Although many young children face risk factors for academic failure, most research about family interventions do not focus on at-risk children. For example, although Parents Interacting with Infants Model (i.e. PIWI) and Baby TALK programmes are widely used family interventions, no empirical research has been conducted about PIWI or Baby TALK…

Raising evaluation capacity is not an easy task unless the evaluation competence of Extension professionals in each program area is identified. The study reported here identified whether level of knowledge and skills and needs for further training in program evaluation vary for Extension educators based on their program area. A total of 752…

Assessments of U.S. students typically reveal stronger performance in science than mathematics yet their science performance remains uninspiring at best. Whether the metric considered is an international benchmark from TIMSS or PISA or the nation's NAEP report card, the mediocre portrait of U.S. science achievement has remained virtually unchanged…

Over the past few decades, service-learning has surged in popularity. Although most programs are implemented in high school and college classrooms, service-learning has the potential for great impact in middle school. The present article evaluates a pilot service-learning program for fifth- and seventh-grade (N = 86) children in a large, urban,…

As the efficacy of educational administration programs has come under increased national scrutiny, one area which has received particular attention is the administrative internship component. In Illinois, various professional, governmental, and state-supported organizations such as the Commission on School Leader Preparation, Illinois Council of…

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The initiative focuses on three types of…

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The initiative focuses on three types of…

The results of a questionnaire submitted to teachers at Illinois community colleges suggest that individualized instruction is a useful tool despite the problems which commonly accompany its use. Because respondents failed to identify future critical needs, it is apparent that long-range planning is a crucial need. (CT)

Presented in this report is an extensive evaluation of three library projects located in Chicago, Peoria, and the suburban Chicago area. All the projects reviewed have strong and weak points. Generally, the strong elements are a vigorous commitment to the people served, emphasis on inexpensive paperback books and collections of books stressing…

This evaluation report is one of 17 planned for the longitudinal pilot study of the implementation in kindergarten and grade 1 of the Comprehensive School Mathematics Program (CSMP). Kindergarten and first-grade teachers using the CSMP curriculum were asked, at mid-year, to evaluate the content and instructional materials by rating several aspects…

This evaluation report is one of 17 planned for the longitudinal pilot study of the implementation in kindergarten and grade 1 of the Comprehensive School Mathematics Program (CSMP). Teachers using the CSMP curricula in kindergarten and first-grade classrooms were asked to complete questionnaires concerning implementation problems, timing and…

A project was conducted to develop a set of standards for teacher education programs in agriculture and to utilize these standards in a locally directed effort at four universities in Illinois (University of Illinois, Illinois State University, Southern Illinois University, and Western Illinois University) which offer teacher education programs in…

A QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED BY THE NORTHERN ILLINOIS ADULT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO DETERMINE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF, AND PARTICIPATION IN, ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN NORTHERN ILLINOIS IN 1963-64. THE QUESTIONNAIRE WAS DESIGNED TO COLLECT INFORMATION IN SEVERAL AREAS, SUCH AS PROGRAMS -- CREATION, DEVELOPMENT, SCOPE, PURPOSES, CHANGES,…

A statewide survey was completed by 234 special education teachers with experience in developing assessment portfolios within the Illinois Alternate Assessment (IAA) system. Relationships between these teachers' demographics and their perspectives, concerns, and self-reported practices related to the IAA system was identified and described. These…

This study surveyed the extent of Special Educational Opportunity Programs (SEOP) for disadvantaged students among higher education institutions in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin, in an initial attempt to establish baseline data on the nature and range of SEOP activities. From the results of a questionnaire administered to both…