The closing of smaller enrollment programs at public universities in recent years has led to the closure of business teacher education programs. At the same time, existing business teacher education programs are experiencing low enrollments. To use faculty resources efficiently at four state universities in Missouri, required business education…

The Adult Education Coordination and Planning (AECAP) guide is designed to assist state adult education staff in forming partnerships at the state level and facilitating coordination at the local level as a lever for expanding and improving the quality of adult basic education (ABE) and workforce development services. Coordination plays a critical…

In many cases and more and more places, college just isn't what it used to be--and that's a very good thing. The fact is, the American system of higher education is changing, and staff at Lumina Foundation believe strongly that significant change is needed. True, the current system has served the nation well for decades--and in many ways set the…

This study examines nine voluntary working relationships or partnerships between tribal education departments (TEDs) and local education agencies supporting American Indian students. Individual profiles describe how each partnership works, focusing primarily on collaborative activities intended to improve education outcomes for American Indian…

Discusses the collaboration of six Missouri higher education institutions to offer improved access to doctoral education and statewide preparation of educational leaders. Describes unique aspects of the program, challenges such as creating a culture of collaboration and establishing and meeting high standards, the program's outcomes, and lessons…

This paper describes how the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is using constructivist theory and research to inform educational policy and practice. The state's most concentrated and comprehensive effort in this direction is Project Construct, a unified instructional approach for children ages 3-7. The project consists of…

This paper presents an account of one school district's creation of a director of guidance position, the search for the best candidate, and the new director's beginning experiences on the job. The author discusses how she met the first challenges in the job, such as resistance from the school counselors and building support from school…

This module provides information about the benefits of entering into a cooperative agreement with another agency. Also provided is information about developing successful agreements. The guide includes a list of definitions and uses a question-and-answer format to discuss the rationale for interagency cooperation, the best approach to…

Ten rural school improvement clusters involving 63 districts, 7 colleges and universities, and 6 state departments of education have been developed in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and North Dakota through the work of the Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory's Rural Education Project. Four essential steps appear necessary for…

Describes a project in which educators from several rural Missouri school districts cooperated in meeting state directives to define basic skills being taught, monitor student progress in those skills, and evaluate and improve teacher performance. Points out the short- and long-term benefits of this cooperative venture. (SV)

Potential for articulating students between Missouri institutions offering vocational-technical education at the secondary, postsecondary, and adult levels was investigated. To determine the attitudes of administrators and instructors toward articulation, a survey was mailed to four- and two-year institutions, Area Vo-Tech Schools, and…

Initial efforts to validate a developmentally appropriate assessment system for use with children aged 3 to 7 years are described. The Project Construct Assessment System is part of a comprehensive framework for curriculum and assessment that is predicated on the theory that children construct their own knowledge. It features a variety of…

Forming a consortium to share the financial burden of bringing microcomputer hardware and software into the schools is one way that small schools can maintain educational quality and equity in a time of rapidly increasing microcomputer technology. Six small schools in Missouri, in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Elementary and…

Four case studies conducted by the Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL) Rural Education Project examined four clusters of rural schools and their efforts to improve schooling by collaborating and sharing resources. The Mid-Missouri Small School Consortium involved five rural school districts in efforts to incorporate…

This paper describes a professional development initiative aiming to develop strong school/community partnerships, building the capacity for integrated, school-linked services and developing diverse models for community collaboration. Early in the 1995-1996 school year, seven school districts in mid-Missouri were recruited to begin developing…