This study, essentially a personal description is the first to deal with one of the pilot projects in functional literacy, part of the UNESCO experimental adult literacy program. The project discussed is a work-oriented literacy undertaking in Tanzania. Following a brief survey of the background of the project, the present situation is described.…

As part of its ongoing efforts to improve further education (FE) in the United Kingdom, the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) developed a model for FE colleges that see their core purpose as meeting the needs of business and industry as distinct form colleges with a mission to serve the needs of the community or prepare young people…

In January 1998-March 2000, a new statistical assessment and referral system to improve the job retention of welfare recipients participating in welfare-to-work programs was piloted in the welfare-to-work program serving two counties in southwestern Michigan. The assessment and referral system is based on statistical methods and uses…

The Assessment Tools for Adult Education project was designed to provide training and support to staff of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) funded programs to help them use assessment tools and procedures to document the learning gains of the adult students they serve. The following candidate assessment…

For seven years, the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) was the primary standardized assessment instrument used by the adult education program of the Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV (MIUIV) of the Pennsylvania Department of Education Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education. While reviewing its current assessment procedures, the MIUIV's…

In March 2002, members of the National Technology Leadership Initiative (NTLI) met in Charlottesville, Virginia to discuss the potential effects of ubiquitous computing on the field of education. Ubiquitous computing, or "on-demand availability of task-necessary computing power," involves providing every student with a handheld computer--a…

Development of post-secondary curriculum in emerging interdisciplinary fields presents particular challenges in course design and resource utilization, especially when the field is interdisciplinary by nature of its inherent breadth. A new course at the University of Calgary, designed to introduce undergraduate students to the methods and…

Simultaneous pressures in policy, press, and rhetoric are pushing principals to address the intellectual engagement of their less academically inclined students. Accountability provisions in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) require schools to demonstrate adequate yearly progress for students of disaggregated subgroups. The theme of overcoming…

This case study describes an effort to design and pilot an interactive, Web-based, district-wide "professional support portal" to support new teacher retention and professional growth in the Milwaukee Public Schools. The study reviews the overarching goals of this program and focuses, in particular, on an account of the nature and kinds…

In 2007, the Texas Legislature (80th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2007) authorized the creation of the Texas Rural Technology (R-Tech) Pilot program, which provides $8 million in funding to support rural districts in implementing technology-based supplemental education programs. In order to be eligible for funding, districts must have…

This report describes an investigation into how a school moves from a handful of individual teachers dabbling in alternative assessment strategies to full school implementation of an assessment system. The research was conducted at Bay Park Elementary School in the San Diego (California) City School District, a school participating in a pilot…

This issue focuses on teaching for diversity, reviewing some strategies designed to increase the supply of minority teachers and to prepare all teachers to work with students of many different races, cultures, and backgrounds. These strategies are being piloted in programs across the United States. One strategy for increasing the supply of…

The experiences of the first middle school to pilot the ideas and concepts of the Accelerated Schools Project are described. The school is an inner-city public school with a population of at-risk students presently scoring below district and state achievement averages. The 689 students are 53 percent Hispanic, 23 percent Portuguese, 17 percent…

The report summarizes findings of a pilot study of 1985 graduates of bilingual high school programs at the University of Ottawa and Carleton, Queen's, and McGill Universities. Data on French language proficiency, attitudes toward the French language, and current patterns of French use at the universities are compared for early and late immersion…

To determine the role of vocational education in enhancing private sector productivity in the Sedalia, Missouri area, the feasibility of a program to assist business and industry in productivity awareness, assessment, and improvement was evaluated. Based on data from six area business and industry representatives who agreed to complete a survey…