The purpose of this article is twofold as it aims to compliment the effort of identifying the personal qualities and professional competencies generic to effective school leaders and to contribute to the comparison of effective leadership in diverse cultural contexts. Five examples of successful school principals in rural primary schools in Cyprus…

The purpose of this paper is to compare the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) self-assessment model in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Spain and in Jordan. Case study methodology on eight services provided by a public university in Spain and seven services provided by one public university and one private university in…

Administrators, particularly those who engage in instructional leadership, play a key role in school improvement. Past research describes the types of activities instructional leaders engage in but has paid little attention to how they do it. The authors use the case of one school to unpack instructional leadership as a practice, paying close…

Which factors promote student transfer from California Community Colleges (CCC) to baccalaureate-granting institutions? How do community college practices support this transition? Which student behaviors and characteristics particularly facilitate their movement to four-year colleges and universities? The Research and Planning Group for California…

This report offers three broad suggestions for redefining how small town service delivery is examined. First, it uses a very broad definition of service delivery that encompasses revenue enhancement methods, expenditure reduction options, and innovative program arrangements. Second, it argues that three interrelated categories of research needs…

Administrators of the fastest growing school district in Illinois have coped with enrollment planning. In addition to enrollment projection techniques, school staff attend city and county planning meetings and also count the number of housing units occupied and under construction. (MLF)

This document includes a 3-page brochure describing the main report and the main report. The report explores competency-based models in postsecondary institutions and other learning environments. It is intended primarily as a guide for postsecondary educators who are interested in establishing such efforts at their institutions. The following…

This study describes and analyzes the pedagogical activities of two professional development models aimed at helping teachers effectively integrate technology in their classrooms. Most importantly, it investigates the impact of those activities on teacher learning and practice. Results of the study provide empirical evidence that links key…

Part of a series, this preliminary report is on a meta-analysis study of successful and unsuccessful transition of handicapped youth from secondary education to postsecondary settings. The study had four major objectives: (1) to review annual progress reports of federally funded (Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation) transition projects,…

In separate articles, two educators present their arguments for and against the proposition that empirically based practice, the integration of practice methods with research methods, should be taught in social work practice courses. Each also responds to the other's essay. (MSE)

The application of noncategorical special education in two states and categorical special education in two companion states was considered, with a focus on program practices and procedures. The effects of grade level, disability severity, and school district size on state and local implementation of the noncategorical approach were examined, and…

This Policy Research Brief explores the strengths of qualitative research and the types of information it can make available to policymakers concerned with issues affecting persons with disabilities. The naturalistic methodology employed in qualitative research is described. Three specific studies using qualitative methodology are excerpted and…

Designed to assist individuals who need to bring information to citizen groups or decision makers concerned with community economic development, this manual uses a question-answer format to cover topics that might occur to someone just starting to build an understanding of community economic analysis. Among topics covered are: strategies for…

The Learning in Science Project identified the learner as the key perspective for in-depth study into problems and difficulties in the teaching and learning of science at the 10- to 14-year-old level. Two complementary research foci were established to explore this viewpoint: (1) interviewing children using strategies designed to establish various…

As part of on-going research on rural public service provision, researchers illustrated the use of a methodologically rigorous tool (a "tradeoff game") for eliciting community preferences for municipal public services. The trade-off game allowed adults in 122 households in Erin Township, Wellington County, Ontario, to assess 13 currently…