Given the growth in community colleges, the projected need for health career workers, and the central position of the department chair in higher education, this study explored dimensions of leadership as identified by health career department chairs in five Illinois community colleges. Areas of study included: (a) professional profiles of health…

Research opportunities for undergraduates in the social sciences remain relatively rare. If they exist at all they are usually in the natural sciences and engineering. In study abroad the situation is particularly pronounced: a semester or year abroad is still more a time for cultural and linguistic immersion than it is for building specific…

Although school administration has received some attention, no studies have examined the impact of reform proposals on university departments of educational administration. This study examines how the reform movement has influenced various functions and operations in 18 departments of educational administration in Illinois. Results show minimal…

The major purpose of this descriptive report is to provide an overview of the structure, capacity, and roles of educational service agencies (ESAs) across five states--Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin--in the Great Lakes region, within the context of the broader statewide systems of support for educational improvement and progress.…

The goal of this paper is to show how one political science department at a small midwestern university (Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois) used good assessment practices identified by the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) and others to effect improvement. The paper argues that these principles can be followed and produce…

Comments on building departmental excellence through creating conditions for development of the focus that emerged at the Speech Communication Department at the University of Illinois. Considers how the constructivist turn in communication studies at Illinois in the late 1970s and early 1980s underscores the value of multiple-group cluster hiring…

This guide is part of a series produced by the U.S. Department of Education, and it builds on two previous works: "Successful Charter Schools" (ED493615) and "Charter High Schools Closing the Achievement Gap" (ED494482). It profiles seven K-8 charter schools that are making headway in narrowing gaps in achievement. It examines…

Teachers in trainable mentally handicapped classes throughout Illinois were surveyed in regard to the type of classroom structure being followed (i.e., self-contained, semidepartmentalized, departmentalized) and also the extent to which their needs and the needs of their children were being met. (Author)

The Illinois Division of Vocational and Technical Education has applied the change strategy of commitment, resources, and organizational structure in the planning, implimentation, and improvement of vocational education personnel and curriculum development in the State. (EA)

Site visits were conducted at six state departments of vocational education (Texas, Illinois, Utah, South Carolina, Michigan, and Indiana) to assess the level of articulation with related educational dissemination agencies. These states represented a variety of settings which illustrated the effects of geography, population size, levels of past…

This study examined the coverage of sexual orientation topics within 77 public university secondary teacher preparation programs across seven US states, and represented programs preparing 8,300-11,500 teachers annually. Findings indicated that 40% of programs did not address sexual orientation as a diversity topic. Further, even programs that did…

This report outlines several recommendations for new or substantially revised budget development procedures set out by the Illinois State Board of Higher Education. They include: (1) a statewide budget context report prepared early in the budget process that will provide colleges and universities with information they can use in their own budget…

This study attempts to show that the junior college, if it develops according to certain criteria, can achieve the accepted democratic ideals of education. The related literature, both national and state, has been reviewed. Discussed are such concepts as universal education as the promoter of democratic ideals and the alleviator of social,…

Describes collaborative efforts between teacher education institutions and state departments of education in three states: Virginia, Illinois, and Minnesota. Projects include noncredit teacher workshops, series of needs assessments, technical updating of teachers, and internal staff development activities for teacher educators. (CT)

Supervision as understood in well-organized city systems has little resemblance to the annual visitation of schools as practiced by many county or other rural superintendents. The majority of these officers are fully conscious of the limitations imposed upon them by the conditions under which they work and they are active in their efforts to…