This book, consisting of a series of discussion papers and case studies, is a compilation of the papers presented at a region 1 workshop on participatory research in Africa. Included in the volume are the following discussion papers: "The Concept of Development in the Social Sciences," by Kemal Mustafa and Deborah Bryceson; "The…

The development of a Computer Assisted Language Learning for Information Organization and Production in Europe (CALLIOPE) program is discussed. CALLIOPE is a program launched by the European Community that is intended to provide computer-based foreign language instruction for the business and industrial environment. Program goals are two-fold: (1)…

A major reason for the paucity of usable data on the contributions and effectiveness of community colleges is that the definitions on which the data are based are imprecise. Colleges' contributions might be better understood if their functions were reconceptualized. The collegiate dimension of community colleges (i.e, that portion of the…

This case study analyzes and evaluates the administrative computer systems in the British Columbia public school organization in order to investigate the costs and benefits of computers, their impact on managerial work, their influence on centralization in organizations, and the relationship between organizational objectives and the design of…

Experiences in systems-development for state information systems are summarized for eight pilot-test state agencies, as part of the State Level Information Base project. Attention is directed to the evaluation of information needs; hardware and software choices; survey administration; data organization, storage, and linkages; and staffing…

This supplementary report presents testimony on the community college transfer function given to the California Postsecondary Education Commission's Ad Hoc Committee on Community College Transfer. First, Paul Elsner discusses developments related to transfer and articulation with four-year institutions within the Maricopa Community College…

In a project led by Research for Better Schools (RBS), educators work with researchers to improve basic skills learning. Based on research findings relating the amount of time allocated for instruction and student achievement, one school made scheduling changes to reduce the time spent moving from one classroom to another. Other classroom…

This discussion of the transfer function of California's community colleges focuses on the problems of obtaining reliable information, research findings on factors affecting transfer success, and ways of accurately assessing transfer rates. After affirming the importance of the transfer function of community colleges, the paper examines flaws and…

The procedures used in an ethnographic study of a classroom language learning community are described. The research was undertaken to gain insights into adult language learning taking place among students who were not foreign language majors in an elementary French class at Michigan Technological University during the 1986-87 academic year. The…

Proceeding from the premise that effective educational management requires effective information management, this paper identifies requirements to consider in designing student information systems, and describes how the Toronto Public Schools' system meets these requirements. In addition to examining the common characteristics of information…

A program implemented in the University System of Georgia to assist women and minorities advance in educational research is described. The program is one of individually guided research and each participant is free to select individual objectives, topics, research procedures, rate of progress, and outcomes. Program participants are predominantly…

This report is concerned with improving the resource allocation system of public schools in Washington, D.C. It describes the information necessary for creating an alternative resource plan and the administrative reporting procedures necessary for maintaining such a plan. The strengths and weaknesses of existing data collection and reporting…

Educational Progress in Careers (EPIC), Inc., was organized (1) to develop and validate a system for evaluating career, economic, and community education projects in Florida schools and to assist educators and school district administrators in assessing the status of career, economic, and community education programs; (2) to develop valid data…

This volume reports the baseline (1978) data to be used in the 6-year longitudinal evaluation of the Child and Family Resource Program (CFRP). The CFRP, funded in 11 sites across the country as a Head Start demonstration program, is intended to develop models for providing services to low-income families with children from birth to eight years.…

The career education project conducted by the Mesa (Arizona) Unified School District was designed to develop a written objectives-based Model Accountability System (MAS) that identifies terminal career education behaviors according to several themes, specifies assessment items for each objective, and provides a monitoring system and mastery…