A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

OERI Bulletin - Summer 1995

The National Institutes at a Glance

National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education (ECI)

Purpose: to support research that will investigate factors, including services and supports, that will improve the learning, cognitive, and social-emotional development, and general well-being of young children and their families. The research will study children across different settings (e.g., home, child care, school, community).

Activities: Currently, ECI sponsors the ECI Working Group, which is comprised of federal agencies that sponsor research programs targeted at young children and their families. The institute also recently awarded a grant to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to support the development of TV programs for young children and their families who do not speak English as their first language (see The Ready-to-Learn Television Program in Recent Grants and Contracts). ECI also is currently conducting a grants competition for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program. These grants will be awarded to rural or inner-city public schools for the purpose of providing services to help meet the educational, health, social service, cultural, and recreational needs of the community.

For more information about ECI, call 202-219-1935.

National Institute on Educational Governance, Finance, Policymaking, and Management (GFI)

Purpose: to provide nonpartisan, research-based leadership to those engaged in school restructuring and reform; and to provide a sound research base from which to identify, develop, and evaluate approaches in elementary and secondary school governance, finance, policymaking, and management at the state, local, tribal, school building, and classroom level which promise to improve educational equity and excellence.

Activities: GFI staff currently monitor 4 research centers: the Finance Center of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education; the Policy Center of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education; the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools; and the Center on Families, Communities, Schools and Children's Learning. GFI also is developing plans for a new national center on state and local reform and for field-initiated studies.

For more information about GFI, call 202-219-2032.

National Institute on the Education of At-Risk Students (ATRISK)

Purpose: to support research and development designed to improve educational opportunities for students placed at risk of educational failure; to provide a sound basis from which to identify programs and models which promote greater educational success of students who have a high likelihood of failure; and to maximize the effectiveness of schools that serve the greatest number of students who are at risk of failing.

Activities: ATRISK recently awarded a 5-year research grant to the Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR) at Johns Hopkins University and Howard University (see New R&D Center on Education of Students Placed at Risk). The institute also announced a competition for a new national research center to study the education of gifted and talented youth.

For more information about ATRISK, call 202-219-2239.

National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning (PLLI)

Purpose: to expand knowledge about the education and training of adults in a variety of contexts, including 2- and 4-year postsecondary institutions, adult literacy programs, community-based education programs, special mission institutions, and libraries; and to explore adults' acquisition of the skills and knowledge necessary to compete in a global economy and participate as responsible citizens.

Activities: PLLI staff currently monitor 3 research centers: the National Center on the Educational Quality of the Workforce; the National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment; and the National Center on Adult Literacy. Other PLLI activities include a survey of postsecondary distance learning; analyzing federally sponsored library literacy programs; examining continuing education functions of historically black colleges and universities; and conducting a study on the current status of women's colleges in the United States. The institute is assisting the National Conference of State Legislatures in surveying states' responses to increasing college costs. A family literacy research symposium is planned for the fall.

For more information about PLLI, call 202-219-2207.

National Institute on Student Achievement, Curriculum, and Assessment (SAI)

Purpose: to improve student achievement in core content areas and the integration of these areas; to identify, develop, and evaluate innovative and exemplary methods to improve student knowledge; to conduct research in human learning, cognition, and performance; and to support a research and development program in assessment.

Activities: SAI staff currently monitor 9 research centers that cover the core content areas of reading, writing, mathematics, and science, as well as the areas of student learning, teacher and student evaluation, and teacher professional development. In addition, the institute has announced a competition for a center on student achievement and one on assessment. Recently, SAI conducted two grant competitions (civics and economics) under the International Education Exchange Program and announced opportunities through the Assessment Development and Evaluation Grants Program. The institute also is responsible for the Content Standards and Curriculum Frameworks grants to 23 states and supports the National Writing Project.

For more information about SAI, call 202-219-2079.
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[From the Assistant Secretary]

[Recent Grants and Contracts]