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This paper is a brief summary of a large historic research project in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The project aimed to document and analyse the nature of mathematics education from tens of thousands of years ago to the present. Data sources varied from first contact and later records, archaeology, oral histories, language analyses, lived experiences, memoirs, government documents, field studies, and previous research especially doctoral studies. The impacts of colonisation, post-colonial aid and globalisation on mathematics education have been analysed and an understanding of the current status of mathematics education established as neocolonial. Managing neocolonial education policies may minimise the loss of cultural ways of thinking.

The context for this paper is the "Synthetic Training Environment Experiential Learning -- Readiness" (STEEL-R) project [1], which aims to estimate individual and team competence using data collected from synthetic, semi-synthetic, and live scenario-based training exercises. In STEEL-R, the "Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring" (GIFT) orchestrates scenario sessions and reports data as experience API (xAPI)statements. These statements are translated into assertions about individual and team competencies by the "Competency and Skills System" (CaSS). Mathematical models use these assertions to estimate the competency states of trainees. This information is displayed in a dashboard that enables users to explore progression over time and informs decisions concerning advancement to the next training phase and which skills to address. To test, tune, and demo STEEL-R, more data was needed than was available from real-world training exercises. Since the raw data used to estimate competencies are captured in xAPI statements, a component called DATASIM was added. DATASIM simulated training sessions by generating xAPI statements that conformed to a STEEL-R "xAPI Profile." This facilitated testing of STEEL-R and was used to create a demo that highlighted the ability to map data from multiple training systems to a single competency framework and to generate a display that team leaders can use to personalize and optimize training across multiple training modalities. This paper gives an overview of STEEL-R, its architecture, and the features that enabled the use of artificial data. The paper explains how xAPI statements are converted to assertions and how these are used to estimate trainee competency. This is followed by a section on xAPI Profiles and on the xAPI Profile used in STEEL-R. The paper then discusses how artificial data were generated and the challenges of modeling longitudinal development and team in these data. The paper ends with a section on future research. [For the full proceedings, see ED623995.]

Providing high-level support to students on NGSS inquiry practices can be challenging; however, teacher dashboards can help teachers provide just-in-time instruction to students, both in-person and online. Prior work has shown some success with a dashboard that alerts teachers in real time on students' science inquiry difficulties, but teachers differed in their use of the alerts. To further support teachers, we designed a second iteration, in which the alerts included actionable, evidence-based Teacher Inquiry Practice Supports (TIPS), a series of suggested scaffolds that teachers can use to support students on the practices with which they are struggling. In this study, we investigate how the discursive support patterns from one teacher differed when using the dashboard alerts "without" TIPS followed by "with" TIPS. Findings suggest that TIPS influenced how the teacher incorporated different types of support for her students, and further, that the support given varied across different virtual lab stages. [This paper was published in: "ICLS2022 Proceedings," International Society of the Learning Sciences, 2022, pp. 297-304.]

Developing models and using mathematics are two key practices in internationally recognized science education standards such as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS, 2013). In this paper, we used a virtual performance-based formative assessment to capture students' competencies at both "developing" and "evaluating" mathematical models in science inquiry contexts aligned with the NGSS (2013). Results show that model development and evaluation competencies are correlated, but students who demonstrate proficiency with model development often struggle with evaluation. Nuanced data illustrate how components of modeling competencies differ and how they may be related.

In Texas, adult English as a Second Language (ES(O)L) and developmental education classes both offer adult multilingual students remediation guided by distinct standards: Texas Workforce Commission (2016) and Texas College and Career Readiness Standards (2018). Within various colleges, the courses are overseen by different departments lacking coordination, resulting in the "wicked problem" (Rittel & Weber, 1973, p. 136) of streamlining support for a growing multilingual college student population. Through thematic analysis (Clark & Braun, 2014) of 76 hours of observation and interviews at five Texas community colleges and community support programs, we apply systems theory to explore alignment between standards' application and instruction. Although the standards' language indicates alignment, unequal implementation indicates the need for additional training to support students.

In this paper, we analyze efforts to encourage teachers' attention to student thinking through a professional development (PD) program. We describe three groups of teachers within the same program who completed different types of assignments, either conducting interviews, planning classroom activities, or both. In both types of assignments, teachers were prompted to explicitly address student thinking. Teachers attended to specifics of student thinking when conducting and analyzing interviews, but struggled to do so when planning activities. While acknowledging the value of sustained attention to revision of lessons, reviewing classroom videos, and utilizing different forms of classroom discourse, we argue that conducting and analyzing interviews is an underused activity that can and should be an important part of teachers' professional development if we seek to encourage attention to student thinking. [For the complete proceedings, see ED583989.]

In this paper, we analyze individual semi-clinical interviews conducted with one kindergarten and one first-grade student. We build on prior research to offer evidence, via excerpts from these interviews, that children as young as kindergarten have a powerful, intuitive sense of generality and indeed naturally draw upon it to reason through mathematical scenarios. We identify within these children's utterances four features of generalizing for which educators might attend. [For the complete proceedings, see ED583989.]

Design-based research is being used to develop and refine the principles used in professional learning workshops with teachers from three different Papua New Guinean ecologies: highlands, coastal, and inland in a coastal province. The appropriateness of the design of principles for Papua New Guinean Elementary Schools is tried over several phases and improved with each evaluation. This design-based research approach is proving suitable for the Papua New Guinean context.

A design of principles for teacher professional learning was developed to improve the teaching of "Cultural Mathematics" in elementary schools in Papua New Guinea. The design's appropriateness for PNG elementary schools is the focus of the research implemented through week-long workshops using technology enhancement. Implementation has been in different ecologies and through workshops with different numbers and diversity of languages of teachers attending. This paper outlines the design of the principles and the structure of the workshop.

Indigenous languages are used for instruction in elementary schools in Papua New Guinea, but teachers have generally received their own education in English. The challenges of identifying terminology to use in mathematics include many-to-one correspondences between English and the vernacular languages, and different grammatical structures. Guidelines to assist teachers need contextualised examples. Teachers also need sufficient mathematical understanding themselves. [This project was funded through an Australian Development Research Award.]

This study developed twelve instructional modules based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress for mathematics content and methods courses for preservice elementary and middle school teachers and examined their impact on PSTs' mathematical content knowledge and self-efficacy beliefs about teaching mathematics. The modules help preservice teachers: (1) improve their mathematical content knowledge, (2) learn how to use effective methods to teach mathematics; and (3) become aware of uses of NAEP. Mathematical content knowledge was measured by instruments from the Learning Mathematics for Teaching project and mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs were measured by the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument or the Yackel Beliefs Survey. Modules were found to increase PSTs' mathematical content knowledge for teaching and improve their teaching efficacy beliefs. [For the complete proceedings, see ED584829.]

Indigenous students may find mathematics in schools difficult because there is discontinuity between cultural mathematics and school mathematics. One of the reasons for this is that their teacher's identity as a mathematical thinker may not link to their cultural ways of thinking. In Papua New Guinea, there is a subject to assist student teachers to develop their own and hence their students' consonance between cultural and school knowledge. In the subject, student teachers undertake a project to link culture and mathematics. The question for this research is to explore how student-teacher identity as a mathematical thinker is enhanced when they explore the cultural setting of their mathematics. From 239 reports collected over a 10 year period, 60 were analysed to explore the impact of sociocultural contexts on identity as a mathematical thinker. The document analysis informed the argument that such projects encourage teachers to express both culture and school mathematics and to identify with their cultural mathematical ways of thinking and to value these in school education.

This document contains papers from a Pennsylvania conference on adult and continuing education research. The following papers are included: "Violence against Women: Looking behind the Mask of Incarcerated Batterers" (Irene C. Baird); "Refocusing Faculty Development: The View from an Adult Learning Perspective" (Patricia A. Lawler, Kathleen P. King); "Living and Learning with HIV/AIDS: Transformational Tales Continued" (Lisa M. Baumgartner); "Gender Differences in Distance Education and Technology: Familiarity, Comfortability, and Receptivity in the Hotel and Restaurant Industry" (David S. Bender, James A. Bardi); "Using Qualitative Case Study to Evaluate a Pre-employment Training Program for Adults" (Susan C. Biro); "Assessing the Effectiveness of a Faith-Based Learning Environment for Adults: A Case Study and Comparative Analysis" (Anthony L. Blair); "Evaluating the Value of Internships for Adult Learners" (Gary J. Dean, Kurt P. Dudt); "The Value of Higher Education: A Latino Perspective" (Denise K. Hay); "The Intricacies of Initiate-Response-Evaluate in Adult Literacy Education" (Patsy Medina); "Where Cancer Patients Receive Information: A Comparative Study with Patients and the Perception of Health Care Professionals" (Eileen Milakovic); "Adult Students Speak Out; A Focus Group Research Project" (Sherry Miller Brown); "Identifying the State of the Art: Measures Used to Assess Adult Learners in Even Start Family Literacy Programs" (Joe Norden Jr., Gary J. Dean); "Family Literacy and Adult Education: Informing Practices That Encourage Participation" (Stephanie Wexler-Robock, Kathleen P. King); and "More Than Just Reading and Math: Women in Adult Basic Education" (Lisa J. Wright, Kathleen P. King). Most papers include substantial bibliographies. (MN)

This proceedings volume includes the following 29 papers: Session 1--(1) "Technology for Learning: The Present and Future in the United States" (Thomas Owens, Carolyn Cohen); (2) "Computer Systems Technology Programs at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (Canada). A Technology-Based Model for Information Technology" (Ken Takagaki); (3) "The University Level Training Program of the Information Technology" (Phan Dinh Dieu); (4) "Using the World Wide Web in Education and Training" (James Kow Kim Song); Session 2--(5) "Multimedia Education" (Tran Van Hao, Ngo Huy Hoang); (6) "Educational Multimedia in a Networked Technology" (Antony Bates); (7) "Production of Interactive Multimedia Packages" (Tran Minh Phuong); (8) "Digital Signal Processing Applied in Multimedia" (Tran Cong Toai, Tran Hoang Buu, Dang Xuan Hieu); Session 3--(9) "Courseware Engineering" (Nguyen Thanh Son, Ngo Ngoc Bao Tran, Quan Thanh Tho, Nguyen Hong Lam); (10) "Machine Discovery Theorems in Geometry: A Helpful Tool in Teaching Geometry" (Hoang Kiem, Vu Thien Can); (11) "Model of Problems in Analytic Geometry and Automatically Solving" (Do Van Nhon); (12) "Heuristic Based Scheduling in High School" (Nguyen Duc Thang); (13) "A Model of Knowledge of Analytic Geometry" (Do Van Nhon); Session 4--(14) "Impacts of Information Technology in Education and Training" (Vuong Thanh Son); (15) "Management Changes in the Information Age" (Pattrick Tantribeau); (16) "Restructuring the University for Technology Change" (Antony Bates); (17) "Interactive Multimedia Technology Contributing in Solving the Problem of National Education" (Tran Ha Nam); (18) "Information Technology Will Transform the University" (Wm. A. Wulf); Session 5--(19) "Distance Education at University of Hawaii" (David Lassner); (20) "An Approach to Distance Education by Using Network Technology" (Dam Quang Hong Hai); (21) "About the Ways To Solve Shortage of IP Address" (Phan Cong Vinh); (22) "Introduction to a Very Large Database" (Do Hoang Cuong); Session 6--(23) "Knowledge Based Approach for English Vietnamese Machine Translation" (Hoang Kiem, Dinh Dien); (24) "A Learning Algorithm for Feature Selection Based on Genetic Algorithms Approach" (Nguyen Dinh Thuc, Le Hoai Bac); (25) "Artificial Neural Network for Color Classification" (Tran Cong Toai); (26) "Synthesizing and Recognizing Vietnamese Speech" (Hoang Kiem, Nguyen Minh Triet, Vo Tuan Kiet, Luu Duc Hien, Bui Tien Leu); (27) "On-line Character Recognition" (Nguyen Thanh Phuong); (28) "Data Mining and Knowledge Acquisition from a Database" (Hoang Kiem, Do Phuc); and (29) "Genetic Algorithm for Initiative of Neural Networks" (Nguyen Dinh Thuc, Tan Quang Sang, Le Ha Thanh, Nguyen Thanh Son). (SWC)

In this conference proceedings the overarching theme of research on teaching and learning mathematics in diverse settings and the subthemes of diversity, constructivism and algebra are achieved in the plenary papers. The plenary papers and authors include "Constructivist, Emergent, and Sociocultural Perspectives in the Context of Developmental Research" (Paul Cobb & Erna Yackel); "Fairness in Dealing: Diversity, Psychology, and Mathematics Education" (Suzanne K. Damarin); and "A Research Base Supporting Long Term Algebra Reform?" (James J. Kaput). Included in these Proceedings are 84 research reports, two discussion groups, 40 oral reports and 43 poster presentation entries. The one-page synopses of discussion groups, oral reports and poster presentations are organized by topic along with the research reports. Papers are grouped under the following subject headings: advanced mathematical thinking, algebraic thinking, assessment, cognitive modalities, curriculum reform, epistemology, functions and graphs, geometric thinking, language and mathematics, probability and statistics, problem solving, rational number concepts, research methods, social and cultural factors, student beliefs and attitudes, teacher beliefs and attitudes, teacher change, teacher conceptions of mathematics, teacher education, teacher understanding of student understanding, technology, visualization, and whole numbers. An alphabetical list of addresses of authors is included in the appendix in Volume 2 with page numbers of their report or synopsis. For the first time the electronic mail address is included in this address list. (MKR)

Researchers have found it difficult to measure various forms of indirect aggression, such as exclusion from groups, because such behaviors are difficult to observe in field settings such as school playgrounds. This study examined gender and developmental differences in aggression, investigated across-gender aggression, and looked at teachers' estimates of students' aggression. An aggression scale was administered to students across four grades in two Catholic high schools and four Catholic primary schools. Subjects then estimated on a five point scale how often they saw the listed aggressive behaviors among students in their own grade. Results confirmed earlier findings that there are gender and developmental differences in aggression. Boys used more physical aggression strategies than girls and older girls used more indirect forms of aggression than did boys. Boys tended to have higher levels of verbal aggression than girls. Across genders, boys estimated that they used less aggression toward girls but girls disagreed. Girls used more physical aggression against boys in only one grade level and girls always used less indirect aggression. Teachers estimated that both boys and girls had higher levels of aggression than levels estimated by the students. Teachers did not know as much about indirect within-gender aggression as did students. (RJM)

A study examined parent decisions prior to and during reading aloud events with their first-grade children. Subjects were the parents of 342 first-graders in a suburban public elementary school district. Multiple methods of data collection were used, including surveys, diaries, interviews, videotapes, and stimulated recalls. Based on an analysis of survey data, 16 parents were selected to further participate in data collection. Some of the findings from the surveys included the following: almost all parents said they read aloud to their first graders; the mother was the parent who was by far the most likely to do the reading; the percentages of mothers who worked and read to their first graders were similar to those who were not employed outside the home; storybooks were overwhelmingly the most commonly used genre; and a switch from home libraries to public libraries as primary sources of materials was found. Analysis of the additional data sources, particularly the interviews, showed that patterns existed--parents who made similar decisions were grouped together in one of six categories. Parents in four of the categories (professionals, artists, journeymen, and laborers) regularly read to their children, while parents in the categories of craftsmen or novices did not regularly read to their first graders. Findings suggest that while the importance of routine reading events should not be minimized, decisions parents make regarding purposes, materials, and strategies will also highly influence the effectiveness of their reading aloud events. (RS)

Attention of research and evaluation specialists has often focused on methodology for assessing program outcomes with less attention given to techniques for describing important characteristics of a program or methods for assessing the degree to which a program may faithfully reflect a particular model. The purposes of this paper are to describe a rationale for assessing the degree of program implementation, to identify some common misperceptions regarding program fidelity, and to discuss approaches used in assessing the degree of program implementation of a large-scale career education program called Experience-Based Career Education (EBCE). The authors' experiences in developing and using an EBCE Essential Characteristics Checklist and an EBCE Process Checklist in pilot sites in four states are described. Attention is also given to alternative uses of instruments that assess program implementation that can be made by program staff and by evaluators. (Author)

Growing dissatisfaction with conventional evaluation approaches to dealing with complex social phenomena has led evaluators to search out alternative evaluation models. Exclusive reliance on the experimental model and the logic of statistical inference has been seriously attacked on philosophic, technical, and pragmatic grounds. This paper deals with existing problems in traditional evaluation and presents a rationale for exploring alternative approaches, along with a brief case study description of six applications of adversary evaluation using the judicial and debate forms. Some common features noted in the six adversary evaluation case studies were l) better communication between evaluators and decision makers, 2) greater attention to the formulation of key evaluation issues, and 3) increased concern for meta-evaluation. The authors conclude with seven unresolved issues in adversary evaluation. (Author)

The major organizational climate assessment techniques are described and the differing potential of these techniques in the designing of organizational development interventions is discussed. Based on the data, an approach to the development of a basic taxonomy for assessing organizational environments is mentioned. (Author/MLP)

In an attempt to develop a theoretical framework with which to evaluate a Comprehensive Experience-Based Career Education (EBCE) Project, the assumptions underlying this model of career education are discussed. The curriculum and learning strategies of the EBCE programs are described, and it is demonstrated how John Dewey's philosophy can serve as a model in helping to understand the full implications of such a program. Special interest is given to the implications for the evaluation of experience-based programs, and the problems and challenges encountered are given attention. The primary goal of the EBCE projects is to integrate a student's knowledge of a variety of careers with the acquisition of cognitive, interpersonal, and affective skills through a series of planned experiences with identified learning outcomes. The benefits of an experience-based system are noted, but also described are many of the difficulties inherent in it, especially for evaluation. It is concluded that evaluation must bend to accommodate the experience-based educational system. (Author/RC)

A school district supported program which provides children with volunteer companion-therapists was evaluated using self-perception reports, behavior ratings by parents and teachers, and the opinions of parents and volunteers. Program children reported consistent self-perceptions while comparison children dipped slightly. Positive changes in self-perception suggest an optimal visiting frequency of less than once per week with the children assigned to college volunteers making the most improvement. Improvement was also found to have an inverse relationship with age as the older children became more negative over the year. All sections of the community support the program with the participants' mothers being the most enthusiastic. (Author)

Four strategies that are useful in conducting research on experiential education programs are discussed and illustrated. These include: case studies, content analysis, use of a focused survey, and concept analysis. Each strategy addresses an issue particular to experiential education. Case studies allow data collection on a large number of variables related to an individual learner, and are useful in describing the diversity of a program's treatment in assessing individualized student outcomes. Content analysis involves the systematic classification and analysis of existing documentation. This methodology is also useful in experiential education research because it is unobtrusive. A focused survey is a questionnaire based on a theoretical framework that explores people's attitudes and experiences related to one or a few constructs. Concept analysis clarifies abstract concepts, determines their meanings, and identifies how concepts work during thought processes. Also included in the paper is an explanation of the proposed essential elements within nine dimensions of experiential education. The dimensions are as follows: purpose, setting, participants' characteristics, learning strategies, student roles, instructor roles, outcomes of learning activities, management and support factors, and program outcomes. (Author/GK)

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Commission on Standards for School Mathematics was created in 1986 as a vehicle for coalescing current thinking of the profession on content, instructional methodology, and program and student evaluation of school mathematics for K-12. This report is intended as a guideline for development of curricula, textbooks, resource materials, and evaluation criteria. Each of the four sections provides from 11 to 14 standards, including a statement of mathematical content to be learned, expected student outcomes, and a discussion of purpose, emphasis, and appropriate instructional strategies. A list of recommended reading is included. Appended is a list of underlying assumptions about mathematics instruction for different grade levels. A summary of changes in content and emphasis in the study of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and functions for grades 9 through 12 mathematics is included. (JD)

The Milpitas Unified School District's efforts to utilize information on school effectiveness and improvement research are reported. The first section gives a historical perspective on the district's activities in the area of implementing the school effectiveness research. This is followed by a discussion of the assessment and planning process initiated among the schools in the district. Evidence resulting from the implementation efforts, specifically the outcomes, products, and artifacts, are representative of the school's effectiveness research. The paper concludes with a discussion of what the authors have learned about the implementation of the research at the local level. Appended is the Milpitas Unified School District student outcomes guide. (SI)

The purpose of this research was to develop, test, and demonstrate a systematic methodology of triangulation. Triangulation is a technique used to establish credibility of data gathered in qualitative ways. Triangulated conclusions are more stable than any of the individual vantage points from which they were triangulated. Using a previous study as an example--an ethnographic study of two elementary schools in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, by Rosenbaum--the triangulation method is demonstrated in terms of method and findings. It is concluded that triangulation techniques are essential to making the kinds of informed judgments that qualitative researchers are called upon to make. Post-hoc triangulation, as used in this study, is not as effective as when the triangulation design is part of the original plan for research. Appended are 13 references, a table, and first- and second-order scores for the school work environment. (SI)

A six-state depiction study of dislocated workers in the Pacific Northwest involved interviews at six selected sites and a questionnaire survey of 138 dislocated workers. Data were obtained from structured interviews with employers, union representatives, employment service staff, educators, ongoing service agencies, and emergency assistance agencies. The major contributor to high unemployment rates was a narrow economic base. Dislocated workers were more skilled than the usual pool of unemployed, in their early to midforties, eager to work, heads of households, and lacking in job search skills. In addition to support services provided by some employers to workers prior to layoff, state employment services, human service agencies, emergency service providers, and postsecondary institutions also helped. Collaboration among local agencies to meet needs of dislocated workers was reported. Besides information on dislocated worker characteristics, the written survey collected data on the economic impact of unemployment. Participants reported a number of financial adjustments they had made and major financial barriers to becoming satisfactorily employed. Dislocated workers had a positive attitude toward work before and after the layoff. Information was also obtained on the layoff process, help during the layoff, job search activities, stress symptoms, and the most difficult period during unemployment. (YLB)

The factors of people, technology, structure, and task provide a sociotechnical model for understanding the essential elements of schools as organizations. Schools can be understood as cultures and managed as such. Effective schools focus on a task-oriented organizational culture that meaningfully involves all participants in the key elements of the decision-making process. The specific elements through which organizational culture is preserved, expressed and conveyed are: (1) its history; (2) its symbolic myths and stories; (3) its espoused values and beliefs; (4) expectations for behavior; (5) rites and rituals which have symbolic value; and (6) heroes and heroines that symbolize the organization. These elements intersect and overlap to describe the organizational culture of a particular school. Quality education has been associated with factors that reflect small and rural schools, such as strong ties between community and schools, the presence of supportive interpersonal environments, and the development and nurturance of an academic climate that encourages organizational participants to achieve their individual potentials. The following strengths of rural and small schools may be conducive to establishing superior learning environments: (1) a lack of distinction between what belongs in school and what belongs in the community; (2) a kind of generalism which expects people to do whatever they are able without specialized roles or strictly age-graded functions; (3) close and supportive ties between families and the school; (4) a sense of comfort and cooperative spirit among the students; and (5) rural independence and self-reliance translated into the school setting. This paper contains 21 reference notes. (ALL)

The genesis of the High School Partnership Program as it evolves into the High School Self Renewal Project in New York City under the sponsorship of the Economic Development Council of New York City, Inc., and the Division of High Schools of the New York City Board of Education during the period 1968-76 are traced in this paper -- which also describes directions for the future. The need for adequate training to be provided, if the Organization Development concepts promoted by the project are to be replicated in approximately 100 high schools in New York City which have not yet participated in the project, is discussed. The desirability and practicability of linking institutions of higher education to such a self-renewal project in public schools so as to enhance the morphogenic characteristics usually espoused by Organization is emphasized. Specifically, the possibilities of integrating institutions of higher education as legitimate training resources to support a large scale public school Organization Development effort is examined in terms of a specific on-going case in New York City. The New York experiences has shown that supervisors and administrators as a group have an indifferent attitude toward college credits or other symbols of academic achievement. Their motivation to involve themselves in professional development activities is much more closely related to on-the-job demands for success and achievement. (Author/AM)

Divided into three major sections, this document defines rural, discusses the role of the National Diffusion Network (NDN), and summarizes the findings of the 17 research reports included in Abt Associates' study of the Experimental Schools Program for Small Schools Serving Rural Areas. Section I, a summary reproduction from recorded notes of an NDN conference meeting held in June 1980, contains comments concerning the definition of rural, the problems encountered in implementing innovative programs, and the role of the NDN in preparing the way for change. The views represent the collective impressions of the writers. Sections II and III consist of drafts of the document, "Federal Initiatives and Rural School Improvement; Findings from the Experimental Schools Programs." Based on an extensive research effort and directed primarily to those at the federal level responsible for the design and/or implementation of programs to facilitate educational improvement at the local level, these documents summarize findings from literature on the educational needs of rural America, note the relevance of the Experimental Schools Program to those needs, and present the major findings of the research in terms of the dynamics of rural school districts and in terms of the design and implementation of federal programs to facilitate rural school improvement. The second draft also includes recommendations. (CM)

The assessment of secondary school students' learning which results from experienced-based public school programs is associated with three types of problems: (1) psychological--educational practitioners may fear the evaluation process; (2) conceptual--including unclear requirements for student outcomes, lack of appropriate strategies for achieving these outcomes, unclear relationships between short- and long-term outcomes, and the need for a research framework in which to view the outcomes; and (3) operational--selection of variables, research design, and appropriate tests. Before evaluating an experiential learning program, it is useful to review the theoretical literature, previous studies, and previously reported test instruments. The evaluation design should consider planned and incidental learning; the relationship between short- and long-term objectives; the relationship between learning processes, program delivery, and outcomes; and the variety of settings in which learning occurs. Naturalistic evaluation approaches are recommended; the evaluation should report outcomes by participant characteristics and should include supplemental case studies. Recent developments of interest include dissemination about effective programs, research on and evaluation of experiential learning, and new assessment techniques. (GDC)

The impact of the social and behavioral sciences in the 1950s led to a desire for a thorough rethinking of educational administration. Research emphasis was placed first on the internal organization of educational administration, was shifted in the late 1960s to interorganizational and extraorganizational relationships, and with the recent accountability movement has returned to the nature of the interior of the organization. Unfortunately, this research has had little effect on practice and has failed to produce any overarching "grand theories." One reason for this failure may lie in researchers' dependence on hypothetico-deductive reasoning drawn from the natural sciences. Such research follows a well-established pattern: the theory is stated, variables are assigned, instruments are designed to gather quantitative data, and the data are analyzed for compatibility with the theory. This technique presupposes a theory adequately grounded in empirical knowledge. It may be time to make an effort at increasing this knowledge by borrowing from social science research methodology. Qualitative studies of this type, involving detailed observation of actual educational practice through time, have been limited in number but have proved quite valuable for generating new theory. (Author/PGD)

Reforms suggested in several major national assessments of secondary education have led to the development of a number of experiential, community-based programs for secondary students. Experience-Based Career Education offers such programs to over 15,000 students in all 50 states. Of these, 218 students from five states were administered an Experiential Learning Questionnaire developed using the critical incidents method, open-ended questions, and rating scales based on propositions derived from Social Learning Theory. The questionnaire revealed what the students regarded as the qualities distinguishing excellent learning experiences from those generating little learning. Among demographic variables considered in the testing process, only sex showed consistent discrimination among responses. Results indicated that opportunities for assuming personal responsibility and for learning things not previously anticipated, as well as the existence of informal rather than formal relationships with adults at the field experience site, were marked characteristics of high level learning experiences. This document concludes with several recommendations concerning program design, the role of the community resource person, and future research. (Author/PGD)

Two utilization and implementation frameworks (known as Knowledge Production Utilization (KPU) frameworks) are related to the planning and reporting aspects of an evaluation: the Dissemination Analysis Group (DAG) model and; the Halland Loucks' Level of Use Scale (LoU). This comparison is set against a background wherein literature is reviewed to exemplify how such frameworks can be used to modify current practices, relate evaluation to the needs of the user, create demand, facilitate cooperation, target reporting, and increase utilization of evaluation. The four levels of dissemination--spread, exchange, choice and implementation--which constitute the DAG model, are detailed. This is followed by an outline of eight levels of utilization on the LoU Scale: non-use orientation, preparation, mechanical use, routine, refinement, integration and renewal. A comparison of the two models is presented in terms of evaluator role, evaluation reporting methods, and their respective strengths and weaknesses. It is suggested that the DAG model helps to focus the levels at which evaluation reports are disseminated, and the LoU Scale can be successfuly used to identify evaluator roles and reporting techniques most appropriate during different stages of evaluation maturity. (Author/AEF)

The ways in which workshops and seminars can be used to promote the participation and advancement of women and minorities in the field of educational research are described, based on the activities of Project Growth, sponsored by The University of Alabama's Institute of Higher Education Research and Services (IHERS). The program has served predoctoral and postdoctoral participants who are in residence at IHERS, or who are either employed and/or attending graduate school. Among the project objectives are to provide mentors and role models who can advise participants about gaining access to essential communication channels in educational research, and to provide advice concerning specific research efforts. The following tactics have been implemented to achieve the project objectives: applicants are asked to explain their research interests, skills, and goals; a contract is developed between the project and the participant; the project emphasizes both professional skill development and human skill development; scholars are carefully matched with top level university administrators for practice interviews designed to give the scholars experience of presenting themselves to an administrator and to promote information exchange; events such as breakfast and lunch meetings/panels, and social hours are sponsored to encourage interaction among scholars, university faculty and administrators, IHERS staff, speakers, and advisory board members; scholars are provided special opportunities to talk about their research ideas in small groups, to present their proposals as members of a panel, and to give formal presentations of their research progress or findings as guest speakers; and the content of the workshops is established by themes that focus on both national and regional issues. (SW)

Three issues must be addressed when discussing the standards needed to judge the methodological rigor of naturalistic approaches to administrative research. The first issue involves defining naturalistic inquiry. In contrast to the scientific paradigm, naturalistic inquiry emphasizes, first, the inseparability of variables or events from their contexts and, second, the subjects' intellectual frameworks and the need to develop "thick descriptions" of the world as the subjects experience it. The second issue concerns the criteria for judging the adequacy of naturalistic inquiry; the criteria should be appropriate to the characteristics of naturalistic research and the procedures for enhancing its credibility. Naturalistic research includes simultaneous collection and analysis of data using multiple methods and an "audit trail" to allow replication of the study. Credibility is enhanced by prolonged data collection on site, checking of information through multiple sources, collection of referential materials about findings and interpretations, peer consultation, and thick description. The third methodological issue concerns the final report. Naturalistic reports should use ordinary language and be trustworthy, well organized, and ethical, but above all they should use thick description to "take the reader there." (Author/RW)

Although some school districts conduct follow-up studies of their high school graduates, few have systematically used the information to improve their educational programs or to guide policymaking. Weaknesses of typical vocational education follow-up studies include the following: avoidance of comparisons with nonvocational students, failure to include dropouts or other nongraduates in the survey population, failure to focus on critical issues facing the schools, administration of surveys too soon after students have left high school and before they have had adequate experience in the real world, concentration only on self-reported information rather than on a combination of self-reported data and student transcript information, and failure to involve vocational educators and other staff in determining what information from former students would be pertinent to program revision. Recently, Oregon conducted a three-year high school follow-up study. Included among the seven recommendations for improving the design and administration of follow-up studies that grew out of the Oregon experience were the following: participating schools should determine the content of follow-up instruments; data from follow-up surveys should be combined with information from students' transcripts and permanent records; and schools should allow time for staff and administrators to discuss their local follow-up study and identify implications for improving both vocational education programming and future follow-up survey instruments. (MN)

Frequently curriculum implementation procedures consist of little more than teachers receiving descriptions of subject matter, definitions of new or technical terminology, and/or outlines detailing the surface steps of an instructional process. This case study analysis of how two high school teachers adapted some new curriculum features into their courses at the instigation and with the collaboration of the author suggests that efforts to promote this kind of sharing do not guarantee that teachers can or will adopt new curriculum. Those in a position to develop, implement, and evaluate curricula need to pay close attention to the circumstances through which innovations are introduced. They also need to maximize the opportunities for exchange between outsiders and practitioners as both attempt to develop and evaluate what curricular innovations mean in various classrooms. Rather than look at teachers as passive transmitters of information, and new curriculum as a thing ready to elicit a certain type of adoption behavior, curriculum planners and evaluators need to build instructional scaffolds that accommodate individual differences. It is important that training procedures and information take into account the in-place conceptual networks or meaning systems that filter teachers' evaluations of curriculum. Evaluators need to use procedures that will help them to begin to incorporate teachers' perspectives into their assessments of teachers' adoption behavior. (JD)

A collection of conference papers includes: "More on Arabic Vowel Harmony: A Metrical-Suprasegmental Approach" (Issam Abu-Salim); "The Phonological Assimilation of Borrowing" (Saleh Suleiman); "On Getting a Head: A Problem in Dependency Grammar" (Jonathan Owens); "Negation in Jordanian Arabic: A Developmental Study" (Oglah Smadi); "Problems in Teaching Arabic to Foreigners" (text in Arabic) (Fayiz Al-Hamad); and "Sex Differentiation and Linguistic Variations. A Case Study: Spoken Arabic in Amman" (Hassan Abdel-Jawad). (MSE)

The proceedings include: (1) "Communicative Competence Reconsidered," by M. Doushaq; (2) "Scenarios for Enhancing Communicative Competence," by G. Salah; (3) "Oral Style Strategies in EFL Written Discourse: Implications for Teaching College Composition," by O. Atari; (4) "Arabic and English Imperative Structures," by M. Anani; (5) "Simplification and Reduction as Foreign Language Learning Strategies: Implications from Jordanian Arabs Learning English," by Y. El-Halees; (6) "The Stressing of Final Superheavy Syllables by Saudi Learners of English: Implications for the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis," by M. Younes; (7) "Achievement Testing and Foreign Language Teaching," by A. Abdrabou; (8) "Educational Theory and TESL/TEFL: Where the Antipathy Has Led to," by H. El Fadil; (9)"Linguistic Analysis as an Input to Course Design," by T. Khalid; (10) "Basic Academic Requirements of Foreign Students in Departments of English," by G. Salamah; (11) "On the Notions 'Standard' and 'Prestigious' in Arabic Sociolinguistics," by M. Ibrahim; (12) "Arabicization and the Role of English Language Teaching in Arab Universities with Special Reference to the Iraqi Experiment," by L. Barkho; (13) "Subject-Object Relations and Word Order in Standard Arabic," by S. Suleiman; (14) "Definiteness in Arabic from an Axiomatic Functional Point of View," by S. Hadj-Mohamed; (15) "Adjectives, Nouns, and Copredication in English," by J. Bunnaq; (16) "Palestinian Arabic Vowels," by J. Cormick; and (17) "Consonant Assimilation in Arabic: An Autosegmental Approach," by I. Abu-Salim. (MSE)

Because vocational researchers and practitioners have not been able to reach a consensus concerning criteria for judging excellence in vocational education and have been unable to agree on exactly which factors lead to successful programs, research in vocational education has had limited impact on improving practice. Two sets of research findings are available that may provide a sound base for conducting vocational education research leading to systematic program improvement. The first is effective schooling research, and the second concerns principles used by successful businesses in the United States. The following six aspects of effective schooling research can be applied in an analysis of secondary vocational education programs: time on task, expectations of performance, student motivation, cooperative learning, effective learning climate, and use of evaluation. In their research concerning successful business training practices, Peters and Waterman have labeled eight principles as being the most important in describing the practices of successful companies. Vocational researchers must begin to relate outcomes to specific program characteristics. They must also discover whether factors determining success in vocational education are the same or different from factors determining school success in nonvocational areas. Finally, the cooperative sharing of results and replication of studies by other researchers will be essential in establishing generalizations of research findings. (MN)

The purpose of this conference was to discuss the implications on the teaching and learning of mathematics of the system of objectives and assessment instruments that must be generated in order to meet state directives in Illinois. General overall concerns included: (1) the classroom teacher and district administrators may view the testing as sufficient reason to stress only computational skills in the mathematics classroom; (2) meeting the proposed model learning objectives will necessitate substantial resequencing of the mathematics currently being taught; and (3) teaching materials will need to be developed. The directive that each school district develop appropriate testing and assessment systems and assess the proficiency of all pupils enrolled in grades 3, 6, 8, and 10 also resulted in specific concerns for each testing level. Following two reports from Illinois State Board of Education personnel, position papers are presented on: (1) mathematics outcome statements K-3; (2) the effect of state-mandated testing on mathematics education in Illinois; (3) concerns of junior high school teachers of mathematics; (4) the impact of educational reform on high school mathematics; and (5) a report on grades 11 and 12. (MNS)

As education for leadership becomes increasingly important, the role of the academic library should assume new dimensions, and the library should become a major vehicle for leadership education. An examination of the library-related recommendations in the report of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, "College--the Undergraduate Experience in America," as an exposition of the academic library's role in citizenship and leadership education reveals that this traditional thinking is too conventional and limiting. Alternative recommendations for academic libraries in harmony with the report but more creative in their approach include: offering general undergraduate research and methods elective courses taught by librarians that would expose students to the total information environment of an unfamiliar discipline; establishing an "Information Amphitheater" designed to demonstrate the vital role of information in the local, national, and global decision-making environment; conducting programs to promote and illuminate the "culture of information"; supplying ample funds for the acquisition of non-print materials as well as books; and participating in library consortia to design projects that the general public might utilize. A bold approach to the practical implementation of such new ideas and concepts will aid in the development of effective leaders. (KM)