Mindful of the need for quality professional development and its characteristics, large numbers of educators are self-selecting to participate in workplace/community learning (WCL) experiences. Viewed as an alternative to less desirable forms of traditional professional development, WCL displays characteristics of high-quality professional…

This book reviews the history of the developmental-interactive approach, a formulation rooted in developmental psychology and educational practice, progressively informing educational thinking since the early 20th century. The book describes and analyzes key assumptions and assesses the compatibility of new theoretical approaches, focuses on…

This report reflects opinions shared during the 1999 South Carolina Summit on Teacher Quality, highlighting areas of consensus among participants. The Summit examined issues contributing to today's challenges and discussed solutions to ensure adequate numbers of teachers and a good supply of well-qualified and successful teachers in all academic…

This document is comprised of three papers by various authors, summarizing three different models of programs that successfully promote teacher quality that were introduced at the National Conference on Teacher Quality in January 2000, hosted by the U.S. Department of Education. The first program described, the Pathways to Teaching Program of…

This document highlights the school-to-careers (STC) partnerships connecting workplace experiences to classroom learning to prepare students for successful employment in the utilities industry. First, the current state of the utilities industry and careers in the utilities industry are reviewed. Next, the following organizations and employers are…

The concept of data-driven professional development is both straight-forward and sensible. Implementing this approach is another story, which is why many administrators are turning to sophisticated tools to help manage data collection and analysis. These tools allow educators to assess and correlate student outcomes, instructional methods, and…

The Michigan Council on Vocational Education conducted a comprehensive review of all secondary-level vocational education (VE) programs for adult criminal offenders. The review focused on the programs that were delivered through the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) in fiscal years 1994 and 1995. Data were collected from the following:…

The Family Work Institute conducted a study in San Fernando Valley, California; Dallas, Texas; and Charlotte, North Carolina to examined the effects of Child Care Aware's Family-to-Family training program on 130 child care providers. These providers were compared to 112 regulated providers not participating in Family-to-Family training. Results…

A total of 117 descriptions of notable programs and promising practices related to 30 specific problems, practices, and goals in American postsecondary education are presented. The programs described are the result of three searches made by the staff of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, although neither the staff nor the…

Papers from the Proceedings of the 17th meeting of the AIMAV (Association internationale pour le developpement de la communication interculturelle) are collected in this volume. Conference papers appear either in English, in French, or in Russian. For purposes of this abstract, all titles below have been translated into English. The…

This combination report and guide is intended to assist a broad audience of state and local educational administrators, teacher educators, and state policymakers. The first chapter of the guide examines (1) current views from the field regarding procedures for defining teacher effectiveness, teacher supply and demand, factors affecting teacher…

A project was conducted at Gateway Vocational Technical School in Arkansas to reduce effectively the high percentage of students who discontinue vocational training before completing the course. This would be accomplished by assisting potential students with realistic career training decisions. The project involved the following four steps: (1)…

A project conducted in four vocational regions of Kentucky developed a system for providing vocational teachers with relevant metrics education and developed and identified materials to support and enhance the system. Ten occupational training areas selected as a focus of the project were air conditioning, auto body, auto mechanics, diesel…

The Nebraska state career education plan was developed to assist individuals in developing essential educational and career skills for responsible functioning. The plan, linking the school and work world, extends chronologically: elementary level--career awareness, middle/junior high school level--career exploration, and senior high school…

This resource manual uses a general systems model for educational planning, instruction, and evaluation to describe a college introductory economics course. The goal of the manual is to help beginning or experienced instructors teach more effectively. The model components include needs, goals, objectives, constraints, planning and strategy,…