This document is intended for people in education and training, health services, social services, and volunteer organizations who are committed to empowering people with disabilities and learning difficulties. It sets self-advocacy within the context of achieving adult status in the United Kingdom, offers a theoretical framework for professionals…

The Trouble-Shooting Checklist (TSC) is an empirically-developed, descriptive instrument which is based on the responses of six educational change agents. It enables an agent to predict a given institution's success in adopting innovations by ordering its levels of concerns and innovation usage. It focuses on two types of innovation:…

The first section of this manual contains a selective review of organizational change literature which focuses on predictive institutional variables as they affect the adoption-diffusion process. The second section describes the development of the Trouble Shooting Checklist (TSC). The third section presents two Trouble Shooting Checklists (TSC-A…

This report builds a case for survey feedback as a useful method of assisting schools to respond actively, rather than passively, to uncertainty and complexity in the school environment. The main argument is that passive responses, such as defensiveness and buffering, reduce educational effectiveness. Planning, an active response, creates…

An introduction by Dr. David D. Komisar provides background and objectives for a study which eventually involved observations in six residential institutions. Two institutions were judged to be ineffective as residents appeared to be not happy or self-sufficient, showed little intellectual growth (or were rarely, if ever, retested), had many…

Research shows that small schools and schools within schools can yield positive outcomes for students and improved satisfaction and effectiveness among school staff. Small schools can be less costly than larger ones if judged by expenditure per graduate instead of cost per pupil enrolled. Examination of the policy environments of urban schools in…

This paper explored the attitudes of college faculty toward diversity and multiculturalism at the University of Guam, which is characterized by the Department of Education as a minority institution; the faculty, on the other hand, is less diverse (60 percent Caucasian). The research explored the dynamic between the ethnic composition of the…

Describes and illustrates the interaction between personal, policy, and organizational factors that influence teachers' decisions regarding content and teaching methods. Specifically questions how this information might be used in determining the efficacy of educational reforms. Includes verbatim comments from teachers and a sample of interview…

The director of the Public Library of Nashville & Davidson County (Tennessee) discusses the library's development since 1995. Highlights include Nashville's growth potential and political climate; improving the efficiency of internal operations; staff involvement in problem-solving (technology training and systemwide programming);…

This study examined the influence of racial/ethnic dynamics on the process of social and academic integration. Students of diverse racial/ethnic and academic backgrounds were interviewed throughout their first-year and again at the beginning of their sophomore year about their pre-college and in-college experiences. Results yielded a qualitative…

This publication prsents guidelines for effective higher education instruction based on research into teaching and learning, on good practices, and on criteria used in teaching awards and in tenure and promotion procedures. Section 1 addresses university teachers and effective teaching practice and includes a list of seven specific practices for…

The current approach to promoting educational equity in universities in Australia is substantially flawed. Through the "equity framework," the Australian university community sector has been compelled to involvement with educational equity through government pressure that has included financial incentives and legislation. Six groups have…

This paper, one in a series about the priorities of the professoriate, examines work-family issues as they affect faculty recruitment, retention, and productivity. Following a brief discussion of changing work-force demographics, the first part of the paper examines the structure of an academic career, focusing particularly on junior faculty and…

In this document, The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention focuses on prevention challenges at community colleges. Students at community colleges differ from those at four-year institutions in a number of areas, including social demographics as well as alcohol and other drug-related problems. Community college students are…

Factors that influence the effectiveness of state and local units of the federal Work Incentive (WIN) program were examined to suggest ways to improve the program, which is designed to move recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) into productive jobs. Factors studied were organizational, managerial, and service delivery…