This paper discusses how developmental programs in Georgia obtain and maintain their status as "Training Center." The establishment in Houston County, Georgia of a "Training Center," an innovative school outreach program that disseminates an early intervention program for high-risk 6-year olds, exemplifies how outreach services…

The purpose of this study was to determine what kinds of people are motivated to join a medical self-help group and whether and in what areas of psychological and social functioning such self-help groups have positive benefits for adolescents and their families. Extensive survey questionnaires were sent throughout the United States to all former…

Teachers can take on the additional responsibility of inservice leadership and can be trained in the processes of curriculum development. Through implementation of those procedures, teachers can initiate an ongoing system of needs-based inservice education. Steps in initiating this process include: (1) Teachers take the major responsibility for…

The Joint Dissemination Review Panel (JDRP) examines educational interventions and determines their effectiveness. This study's purpose was to assess this review process and identify common characteristics of submittals and ways in which approvals and rejections differed. A locally-developed instrument which collected data on the intervention's…

Vocational education programs cannot and should not serve all the population groups targeted by the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA). Rather, they should and must collaborate and cooperate with the manpower community. In order to do that five major policy issues need to be dealt with: getting agreements to collaborate, prime…

This paper describes a case study evaluation of the first year of an inservice staff development program in Galax City Schools, Virginia. The program was designed to teach teachers how to deliver subject matter associated with "The Teaching of Thinking Skills Program," sponsored by a Chapter II Competitive Block Grant. The program had…

In order to determine how much objective evidence exists regarding the effectiveness of career education programs in U.S. schools, American Institutes for Research in Behavioral Sciences (AIR) conducted a comprehensive, national search for well-evaluated activities. The initial nominations of 394 programs were received from state career education…

An external evaluation was conducted of the Picturepages television work-along program in Kentucky. The program consisted of 100 televised lessons and booklets, and was given to 237 preschool children. The lessons presented "games" which were designed to develop cognitive concepts and skills. Both process and outcome evaluations were…

This pilot study sought to establish validity of a teacher career development model based on results from previous research which had isolated a series of career stages and several characteristics of each stage. The model was constructed to identify characteristics associated with effective and ineffective transfer of knowledge from teacher to…

The purposes of this study are: (1) to investigate the attitudes of Florida Extension Service specialists toward in-service education evaluation; (2) to determine the extent to which extension specialists are evaluating in-service education programs for which they have responsibility; (3) to determine the kinds of in-service education evaluation…

Three approaches to validating competencies of vocational education programs in technical and professional schools are examined. Competencies are defined as behavior-oriented and relatively simple, observable behaviors which can be identified and measured by the frequency of occurrence. The three models, which have elements in common, are expert…

After surveying the nationwide trend toward reduction and re-evaluation of counselors, this report traces the development of a guidance program accountability evaluation process. The history, a basic definition and rationale of the program, and its goals are described. Various assessment tools, data evaluation and the resulting suggestions and…

This paper examines whether the peer-review process of the North Central Association (NCA) is reliable and valid. Reliance on peer judgments has been a part of NCA accreditation, but confidence in the use of peer decisions to certify a school's readiness to implement the improvement plan--Outcomes Accreditation (OA)--was weak. The study focused on…

Although research strongly supports the facilitative nature of empathy in all helping relationships, there is a need for the experimental assessment of the differential effects of procedures designed to maximize this skill. Resident assistants (N=154) participated in a study to compare programmed and didactic training methods and to determine the…

The field of educational leadership faces serious challenges in the 21st century, such as the shortage of principals and superintendents, the growing demands for leadership positions, and the struggle for adequate resources. This paper explores the challenges facing this field from the position of university educational leadership preparation. The…