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This is a general evaluation and description of a museum for children ages two through 12 that was begun by a group of citizens in Denver, Colorado. The evaluation shows that the museum is serving the community successfully and has met its broad goal of giving children an opportunity to develop positive self-concepts and to grow cognitively through manipulation of a responsive environment. The museum has developed high involvement activities that need low supervision. The activities have been most successful with children ages three through eight. In an ethnic kitchen children learn to measure ingredients, churn butter, and use similar ingredients to produce a variety of breads from different cultures. They are involved in role play and language development through the use of hand puppets and a grandmother's attic exhibit. Other exhibits include a stream table, where children build terraces and dams, and a wildlife exhibit of stuffed animals, which allows the children to touch and feel the animals that live in Colorado. Children play games on a computer terminal, look at familiar objects with microscopes, and "see their voice" with oscilloscopes. The museum schedules time for Denver public school students to visit the exhibits and, through its outreach program, places exhibits in places such as Day Care and Head Start centers for a week or two at a time. The museum serves as a training facility for people interested in pursuing child development as a career by working with education departments of nearby universities and with high school students. It also offers parenting workshops. (Author/RM)

This publication reports on the effectiveness of The World Is Your Museum Project in developing and implementing an art education model for elementary school children in the District of Columbia. Over the past three years, approximately 44 teachers and more than 1,000 students have made field trips into their community, visited museums, been involved in creative art projects, and used project-developed learning packages containing art and museum-related films, tapes, and teacher guides. This evaluation report provides information on two basic questions: (1) did the project accomplish its respective program objectives, and (2) how were the respective objectives accomplished? Six instruments were designed to collect information from students, parents, teachers, administrators, museum educators, and the project director. Evaluation findings show that 55% of participating students want to take part in the program next year; parents observe more interest in art on the part of their children as well as improved attitudes toward school and museums; students show an improvement in verbal, writing, and affective self-development skills; and the learning packages developed have been received well by both students and teachers. Appendices include a description of the program, including the kits and media developed and the evaluation instruments. (Author/RM)

This report contains the evaluation and assessment of the impact of six experimental projects funded by the National Science Foundation in 1974 and 1975 to increase the number of women pursuing science-related careers. The projects are assessed both individually and as a whole. The projects were conducted at the following institutions: University of Kansas; Policy Studies in Education; Queensborough College; University of Missouri at Kansas City; Rosemont College; and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chapter 1 describes the evaluation methodology, including assessment of project documents, site visits, and a participant impact survey. Chapter 2 contains a synopsis of each of the projects, and Chapter 3 contains the interim program recommendations. Chapter 4 discusses the psychological, sociological, and institutional barriers to the participation of women in science-related careers. Possible interventions or treatments that might be used are proposed and categorized by educational level. The appendices contain samples of the evaluation collection sheet used, and the participant impact survey. Also included are a bibliography of selected programs similar to the NSF projects, a film bibliography, and a selected annotated bibliography of the literature. (Author/MH)

Extensive appendices constitute the major portion of this document detailing the organizational history of the Central Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and its Office of Indian Education Programs during the reorganizational period of 1966-74. A brief summary of this period in the BIA includes the following major points: the Headquarters organization has been unstable for five years; was studied extensively; and the ultimate structure carefully reviewed; Central Office was to have fewer employees and was to perform a policy development and fiscal role, transferring all operational functions to Area Offices and engaging in reduction-in-force; the Office of Indian Education Programs was organizationally confused with overlapping functions and involvement in operations; the Commissioner stated that Indian services superceded organizational structure among BIA priorities. The appendices include: Memos Re: Department Manual 130 DM 2-8, Revised Functional Statements, Justification for Over-Ceiling Positions-Education; Meeting of Special Committee for Realignment of Central Office; Central Office Realignment 1973 and 1974; and Policy Statements Relating to the Development of Realignment; Office of Indian Education Programs; Central Office Education Functions/Organization; Central Office Preliminary Proposal; Central Office Education and the Indian Education Resources Center; "The Field Location of Central Office Personnel of the BIA Office of Education Programs". (JC)

Presented is the final performance report of Project Catalyst, a program designed to evolve a process in action to maximize skills, interpersonal relations and personal job satisfaction among principals, teachers and pupils (both handicapped and nonhandicapped) in mainstream settings. Covered in Section I, "Framework", are a statement of the problem, background and rationale for the project, goals and objectives, basic assumptions, process models, and process overviews. Section II "Procedures and Progress", follows the implementation of the program from the selection of ten schools through the 3 years of the program; and includes information on such procedures as surveys, meetings, workshops, and evaluations. Appended are such items as the Principal's Skill Scale, pupil and teacher ratings, rating results, and the diagram of the teaching-learning-caring matrix. (IM)

This document presents the summative evaluation of the offender assistance program coordinated by the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC) as well as the final evaluation reports of the three pilot programs for convicted parolees operated by participating community colleges. The local-level evaluations include detailed analyses of site programs, while the national office evaluation presents an aggregated analysis. Among the overall findings are: (1) 75% of the program participants were male, the majority were single, and less than one-third had completed high school; (2) unarmed property offenses were the dominant crimes committed by program participants prior to enrollment, with drug-related offenses second most common; (3) 18% of the program participants enrolled in Adult Basic Education, 32% in General Educational Development courses, 23% in academic curricula, 20% in occupational courses, and 5.8% in other areas; (4) recidivism in the target population was 6.1%; (5) program termination by participants appeared comparable to that of the whole college populations; (6) 55.5% of the participants received some form of financial assistance; and (7) per student costs for the target population was $467. Operational problems in the conduct of offender assistance programs are identified, along with potential solutions. (JDS)

This document reports the results of an 18 month demonstration program conducted by the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC) to show that the community college is uniquely suited as a resource for offenders. Pilot programs were established at three community colleges--Central Piedmont Community College in North Carolina, Florida Junior College at Jacksonville, and Community College of Denver. Each college was free to establish its own model program, consistent with the overall AACJC project objectives. Goals of the program included provision of educational and human service assistance to offenders, development of collaborative relationships between the college and criminal justice and public service agencies, and development of nationally appropriate program models. The target population was first-time convicted felons who were on probation; non-target offenders were accomodated at the request of justice officials. Of 712 offenders served by the program, 445 were target offenders. Per student costs for the total group and for the target group only were $292 and $467, respectively. Approximately 25% of the target group enrolled in Adult Basic Education, 20% in General Educational Development courses, 27% in academic curricula, 20% in occupational courses, and 8% in other areas. Of the target population, 27 (6.1%) were charged with new offenses, a far lower rate than the national average. Evaluation reports by each of the three participant colleges and other related project material is appended. (Author/JDS)

Reported are the findings of a national survey on the present state of public education for the gifted. A foreword, statement of purpose, procedural information, and findings are given for each of the major survey areas--definitions of the gifted child, identification and instruments for gifted children, educational programs for the gifted, and teacher training programs for the education of the gifted, with particular emphasis on programs in New Jersey. The educational programs section, which makes up the bulk of the document, includes general information (such as location, address, and contact person) on gifted programs which were not evaluated and more detailed information (such as sample forms, identification methods, curriculum, and program characteristics) on programs which were studied and some visited. Listed among conclusion in the final section are that teacher recommendation is the most popular form of identification used and that there is almost a total absence of formal training programs for teachers of the gifted offered by New Jersey State Colleges. Appended are a list of the programs surveyed, a list of program objectives; a preliminary program record survey form; sample letters; a program record and visit form; a list of contributors; and charts showing the objectives for each program, instruments for identifying the gifted, program content areas by grade, and characteristics of New Jersey programs. (SBH)

The Minnesota State Planning Agency conducted a study in Region 7W, consisting of Stearns, Benton, Sherburne, and Wright counties, to determine the nature and extent of educational programs designed for people who have completed secondary education and which are offered by any institution or agency outside the traditional postsecondary institutional sector. (These agencies included profit and nonprofit business organizations and industries, citizens' associations and interest groups, government agencies, labor unions, trade associations, professional organizations, private social welfare organizations, public secondary schools, regional associations and commissions, and religious organizations.) Further, the study was designed to identify and describe the major educational networks providing such educational programs. Findings showed that of the over 23,321 people in Region 7W who were served in 460 different educational offerings lasting three hours or longer and of an occupational or intellectual nature, most lived in or near the cities of St. Cloud and Buffalo, were between the ages of 22 and 45, were female (approximately 75%), possessed a high school diploma, had some postsecondary education or training, and belonged to the middle socioeconomic group. This summary report, in addition to an overview of the study, includes major findings resulting from sectoring according to the content of educational offerings, major findings resulting from sectoring according to the type of education provided, a discussion of the general implications of the findings, and an appendix containing selected graphs and charts. (SH)

Conducted was a 3-year action research study designed to develop a career education program model and related instructional materials for deaf junior and senior high school students (12 - 18 years old) by the schools for the deaf in New York State. The overall objective for Phase I (1971 - 72) was the modification and adaptation of the Career Insights and Self Awareness Gaming materials (a series of vocational instructional activities based on occupational classifications utilized in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles) for use with hearing impaired learners. During Phase II (1972 - 73) a second component, the field visit, was introduced as part of the program, and an extensive survey of career opportunities for the deaf was conducted resulting in the identification of 805 job titles. During Phase III (1973 - 74) three more career education components were introduced: a set of 23 work function slides, a series of career briefs for deaf students, and classroom strategies for the exploration and clarification of work attitudes and values. In 1974, 43 educators from 20 schools for the deaf participated in a 2-week summer workshop at the University of Rochester. (Appended are such items as letters pertaining to the summer workshop, lists of participating schools, questionnaires, evaluations, and attitude measures.) (IM)

This booklet contains descriptions of seven elementary and four secondary alternative school programs in the Eugene, Oregon, School District 4J. All these programs conform to school district policy, which dictates that alternative school programs must cost no more to operate than regular district schools. Each alternative school proposal was developed by staff, students, and parents, and it was reviewed and approved by the board of education prior to implementation. The board's basic policy is that different children learn in different ways, and that the district should, as far as possible, provide a wide variety of educational options for all students. (Author/DS)

Twenty handicapped, preschool children were administered Goal Attainment Follow-ups. This technique for recording and scaling observation data was developed and documented by the Program Evaluation Research Center in Minneapolis. Appropriate scale headings and outcome levels were defined for each child, based on specific problem areas documented for a particular child. After intervention, preschool teachers provided independent ratings of each child's performance. These ratings were then used to compute a goal attainment score. Results for the entire sample yielded a mean G.A.S. of 49.56 and a standard deviation of 12.04, indicating both accurate predictions and measurable progress toward goals. A copy of the Goal Attainment Follow-Up Guide is included. (Author/MV)

Presented are the findings of Project Echo, a research project designed to replicate an earlier study on a supplementary instructional program for secondary level learning disabled students. Brief introductory sections cover the three major project components (the instructional curriculum, the teacher training materials, and the classroom management handbook), the five replication sites in Texas, and the evaluation design. The bulk of the document is organized around 10 elements--academic achievement, student attendance, student dropouts, parent involvement, community information dissemination, teacher training, Project Echo dissemination, activity audit, instructional content mastery, and teacher perception. For each element, a report is provided which outlines the following: evaluation question of interest, instrumentation, design configuration, data analysis model, design implementation, and evaluation findings. The findings are noted to indicate that the effects of Project Echo intervention on secondary learning disabled students was positive and that the development of additional instructional minimodules in more subject areas should be seriously considered. Technical attachments are provided which include a paper on a screening process related to Project Echo; sample data collection forms; information on the methodology used to investigate student achievement, student attendance, and student dropouts. (SBH)

Presented is the final report of a project designed to examine the nature of educational and socialization programs within 90 institutions serving emotionally disturbed (ED) children (primarily 6-18 years old). In an introductory section, study goals and objectives are noted to include determination of what educational programs are available to institutionalized ED children and youth and identification of particularly innovative and effective model programs. Covered in section 2 on methodology are the following project tasks: literature search, selection of the advisory panel, sampling procedures, respondent categories, instrument development, pretest and Office of Management and Budget clearance, data collection procedures, document editing, coding and keypunching, data analysis, and report preparation. The bulk of the document is devoted to survey results and analysis which are summarized as indicating major problem areas relating to the behavioral and academic problems of the students; the conflict between the clinical and educational staff as to who will control the philosophy and direction of the educational program; lack of funds, staff, and space; and unavailability of special facilities, staff, and electives. Reviewed in section 4 are such model program components as no-fail grading systems, outdoor education, orientation brochures, and family modules. Discussed in section 5 are recommendations made by project staff for research and demonstration activities in teacher training, information dissemination, formation of a professional association, development of community involvement programs, implementation of a vocational education program, and development of assessment instruments. Appended materials include an analysis of the state laws governing educational programs offered by institutions for the emotionally disturbed, sample survey instruments, and an interviewer's manual. (SBH)

Summative and formative evaluation of the Berkeley Experimental Schools Project (BESP) are summarized in this two-volume document. In Volume I, the evaluators answer the specific evaluative questions posed by the National Institute of Education, the primary funding agency for the alternative schools project. Out of an initial 23 alternative schools, only two programs survived the five years of BESP. The evaluators conclude that this educational alternatives program failed to produce the "comprehensive change" in the Berkeley school district that it was supposed to produce. Although community involvement in the experimental schools project was fairly high at first, in the end the degree of involvement was no higher than in traditional public schools. The experimental schools also failed to achieve the "racial-economic-academic mix for students and staff" that they set out to achieve. In Volume II, the evaluators deal with the larger issues raised by the application of federal research and development to education. They conclude that a lack of coordination between the federal funding agency and the local Berkeley school district, including a difference in definition of educational change, led to what might be described as a $6 million misunderstanding. (Author/DS)

This booklet is the third in a series of annual publications that list and describe a wide array of promising and innovative educational practices in hopes of stimulating the development of alternative educational delivery systems and strategies involving students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Included in the booklet are brief descriptions of approximately 175 promising practices nominated by Michigan teachers and administrators during the 1974-75 school year and selected by a statewide committee. However, no attempt was made to validate the effectiveness of the selected practices. The booklet is organized in separate sections related to the preschool, elementary, middle school and secondary levels, as well as to teacher inservice training, adult education, and school administration. Within each section, promising practices are listed alphabetically by school district; there is also a separate subject index. A sample of the official format for nominating promising practices for inclusion in future issues of the booklet is also included. (Author/JG)

This booklet is the second in a series of annual publications that list and describe a wide array of promising and innovative educational practices in hopes of stimulating the development of alternative educational delivery systems and strategies involving students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Included in the booklet are brief descriptions of approximately 175 promising practices nominated by Michigan teachers and administrators during the 1973-74 school year and selected by a statewide committee. However, no attempt was made to validate the effectiveness of the selected practices. The booklet is organized in separate sections related to the preschool, elementary, intermediate, and high school levels. Within each section, promising practices are listed alphabetically by school district; there is also a separate subject index. A sample of the official format for nominating promising practices for inclusion in future issues of the booklet is also included. (Author/JG)

This catalog is composed of brief descriptions of, and extensive indexes to, federal programs that provide educational benefits to the American public. It includes programs administered by the U.S. Office of Education as well as those administered by other federal agencies. The federal education assistance programs are aimed at all educational levels (preschool through postsecondary). Each program description in this catalog tells the specific type of assistance provided, the purpose for which it is available, who can apply for it, and where to apply. The programs described deal with financial assistance, with the use of federal property, goods, and services, and with technical assistance, counseling, and professional training. The catalog incorporates various indexes, including a public law index, a U.S. Code index, and a beneficiary index listing who is elegible for assistance program support. (Author/DS)

The factor structure of an inventory of attitudes toward teaching before actual classroom experience and the changes in those attitudes following a semester of student teaching were investigated. A questionnaire designed to sample opinion about teaching and children was administered to 33 elementary education majors before and after student teaching. A significant pretest to posttest change in the direction of greater agreement with traditional methods of teaching as compared to the more progressive methods was noted. However, it was also observed that a student teacher may become more traditional in his/her views on everyday classroom management without abandoning a basic "progressive" idealism. (Authors/JD)

In an effort to better achieve the educational program objectives of developing specific salable skills, and developing skills leading to the General Education Development completion, 321 male and 23 female offenders enrolled in adult basic education, general education development, and vocational courses in Pennsylvania's eight State institutions were evaluated concerning their attitudes towards the quality of instruction and educational services offered. (The eight institutions are Camp Hill, Dallas, Graterford, Greensburg, Huntingdon, Muncy, Pittsburgh, and Rockview.) After analyzing data collected from two forms (Educational Evaluation Form and the Training Survey) completed by the subjects, it was generally concluded that the lack of resource materials and some supportive services (i.e. limited library materials and counseling services) is a problem. However, offenders have positive values and attitudes toward the education programs in terms of entering, opportunity, benefits, and self-reliance. The document presents 18 specific conclusions and discusses four institutional recommendations. Twenty-four tables supplement the discussion of the study, and brief descriptions of each institution's educational program are also provided. (WL)

Based on a larger longitudinal study, this document examines three nursing groups--those entering schools preparing registered nurses in 1962, 1965, and 1967. It describes and compares those who graduated and those who withdrew before graduation and examines the reasons why the students withdraw from both the students' and the program directors' points of view. The contents include 7 chapters, 47 tables, and four appendixes. Chapter headings are (1) The Nurse Career-Pattern Study, (2) Graduation and Withdrawal, (3) Variables Related to Graduation/Withdrawal, (4) School Variables and Graduated/Withdrew, (5) Reasons for Withdrawal, (6) Activities of Withdrawals after Leaving Nursing School, and (7) Discussion and Recommendations. (HD)

With the overall objective of gathering information concerning employer's attitudes, perceptions, and opinions of Ohio's vocational education program, along with insights as to the strengths and weaknesses of the program and how it might be improved to more fully meet the needs of Ohio employers, mail questionnaires were sent to the personnel departments of 1,000 firms randomly selected from the "Directory of Ohio Manufacturers." The sample included both employers who utilize and those who do not utilize vocational education graduates. The five basic types of question sets developed to provide the data base were attitude questions, attribute importance questions, employee rating questions, open-ended questions, and classification questions. After gathering the data, the attitudinal statements, rankings of employee attributes, and ratings of vocational education and other graduates on each employee attribute were analyzed first for the total sample of 251 respondents and then for individual employer classification variables such as size of firm, percentage of employees who are vocational education graduates, and types of employees utilized. Results showed that attitudes toward and perceptions of vocational education were, in general, quite favorable. Percentages of agreement on some key statements were (1) about 60%--experience with vocational education graduates has been quite favorable, (2) 76%--vocational education students should be given more practical experience in their training, (3) 13%--vocational education students are poorly trained in school, (4) 74%--vocational education needs to have an improved image, and (5) 73%--I would like to know more about this State's vocational education program. This report contains complete explanations of the objectives, research methodology, results, conclusions, and recommendations. (WL)

This paper describes some of the systematic efforts used in the last decade for disseminating the products of research and development in vocational education and provides suggestions for dealing with problems and issues to facilitate the movement of information resources from producers to consumers. The paper: (1) Traces the history and role of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) in the dissemination of information in vocational education; (2) reviews the efforts and activities of the Center for Vocational Education (CVE) at The Ohio State University in operating the ERIC Clearinghouse; and (3) describes the scope and purposes of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Career Education along with some recent observations on the Center's operation while at Northern Illinois University. The role of AIM/ARM (Abstracts of Instructional Materials/Abstracts of Research Materials) in vocational education information dissemination is described, including the history, goals, funding, and accomplishments of its decade of operation. The state dissemination systems of Tennessee and Pennsylvania are described in detail. Also included are a discussion of the utilization of research and development products and results, a sampling of current projects funded under Parts C, D, and I of the Vocational Education Amendments, and suggestions for more systematic ways to assess the impact of research and development efforts. (NJ)

Establishment of a Technical Assistance Unit (TAU) is one of several work components of the Field Relations and Dissemination Work Unit of the Improving Teaching Competencies Program (ITCP) of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in fiscal year 1976. The purpose of establishing the TAU as an adjunct to other ITCP activities is to make available the ITCP's instructional systems. The purpose of this report is to present the evaluation design for the TAU. The report is divided into three main sections and includes several appendices. The first section describes: (1) the context for this evaluation, including its purposes; (2) the TAU as the subject and the primary audience of this evaluation; (3) objectives of the TAU in fiscal year 1976; and (4) questions to be answered in this evaluation. The second section of the report includes descriptions of five methods through which evaluation information will be obtained. The plan for reporting the information obtained is presented in the third section of the report. Contained in the appendices are time schedules for various evaluation activities, worksheets summarizing the evaluation questions, sources of information, instrumentation and reporting procedures, and postsession reaction form. (Author)

This report first details how American Samoa's public schools are organized. The public school system consists of early childhood education (ECE), elementary education, secondary education, and special education. In the 1975-76 school year, ECE operated 145 village centers. In addition to these centers, five year-old children from village and home centers were transported into an ECE training center on a rotating basis to experience more sophisticated learning activities and to profit from field experience. Twenty-six consolidated schools in the islands of Tutuila, Aunu'u, Ta'u Olosega, and Ofu were in operation during FY76. Special education operated two classroom centers in addition to three other classes operated in three consolidated schools in the Bay area. In summarizing the educational activities of American Samoa for 1975-76, the report focuses on the following areas: those who need education, the organization of schools, costs of education, goals of education, other services such as instructional development, library services, and financial aid, and statistical information relating to the profiles of the department of education and its instructional personnel, and to income of the department of education. (Author/JM)

This document presents the negative effect on many adolescents of the typical secondary school program and outlines a proposed curriculum for education majors. The problem dealt with is the departmentalized structure of high schools, which results in fragmenting the student's life at school into a series of subject-matter-centered meetings. The curriculum is devised to prepare teachers for interdisciplinary teaching, thus enabling them to spend more time with one unified group of students. Broad training and certification would make teachers qualified to teach in one major area, plus one or more minor areas. The graduates from this teacher education curriculum would be expected to work in high school programs where greater attention would be paid to interdisciplinary coordination and to stimulating cooperative activities among students and teachers. Presumably, such cooperative activities would serve to diminish student isolation and assist in realigning subject area responsibilities among high school faculty. The ultimate goal of the program is to improve the school experience of the high school students by improving the quality of contact with teachers and other students. The curriculum is outlined, using the subjects of art design, history, physical education, english, and education courses as examples of how different disciplines may be coordinated. Proposed high school programs for the student teacher are described. (JD)

Research by the Occupational and Manpower Research Division of the Air Force Human Resources Laboratory has established that task training priority is a function of task factors and that, within a specialty, training priority ratings can be duplicated mathematically from task factor ratings. Because these ratings are measured on a different scale for each specialty, this methodology cannot be generally established and applied. To overcome this limitation, a series of benchmark scales is being developed for the measurement of task factors against common frames of reference. This report establishes the concept of the scales and describes the method to be used in their development and validation. It then reports on the development phase of the scales for specialties with either an administrative or general aptitude requirement. The completed scales would have various applications. They could be used for the initial design of a training program, the validation of an existing program, or for the redesign of an existing one given new constraints such as change in course length. At all times it must be remembered that this methodology is an advanced aid to course design, always subject to human override where such can be justified. (Author/BW)

The main purpose of this paper is to draw attention to some facts and ideas that perhaps can help to identify problems or fields for development and research within the evaluation of training. Topics for group discussion are preceded by material on some basic concepts of evaluation and educational measurement. The ratio scale, the interval scale, the ordinal scale, and the nominal scale are given as examples of kinds of scales used in educational measurement; the problem of norms is discussed; potential purposes of evaluation or educational measurement are outlined; and some characteristics of a good measuring instrument are explained. The author also defends the inclusion of evaluation as an integral part of a model for planning and carrying out educational programs. (BW)