classrooms to compare their energy efficiency in a hot and humid climate and determine if they can be made more energy efficient either by retrofit or when the portables were constructed. This report provides the background of this research and describes the…

A study examined mass media use and ability to predict public support for two heavily publicized Florida referenda--casino gambling and a statewide lottery. It was hypothesized that (1) voters who read newspapers that publish election public opinion poll stories will be better able to predict support for the issues than voters who rely on friends…

Information is provided on the Florida State University System's Indicators of Excellence Program and how it is evaluated. The 21 indicators of quality are used in setting annual goals for quality improvement, in justifying university budget requests, and in evaluating the results of the universities' quality improvement efforts. Some of these…

What reading consultants do varies considerably from person to person as there is variability in the role each reading consultant perceives as his or her responsibility. To assist reading consultants in prioritizing their roles to meet their constituents' needs, 113 elementary teachers enrolled in graduate reading classes at the University of…

This study was conducted to develop a means for implementing proven recruitment strategies to attract and retain students in postsecondary vocational programs in Florida. In order to achieve this purpose, the following objectives were set: (1) to identify methods to overcome the most significant barriers to student retention identified by…

To test the spiral of silence model (which asserts that an individual's expression of his or her opinion is a function of his or her perception of majority opinion), a study examined opinions regarding Radio Marti--the Voice of America's special broadcast service to Cuba--in Dade County, Florida. A random sample of 407 respondents (42% Cuban, the…

A project was conducted to develop and field test self-instructional materials which would provide a mechanism for positive change in attitudes and procedures for educators and administrators toward integrating handicapped students into regular vocational education programs. Specific objectives of the project were as follows: (1) research and…

As part of a 2-year study to plan, develop, and offer relevant continuing education programs for women in Pensacola, a Delphi study was conducted to determine the educational needs and priorities of different types of women living in Pensacola. The Delphi method was selected because it is considered an effective way of eliciting the opinions of a…

A statewide pilot study of career education needs was conducted by surveying 667 Florida educators who have been actively involved in career education. The 354 respondents rated the actual attainment and the desired priority of the students needs, the need for improving the program needs, and other information both general and specific to career…