A job analysis to determine the technical functions of the job of mechanic in a utility company resulted in a Technical Competence Specification (TCS). The TCS identified the significant knowledge and skills organized into content domains. A content-related validation procedure determined the relevance of the mechanic training program content and…

Three studies identifying the characteristics of program submittals approved by the Joint Dissemintion Review Panel were examined. Between 1978-1985, 358 demonstration programs were submitted. For each of these years, between 51 percent and 83 percent of the submittals were approved. In this study, the submittals were reviewed on the basis of the…

Section 20-2-250 of Georgia's Quality Basic Education (QBE) Act, passed in March, 1985, provides for three types of innovative activities: developmental projects, training center/dissemination projects, and adoption projects. This part of the Act is administered by the Georgia Department of Education under the Innovation Program. The activities…

Because college-bound students often had trouble fitting agricultural education courses into their schedules, and because science teachers rejected the idea of giving a science credit for 2 years of agricultural education, a new integrated course was created in Tennessee. It is now called Science IA (Agriscience). It is taught by a teacher with an…

This paper describes the extent to which the Gender Expectations and Student Achievement (GESA) program has been disseminated at the national level, reports the findings of a validation study conducted in a California school district, and shares recommendations for further study and future plans. GESA was designed to reduce the disparity in the…

This paper presents a brief history of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), defining it as a national effort of voluntary accreditation. Distinctions are drawn between national voluntary accreditation and regional accreditation, with these distinctions being placed in a perspective of state licensure and program…

For mentoring to remain as one viable component of quality teacher induction, the roles of mentors, the benefits of mentoring and the obstacles to effective mentoring must be scrutinized and questions about the overall value of mentoring must be addressed. In the study discussed in this paper, 24 teachers who served as mentors for beginning…

State program approval could significantly influence the redesign of teacher education programs because of its legal authority. This paper reviews the functions of state program approval, and compares these processes with those of national voluntary accreditation organizations, such as the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.…

Current practice in educational program evaluation was examined through analyses of 232 reports submitted, from 1980 to 1983, by institutions seeking approval for their programs from the U.S. Department of Education's Joint Dissemination Review Panel (JDRP). The JDRP reviews these reports to determine whether educational programs have demonstrated…

Arguing that research shows that students possessing a number of identifiable social or interpersonal skills function better in school and community settings, this paper proposes that both public and private educational agencies identify relevant social skills for disruptive youth. It further suggests that they provide the training and practice…

This paper describes: the development and implementation of Schoolwide Projects (SWPs) in the School District of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania); evaluation models permitted by Chapter 1 regulation and policy; ways these models were used in Philadelphia and results that were obtained; and approaches that are sensitive to the effects of SWPs. The…

This paper reports the status of the Profile of School Excellence (PRO-S/E) after three years use and the results of a second validation study. The PRO-S/E, used in over 20 school districts in six states, is a diagnostic system school districts use to determine strengths and weaknesses based on 11 characteristics of effective schools. Data is…

This paper argues that the National Diffusion Network (NDN) is a valuable tool for disseminating information about effective school improvement programs (SIPs). It considers why SIPs are not found more frequently in the NDN and what can be done to remedy this situation, from the perspective of the executive secretary of the NDN Program…

Due to the efforts of mental health consumer and advocacy organizations, there now exists a legislated community-based mental health policy for the treatment of children and adolescents with serious emotional disorders and their families. But the implementation of this policy has not met the intended legislative standards. Accordingly, this…

Sixteen teaching centers, active in the Teachers' Centers Exchange, were interviewed once a week for 10 weeks to examine to what degree communication occurred between network participants without passing through the filter of the Teachers' Centers Exchange staff. Also investigated was the degree to which individuals interact because they have…