This paper is a product of Project COMPETE, a service demonstration project undertaken for the purpose of developing and validating a model and training sequence to improve transition services for moderately, severely, and profoundly retarded youth. The paper examines the need for cooperative programming across agencies serving this population and…

Comparisons of data for Italy and other European countries show that Italy has lower educational attainment for the 25-64 age group, shorter length of compulsory schooling, and less inservice training for employed adults. The Centre for the Study of Social Investment in Italy identified needs for functional literacy, supplementary and vocational…

This paper describes a leadership model based on assumptions about connections between human development and organizational development, and the application of the model in leadership training for New Hampshire special education directors. The model assumes that four critical factors of human development outlined by Piaget and Meisels can be…

This paper advances a framework for conceptualizing the professional status of day care personnel and describes training options for such personnel. The conceptual framework consists of a historical review of day care providers and discussions of the desirability of the service provided by day care centers and the knowledge base required of day…

This research review considers the literature on monitoring in education, suggests considerations for successful monitoring programs, and includes a selected bibliography of additional readings on mentorship. (CB)

Effective provision of services to disabled rural children and their families requires collaborative effort between special educators and social workers. However, such a collaborative effort is impeded by social workers' lack of knowledge about special education laws and services and about disabled children and their families. A major…

Case studies, interviews, letters, and nationwide questionnaire responses from hundreds of administrators constitute the data for this report. The first chapter discusses the meaning of and the reasons for staff development; the effect of staff development on school and community; the increasing role of teachers, principals, and school boards; the…

Rural special educators play a very complex role in the provision of services to exceptional learners. Population sparsity and distance factors more or less mandate that most rural special education programs must be cross-categorical, multi-age programs. These same factors, and the fact that support specialists in related areas are nonexistent or…

Educational needs are changing as social and economic characteristics of society evolve. Since teacher education institutions have historically had the responsibility for preparing educators for elementary and secondary schools, they must now take the responsibility for preparing educators for business, industry, government, human services, and…

The effects and implications of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, Public Law (PL) 94-142, are discussed in this collection of conference presentations. A panel gave an overview of legislative and legal aspects of the law and its implications for personnel development and funding. Small group sessions were held on: individualized…

This paper discusses the preparation of a diverse early childhood workforce, including the child care community, Head Start, and paraprofessionals who serve families through community-based programs that should reflect the background, race, and ethnicity of the children and families served (NAEYC, 1996), as well as the many fields that are part of…

An analysis of the massive amount of literature pertaining to the improvement of professional instruction in dental education resulted in the formation of a comprehensive model of 10 categories, including Delphi technique; systems approach; agencies; workshops; multi-media, self-instruction; evaluation paradigms, measurement, courses, and…

Instructional coaching or mentoring, as a form of professional development for teachers, has gained importance as educational policy has called for the implementation of research-validated instructional practices by highly qualified teachers. Technology-mediated mentoring has strong potential for overcoming barriers of accessibility and…

The extension and research systems of land-grant institutions are in trouble. Six factors demonstrate the scope of the problem: significant cuts for agriculture in the Clinton administration budget; lawmakers opposed to extension research; federal budget deficit; state budget constraints; decreased power of agriculture in Congress; and…

The state-of-the art review suggests that human services agencies in rural areas can provide adequate staff training through the use of high technology training systems. Training equipment discussed includes: videotapes, microcomputers for computer-assisted instruction (CAI) or computer-managed instruction (CMI), solenoid-operated videocassette…