ED 276 088 
AUTHOR 
TITLE 
INSTITUTION 
SPONS AGENCY 
PUB DATE 
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NOTE 
PUB TYPE 
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DESCRIPTORS 
DOCUMENT RESUME 
EA 018 213 
Oliver, 
James M.; And Others 
Virgin Islands Educational Dissemination 
System. 
Final Report. 
Virgin Islands 
of the United States Dept. 
of 
Education, 
St. Thomas. 
National 
Inst. 
of Education 
(ED), Washington, 
DC. 
7 Nov 85 
NIE-G-78-0016 
S6p. 
Reports 
- Research/Technical 
(143) 
MFO1/PCO4 Plus Postage. 
Communication Research; 
Communication 
Skills; 
Educational Change; 
*Educational 
Improvement; 
Educational Resources; 
Elementary Secondary 
Education; 
*Information Dissemination; 
*Information 
Networks; 
Information Services; 
Information Systems; 
Interaction; 
Management Development; 
*Professional 
Development; 
Program Development; 
Program 
Implementation; 
*Technical Assistance 
*Linkage; 
*Virgin Islands; Virgin Islands Educational 
Dissemination System 
IDENTIFIERS 
ABSTRACT 
This document reports on 
a 5-year project developed 
by the Department 
of Education of the U.S. Virgin Islands to create 
useful information and technical assistance system for professional 
personnel to bring about educational change and growth. 
The project 
was based on the original Interstate Project 
in Dissemination model 
(with the exception that the territory consisted only of two school 
districts) 
and depended upon the development of (1) linking, 
(2) 
management, 
and 
(3) resources. 
Of these three components, 
linking 
proved to be the key to successful dissemination. 
Contents of the 
report include sections on the following topics: methods of 
procedures; 
impact; 
client responsiveness and satisfaction; 
significant learnings; outside agencies; 
the project's first year of 
institutionalization 
(1982-83); 
equity; 
summary of results to date; 
before and after National 
Institute 
of Education 
funding; 
and an 
evaluation of the 5-year project by Sam D. Sieber titled "Getting 
It 
Together.” The main document contains 
six tables. 
Sieber's 
evaluation, 
which occupies the last half 
of the document, 
contains 
16 
tables. 
An appendix includes client and nonclient questionnaires. 
(IW) 
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* 
® 
from the original document. 
* 
be RRR EERE RRR EERE REE RRR REESE ERI 
IRR EIR ERR 
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VIRGIN ISLANDS EDUCATIONAL DISSEMINATION SYSTEM 
Cts 
Og 
ne 
: aie 
rN 
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION 
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION 
CENTER (ERIC) 
This document 
has 
been 
reproduced 
as 
eived 
from 
the 
person 
or 
organization 
originating it 
{) 
Minor changes have been made to improve 
oduction quality 
FINAL REPORT 
one 
© Points of view or opinions stated in this docu 
ment do not necessarily represent official NIE 
Office of Federal Programs, 
: 
position or policy 
Dissemination and Special Project Activities 
Department of Education 
Batis 
Post Office Box 6640 
~ St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 00801 
SB 
__.. BEST.COPY AVAILABLE 
wy 
Pe 
‘ 
2 Blot 
yp 
alma bina DTG PEA Ard 
aA 
i CN ay 
V6 )"3 Uta) Dae 
Government of the irgin Islands of the United States 
—_—_ —0—- — — 
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 
OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER 
P.O. Box 6640, Charlotte Amalie 
St. Thomas. 
V.|. 00801 
November 
7, 1985 
n 0 
Ms. 
Lois 
E. Vaughan 
Contracts and Grants 
Management Division 
U.S. Department of Education 
(NIE) 
1200-19th Street, 
N.W. 
Room 822 
Washington, 
D.C. 
20208 
cL UYMINGS 
bd 
2} 
AON 
S 
x. 
cn 
RE: 
VIEDS #NIE-G-78-0016 
Dear Ms. Vaughan: 
The 
purpose 
of 
this 
letter 
is 
to 
transmit 
(12) 
twelve 
copies 
of 
the 
Virgin 
Islands 
Educational 
Dissemination System's Final Report, NIE-G-78-0016. 
On 
behalf 
of 
the 
educational 
community 
and 
the 
people 
of 
the 
Virgin 
Islands, 
I 
wish 
to 
take 
this 
opportunity 
to thank 
the National 
Institute of Education 
and 
its 
fine 
staff 
for 
the 
assistance 
and 
cooperation 
it has given us over 
the years. 
Charles 
W. 
Turnbull, 
Ph.D. 
Commissioner 
of Education 
CWT/JMO/geg 
Final 
Report 
Project Number 7-0224 
Grant Number NIE-G 78-0016 
Virgin Islands Department of Education 
V.I. Dissemination System 
P. O. Box 6640 
St. 
Thomas, 
V.1. 
00801 
Charles 
W. Turnbull, 
Ph.D., 
Commissioner 
November 
7, 1985 
The research reported herein was performed pursuant 
to a grant with 
the National Institute of Education, 
U.S. Department of Education. 
Contractors/Grantees undertaking such projects under government 
sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their professional 
judgement in the conduct of the project. 
Points of view or opinions 
stated do not, 
therefore, 
necessarily represent official National 
Institute of Education position or policy. 
Final Report 
Project Number 7-0224 
Grant Number NIE-G 78-0016 
V.I. 
DISSEMINATION CAPACITY BUILDING PROJECT 
Office of Federal Programs 
and Dissemination System 
Prepared by: 
Mr. 
James M. Oliver, 
Director, 
Federal Programs 
(with assistance 
of Beverly Nieves, 
Patricia Murphy and Sam Sieber) 
Final Report 
Capacity Building Dissemination Project 
Virgin 
Islands Department of Education 
P. O. Box 6640 
St. 
Thomas, 
V.1. 
00801 
Project Number 
7-0224 
Grant 
Number: 
NIE-G 
78-0016 
Period: 
April 
1, 1978 
to September 
30, 
1983 
Date 
of Submission 
: 
November 
7, 1985 
Name of Agency: 
V.1I. Department of Education 
Title of Project: 
V.I. Educational Dissemination System Project 
Project Director: 
James M. Oliver 
Assisted by Beverly Nieves, 
Patricia Murphy 
and Sam Sieber 
NIE Project Officer: 
Arch K. Steiner, 
Ph.D. 
Abstract 
The Virgin Islands Educational Dissemination System (VIEDS) 
was designed 
to improve education 
in the territory by providing 
information and technical assistance 
to professional personnel 
in order 
to bringabout positive changes and growth, 
Other persons 
who have legitimate interest 
in the educational community are 
® 
also served. 
The project 
is based on the original 
Interstate Project 
in 
Dissemination 
(IPOD) model with the exception 
that 
the territory 
is small and consists only of two school 
districts. 
The usual 
state education structure becomes easier 
to manage 
since VIEDS' 
© 
smallness 
is the key to its success. 
Management: 
The project is managed by the Virgin Islands 
Department of Education's 
Office of Federal 
Programs. 
This 
means part-time management, 
but it is effective 
since managerial 
requirements are small. 
The expertise of the Director 
of Federal 
Ad 
Programs 
is brought 
to bear on all fiscal 
and reporting require- 
ments. 
There 
is also direct linear contact with 
the Commissioner 
of Education's office, 
since the project falls under 
that agency. 
Linkage: 
This 
is highly successful 
in the territory because 
e 
the linkers may visit all of the schools several 
times 
a semester 
and make direct one 
to one contact with clients. 
The building 
of credibility 
is an essential ingredient since word spreads and 
more clients seek out the linker 
for service. 
Resources: 
Because of its smallness, 
the project uses 
a 
* 
double base: 
one 
in the states, 
the San Mateo Educational 
Resource Center 
(SMERC) 
for in-depth, 
longer range searches and 
its own local data base for immediate 
information responses. 
It 
becomes necessary 
to be tied to a large exterior information 
source since it would be impossible 
to create 
a large computerized 
data base on its own. 
VIEDS developed over a five year period in partnership with 
the National Institute of Education 
(NIE) starting in 1978. 
By 
1983, VIEDS was fully institutionalized and using its own funds 
to operate the project which is still growing. 
It is achieving 
its goals of creating change for growth through its services. 
e 
There are measurable changes in the local school system as verified 
by our consultant and evaluatér, 
Dr. 
Sam Sieber, 
See "Getting 
It Together." 
-oduction 
Methods 
of Procedures 
Impact 
Client 
Responsiveness 
Significant 
Learnings 
Outside 
Agencies 
VIEDS' 
lst 
Year 
of 
Institutionali 
Equity 
Summary 
of 
Before 
and After NIE Funding 
"Getting 
It Together" 
An Evaluation 
of the Virgin 
Islands 
Educational 
Dissemination 
System 
(A Five 
Year Follow-Up) 
- 
Sam D. 
Sieber, 
Ph.D. 
Appendix 
an 
ali 
sensing 
amorphous 
5 
what 
might 
appear 
a 
casual 
conversation 
linker 
and 
a 
client 
is 
in 
reality 
a 
structured 
from 
which 
flows 
problem 
identification 
and 
appropri: 
linkage 
with 
data 
and 
or 
other 
usable 
resources 
which 
be 
brought 
to 
bear 
to 
help 
the 
client. 
These 
should 
incl 
not 
only 
personal 
delivery 
and 
explanation 
of 
ne 
inform: 
tion, 
but 
professional 
follow-up 
as 
well. 
To 
us 
it 
become 
apparent 
that 
of 
the 
three 
major 
units 
in 
an 
educa- 
tional 
dissemination 
system, 
linking, 
management 
and 
resources, 
effective 
linkage 
is 
the 
key 
to 
success. 
Otherwise 
it 
would 
be 
a 
passive 
information 
service 
which 
a trained 
librarian 
could 
administer. 
th 
a school 
a 
must 
and supportive 
staff, 
which 
ideally 
would 
include 
an 
secretary 
retrieval 
of 
course. 
There 
needs 
to 
for 
limited 
immediate 
informatio! 
also 
requires 
access 
to 
at 
least 
one 
data 
base 
for 
more 
rounded 
informatio! 
like 
all 
conclusions, 
ours 
will 
be 
limited 
tricts 
and 
not 
state 
oriented 
dissemination 
the 
distances 
between 
schools 
and 
or 
districts 
be 
enormous 
such 
as 
exist 
in 
some 
of 
our 
Nevertheless, 
it 
is 
our 
contention, 
based 
on 
that 
the 
National 
Institution 
of 
Education's 
Dissemination 
Capacity 
Building 
Program 
has 
brought 
to 
the 
Virgin 
Islands 
the 
benefits 
that 
were 
visualized 
by 
the 
early 
resourchers 
in educational 
dissemination. 
Our 
system 
provides 
the 
latest 
scientific 
or 
practical 
information 
to 
the 
professional 
educator 
or 
other 
interested 
person 
for 
the 
improvement 
of education 
in the territory. 
Seen 
from another 
point 
10 
manage 
s$ 
A110 
1 
a “UuUads 
and 
GaAisvs 
ages 
his 
professional 
staff 
to 
achieve 
project 
goals 
and 
in 
this 
case 
brings 
about 
positive 
changes 
in 
the 
education 
system. 
Linkage: 
In 
the beginning 
VIEDS hired 
two highly 
profes-~- 
sional 
linkers, 
one 
for 
each 
of 
the 
two 
school 
districts. 
Support 
staff 
was 
also 
hired 
for 
each 
district 
and 
VIEDS 
was 
off 
and running. 
The methodology 
employed by the 
link 
-rs 
varied, 
but 
each 
approach 
was 
highly professional 
with 
appro- 
priate positive results. 
The 
St. 
Thomas/St. 
John District: 
Here 
the 
linker 
built 
her 
clientele 
on 
a 
one 
to 
one 
bases 
building 
credibility 
as 
she 
went. 
First 
the 
linker 
attended 
as 
many 
administra-~ 
tive 
and 
faculty 
meetings 
as 
she 
could, 
always 
requesting 
time 
to make 
awareness 
presentations 
at those meetings. 
This 
would 
be 
followed 
up 
by 
direct 
personal 
contact 
with 
principals 
at 
which 
time 
the 
linker 
requested 
permission 
to visit 
the 
school. 
The 
first 
clients 
appeared 
in teachers' 
lounges. 
The 
informal 
nature 
of 
these 
contacts 
set 
the 
tone 
for 
future visits, 
since 
the linker was 
seen 
as 
a friend 
and colleague 
and 
not 
as 
a representative 
of the administra-_ 
tion 
or 
a threat 
to 
the teacher 
who dared expose 
her profes- 
sional 
weaknesses 
by 
requesting 
help. 
The 
assistance 
in 
the 
form 
of 
information 
packages 
and 
other 
technical 
aid 
became 
sought 
after 
once 
certain 
members 
of 
the 
faculty 
became 
aware 
that 
a 
free 
professional 
improvement 
service 
was 
available. 
Visits 
to 
schools 
became 
more 
regular 
as 
calendar 
programs 
were 
scheduled 
and 
the 
pending 
visits 
were 
announced 
in advance. 
The 
school 
library 
became 
another 
meeting 
place 
for 
linker 
and 
client. 
The 
linker 
also walked 
the 
halls 
and 
approached 
teachers 
who 
were 
in 
their 
rooms 
but 
without 
students 
present. 
Over 
the 
years 
the 
faculties 
of 
most 
of 
the 
schools 
have 
learned 
to 
use 
the 
service 
and 
much 
beneficial 
activity 
has 
resulted. 
The 
linker 
also 
directs 
her 
attention 
to 
non-teaching 
persons. 
school 
administrators, 
legislators, 
social workers, 
police, 
health 
13 
personnel 
and 
community 
groups 
all 
of 
whom 
have 
legitimate 
need 
for information 
in liaisons with education. 
The 
St. 
Croix 
District: 
The 
linker 
here 
has 
proven 
that 
different 
approaches 
can 
also 
be fruitful. 
Her approach 
was 
office 
oriented 
rather 
than 
field 
oriented. 
She 
did 
more 
work 
for 
administrators 
and 
used 
the 
telephone 
and 
librarians 
as sources 
for client 
requests. 
There was adequate 
response 
but 
the 
missing 
ingredient 
was 
the 
direct 
contact 
with 
the classroom teacher 
and other clients. 
VIEDS' 
experience 
in 
linking 
indicates 
several 
steps 
for success: 
Awareness presentations 
Creating readiness 
in prospective clients 
Actively seeking clients 
The interview 
The 
use 
of 
professionally 
developed 
sensing 
mechanisms 
for 
determining 
the 
actual 
nature 
of 
the client's need 
Supplying 
assistance 
through 
the 
resource’ 
base 
(information, 
technical 
assistance, 
resource persons, 
networking, 
etc.) 
Personal 
delivery 
of 
the 
aid 
package 
including 
mention 
of 
the 
nature 
of 
the 
aid 
and 
how 
it 
might 
be used 
Follow up and evaluation 
It 
is 
clear 
to 
VIEDS 
that 
linking 
is’ 
the 
primary 
component 
in 
a 
dissemination 
project 
and 
that 
even 
with 
the 
best 
resource 
and management 
a project will 
fail without 
effective professional 
linkage. 
Resources: 
VIEDS' 
first 
director, 
because 
of 
his 
back- 
ground 
in 
educational 
research, 
was 
able 
to 
establish 
our 
need 
for 
an 
off 
island 
data base and 
again, 
after 
long nego- 
tiation 
with 
NIE 
we 
were 
permitted 
to 
contact 
for 
services 
from SMERC. 
This proved to be a successful 
if somewhat 
14 
distant 
relationship. 
It 
took 
about 
two 
weeks 
for 
a 
search 
to arrive 
after 
the initial 
request, 
although 
that 
has varied 
over 
the years 
taking sometimes 
as long as 
four weeks. 
It 
was 
also 
understood 
that 
VIEDS 
would 
commence 
developing 
itS 
own 
information 
base. 
This 
was 
done 
and 
over 
the 
years 
a 
small 
but 
very 
useful 
local 
resource 
has 
been 
developing which permits 
the 
linker 
to supply 
the client 
with 
an immediate response. 
It 
is our contention 
that because 
of our size 
it would be extremely costly 
and 
if not 
impossible 
to 
have 
a complete 
data 
base 
of 
our 
own. 
We 
feel 
now 
after 
all 
of 
our 
experience 
that 
our 
approach 
works 
best 
for 
us 
and 
could 
be 
a 
model 
for 
small, 
isolated 
communities. 
We 
are, 
however, 
looking 
forward 
to 
the 
time 
when 
we 
will 
have 
the 
technical 
ability 
and 
sufficient 
funds 
to 
introduce 
computer 
terminals. 
in 
our 
system 
in 
order 
to 
have 
direct 
access 
to the nations data bases. 
VIEDS 
has 
approached 
establishing 
its 
dissemination 
project 
as 
its 
needs 
dictated. 
Our use 
of part 
time manage- 
ment, 
varied 
approaches 
to 
linking 
and 
our 
dual 
resource 
bases 
are 
reflections 
of 
special 
problems 
and 
our 
attempt 
to respond 
to these. 
Our methods might be considered somewhat 
unorthodox 
but 
our 
successful 
evaluations 
indicate 
we 
are 
working 
in 
the 
right 
direction. 
Our 
major 
goal 
is 
to bring 
about positive changes 
and growth 
in Virgin Islands education. 
We are achieving 
that goal. 
B. Impact 
The 
dissemination 
project 
has 
had 
a variety 
of 
impacts 
on 
a large segment 
of the educational system. 
Awareness, 
enlightenment. 
This 
function 
of 
dissemination 
systems 
has 
been 
cited 
by 
researchers 
as 
highly 
important, 
especially 
in 
isolated 
communities. 
Indeed, 
it 
has 
been 
considered 
an 
essential 
prerequisite 
to 
more 
active 
uses 
of 
information. 
The 
extent 
to 
which 
awareness 
building 
has 
occurred 
in 
the 
Virgin 
Islands 
is indicated 
by responses 
to 
one 
of 
the 
questions 
jin 
our 
periodic 
evaluation 
surveys. 
"Please 
indicate 
the 
response 
below 
that 
most 
accurately 
describes the 
degree 
to 
which 
you 
have 
actually 
been 
able 
to use 
the information 
or materials 
that you received."' 
After 
the 
first 
year 
of 
the 
project, 
65 
per 
cent 
of 
the 
clients 
indicated 
the 
response 
"the 
information 
helped 
me 
to 
keep 
aware 
of 
developments 
and 
activities 
in 
education," 
and 
in 
the 
fifth 
year 
57 
per 
cent 
gave 
the 
same 
response. 
The 
written response 
of an elementary 
school principal 
illustrates 
the impact of VIEDS 
in this respect: 
Your 
research 
provided 
me 
with 
a 
wealth 
of 
re- 
search 
and 
literature 
and 
saved 
me 
hundreds 
of 
hours 
of 
work. 
My 
energy 
and 
time 
can 
now 
be 
put 
into 
the 
more 
practical 
aspects 
of 
my 
work. 
And 
an 
evaluation 
specialist 
in 
the 
Department 
underscored 
the problem of isolation: 
SMERC 
is 
a 
wonder, 
particularly 
since 
I 
always 
seem 
to 
want 
such 
obscure 
information. 
I've 
found 
that 
the 
available 
resources 
in 
the 
Virgin 
Islands 
are 
limited 
to 
general 
topics 
and 
are 
frequently 
not 
very 
useful 
for 
the 
types 
of 
information 
I need. 
Thanks again! 
16 
Individual 
problem-solving. 
Many 
clients, 
of 
course, 
went 
beyond 
the 
stage 
of 
enlightenment 
and 
sought 
to 
solve 
some 
problem 
in 
their 
work. 
Several 
responses 
to 
our 
latest 
survey 
reflect 
this function: 
Have been able 
to use 
the information 
to 
make minor 
improvement 
in 
a programs 
or practice 
The information helped me 
to conduct 
research 
or evaluation 
Have been 
able 
to use 
the information 
to actually 
initiate 
a new program 
or practice 
Have been 
able 
to use 
the information 
to make major improvements 
in 
a program 
or practice 
6% 
(135) 
typical responses 
follow: 
I made 
changes 
in 
the reward 
system 
of 
a behavior 
modi-~ 
fication 
program 
that 
already 
exists. 
The 
information 
was 
shared 
with 
teachers 
interested 
in 
beginning 
a 
program of their own. 
We 
changed 
the 
scheduling 
of 
classes 
for 
the 
lunch 
program. 
This 
enabled 
us 
to 
have 
a 
smoother 
running 
program with more 
time 
for the students 
to eat. 
Used 
the 
information, 
gotten 
from 
the 
articles, 
to 
try 
and 
help 
a 
6 
year 
old 
child 
deal 
with 
his 
first 
experience where someone close 
to him had died. 
Capacity building. 
Another common 
form of impact entailed 
the 
use 
of 
information 
to 
develop 
plans 
and 
proposals 
for 
educational 
change. 
Here are 
some relevant 
statistics: 
Have been 
able 
to use 
the information 
to develop 
a plan 
to improve existing 
programs 
or practices 
Have been able 
to use 
the information 
to 
modify 
or alter 
an existing plan for 
improving programs 
or practices 
Have been able 
to use the information 
to write 
a position paper 
or other paper 
that could be used 
in practice 
in the 
future 
27% 
(135) 
Use 
of 
the 
information 
system 
by 
top 
level 
staff 
and 
other 
policy 
makers 
suggests 
that 
most 
of these planning activities 
will 
come 
to 
fruition. 
Even 
the 
legislature 
was 
a 
frequent 
user 
in 
this respect. 
At 
a presentation 
to the Senate 
Educa- 
tion 
Committee, 
for 
example, 
the 
linker 
was 
asked 
to 
supply 
information 
on 
how 
students 
could 
be 
put 
to 
work 
in 
school 
as 
a means 
of coping with destructive attitudes. 
The majority 
of 
the 
Senators 
planned 
to 
appropriate 
funds 
for 
such 
a 
project. 
A 
major 
undertaking 
by 
the 
Department 
of 
Education 
was 
planning 
for 
curriculum 
centers, 
and 
VIEDS 
was 
requested 
to conduct searches. 
The results were circulated 
and, 
largely 
on 
the 
basis 
of 
these 
searches, 
plans 
were 
drawn 
up 
for 
the 
future. 
In 
this 
case 
the 
linker 
herself 
was 
a 
member 
of 
the 
planning 
group. 
Another 
exemplary 
capacity 
build 
up 
effort 
was 
a 
needs 
assessment 
conducted 
by} 
VIEDS 
during 
the 
first 
year 
of 
its 
existence. 
This 
report 
was 
studied 
carefully 
by the Superintendent 
and his staff 
in developing 
18 
plans 
for the system 
as 
a whole. 
Proposal 
writing 
was 
also 
a 
major 
reason 
for 
using 
VIEDS. 
Indeed, 
the 
VIEDS 
project 
director 
was 
personally 
involved 
in helping 
the 
department 
prepare 
several 
proposals. 
In 
one 
case, 
after 
a 
great 
deal 
of 
interaction 
with 
the 
NDN 
coordinator 
and 
the 
administrative 
staff 
of 
a 
junior 
high 
school, 
an 
Alternative 
Education 
Program 
application 
was 
developed 
and 
submitted 
requesting 
$750,000 
for 
LEA 
funding 
over 
a 
three 
year 
period. 
The 
proposal 
was 
even~ 
tually approved and the program was 
implemented. 
Examples 
of 
capacity 
building 
efforts 
that 
were 
sup~ 
ported 
significantly 
by 
VIEDS 
are 
too 
many 
to 
mention, 
but 
one 
further 
case 
deserves 
notice. 
VIEDS 
was 
very 
active 
in 
supplying 
the 
latest 
research 
in 
bilingual 
studies, 
bi- 
lingual 
teaching 
techniques 
and 
educational 
models 
for 
the 
St. 
Croix 
community 
in 
its 
preparation 
of 
a 
proposal 
for 
training 
centers. 
In 
fact, 
the 
linker 
on 
that 
island 
played 
a 
leadership 
role 
in 
preparing 
such 
plans 
in 
cooperation 
with other staff. 
A 
special 
type 
of 
capacity 
building 
concerns 
the 
dis- 
semination 
and 
utilization 
of 
knowledge, 
and _ here 
again 
VIEDS 
took 
several 
significant 
steps. 
In 
the 
first 
place, 
whenever 
the 
VIEDS 
staff 
played 
a 
leading 
role 
in 
develop- 
ing plans 
in each 
case 
use 
of external 
information 
was 
insti- 
tutionalized 
in the planning and implementation process. 
For 
example, 
because 
our 
St. 
Croix 
linker 
served 
on 
the 
planning 
committee 
for 
the 
curriculum 
center, 
dissemination 
activities 
became 
an 
integral 
part 
of 
the 
new 
center. 
In 
addition, 
schools 
and 
offices 
have 
been 
helped 
to 
develop 
their 
own 
collections 
of 
microfiche 
and 
other 
educational 
documents. 
Thus, 
the 
head 
of 
the 
math 
department 
at 
one 
junior 
high 
school 
has 
collected 
approximately 
fifty 
titles 
in 
math 
and 
computer 
education 
in 
his 
office. 
These 
are 
available 
along 
with 
microfiche 
readers 
and 
computers 
for 
all 
math 
teachers 
at 
this 
school. 
Further, 
depositories 
of ‘microfiche 
on 
specialized 
areas 
in 
bilingual 
education 
have 
been 
set up 
by 
the 
foreign 
language 
supervisor, 
the 
bilingual 
psychologist 
at 
the 
diagnostic 
center, 
and 
the 
coordinator 
of 
the 
Caribbean 
Bilingual 
Education 
Center. 
In 
addition, 
VIEDS 
has 
been 
able 
to 
copy 
and 
store 
informa- 
tion 
in 
its 
own 
offices. 
At 
present 
we 
hold 
over 
7,000 
documents, 
which 
has 
made 
it 
possible 
to 
provide 
in-house 
information 
in 
twenty-four 
hours 
or 
less. 
(In 
the 
past 
year, 
in-house 
searches 
increased 
300%. 
A 
special 
section 
of 
our 
latest 
evaluation 
report 
compared 
in-house 
and 
SMERC 
searches, 
and 
found 
that 
the 
only 
difference 
was 
in 
the 
greater 
satisfaction 
with 
the 
turnaround 
time 
for 
in-house 
searches.) 
Finally, 
it 
should 
be 
noted 
that 
several 
libra- 
rians 
have 
started microfiche 
files based 
on 
VIEDS' 
searches. 
All 
such 
files, 
incidentally, 
include 
an 
increasing 
number 
of local resources 
that have been placed 
on microfiche 
by 
20 
SMERC, 
including 
the 
Virgin 
Islands 
Career 
Education 
State 
Plan, 
the 
Unified 
Mathematics 
Curriculum 
for 
the 
Virgin 
Islands 
K-12, 
Summer 
School 
in 
the Virgin 
Islands 
--_A 
Needs 
Assessment, 
and 
papers 
regarding 
the 
Virgin 
Islands 
from 
the 
7th 
Annual 
Caribbean 
Studies 
Association 
Conference. 
In 
addition, 
VIEDS 
has 
collected 
and 
mimeographed 
locally 
written 
materials 
(by 
teachers 
and 
their 
classes) 
such 
as 
plays and poems 
on local 
holidays 
and favorite heroes. 
In-service 
education. 
Another 
important 
arena 
of 
impact 
has 
been 
in-service 
education. 
Thus, 
VIEDS 
jdentified 
a 
need 
to 
improve 
school 
scheduling 
on 
the 
secondary 
level 
and 
referred 
the 
problem 
to 
the 
district 
superintendent, 
who authorized 
the 
linker 
to develop workshops 
and coordinate 
future 
planning. 
The 
linker 
contacted 
the 
Appalachia 
Educa- 
tional 
Lab 
and 
asked 
them 
to 
design 
workshops 
to 
fit 
our 
needs. 
In 
the 
fall 
of 
1981 
VIEDS 
offered 
these 
workshops 
in conjunction 
with 
staff 
from 
AEL. 
They were 
well 
attended 
by 
administrators, 
registrars, 
and 
guidance 
counsellors, 
and 
several 
schools 
began 
experimenting 
with 
computerized 
scheduling 
in 
1982. 
Principals 
and 
teachers 
began 
talking 
about 
other 
uses 
for 
computers 
in 
the 
schools, 
and 
more 
staff 
training 
was 
planned. 
AS 
a result 
of these 
activities, 
more 
than 
50 
computers 
were 
made 
available 
in 
the 
public 
schools 
and computerized scheduling will 
soon become 
routine. 
The 
linker 
in 
St. 
Croix 
has 
conducted 
a 
workshop 
on 
bilingual 
education 
and 
has 
taught 
a 
graduate 
summer 
course 
at 
the 
College 
of 
the 
Virgin 
Islands 
for 
staff 
members 
con- 
cerned with bilingual education. 
She has also acted 
as 
21 
liaison 
between 
World 
University 
in 
Puerto 
Rico 
and 
the 
Virgin 
Islands 
Department 
of 
Education 
in 
developing 
a pro- 
gram 
for 
sensitizing 
adminsitrators 
to 
the 
problems 
and 
scope 
of 
bilingual 
education 
in 
a 
multicultural 
society. 
Her 
in-service 
activities 
in 
this 
field 
have 
been 
invaluable. 
Many 
other 
examples 
of 
support 
or 
leadership 
for 
in- 
service 
programs 
could 
be 
cited, 
since 
the 
linkers 
make 
special 
efforts 
to 
address 
the 
participants 
on 
the 
value 
of 
external 
information 
and 
regularly 
offer 
their 
services 
to 
the 
workshop 
leaders 
during 
the 
planning 
stage. 
And 
it 
is 
worth 
noting 
that 
23 
per 
cent 
of 
VIEDS 
clients 
in 
the 
past 
year 
indicated 
that 
they 
had 
used 
the 
information 
in their 
own 
course work. 
Networking. 
VIEDS 
has 
played 
an 
important 
role 
in 
creating 
linkages 
between 
people, 
programs, 
and 
resources. 
This 
role 
has 
been 
evident 
in 
the 
frequent 
sharing 
of 
informa- 
tion 
among 
clients, 
the 
stimulation 
of 
mutual 
assistance 
among 
personnel, 
and 
the 
creation 
of 
better 
working 
rela- 
tionships 
between 
the 
two 
islands 
and between 
school building 
and 
district 
levels, 
and 
the 
forging 
of 
special 
relation- 
ships 
with 
stateside 
labs 
and 
other 
external 
agencies, 
other 
local 
agencies 
and 
educational 
programs, 
and 
other 
Caribbean 
islands. 
With 
respect 
to 
sharing 
of 
information, 
41 
per 
cent 
of VIEDS' 
clients 
this year indicated 
in our evaluation 
22 
survey 
that 
they 
were 
"able 
to 
provide 
the 
information 
to 
others 
who 
needed 
it." 
And 
when 
we 
asked 
if 
the 
client 
talked 
about 
the 
information 
or 
shared 
it 
with 
anyone, 
79 
per 
cent 
replied 
in the affirmative. 
And when 
asked approxi- 
mately 
how 
many 
persons 
they 
shared 
it 
with, 
the 
average 
number per client was 
7.5 persons. 
Sharing 
of 
information 
has 
also 
occurred 
in 
a 
more 
organized 
context, 
of 
course, 
as_ 
shown 
by 
the 
workshops 
that 
VIEDS 
has 
stimulated 
or 
participated 
in. 
Bringing 
staff 
members 
together 
for mutual 
assistance 
has been 
another 
major 
form 
of networking. 
For 
example, 
a teacher 
of reading 
on 
the 
high 
school 
level 
was 
asked, 
for 
their 
teachers' 
day, 
to 
conduct 
a workshop 
on 
reading 
in 
the 
areas 
of 
math. 
The 
linker 
brought 
her 
together 
with 
the 
math 
supervisor 
at 
SAFA 
who 
had 
already 
ordered 
information 
from 
VIEDS. 
Consequently, 
a successful 
workshop 
was 
held 
at 
the 
island's 
largest 
high 
school. 
In 
another 
case, 
as 
mentioned 
earlier, 
the 
linker 
brought 
together 
persons 
interested 
in 
improving 
their 
school 
scheduling 
process, 
which 
led 
to 
computerized 
scheduling 
workshops 
and 
the 
adoption 
of 
computerized 
sched- 
uling. 
Other 
examples 
of 
networking 
have 
already 
been 
men- 
tioned 
in 
connection 
with 
bilingual 
education 
workshops, 
development 
of 
curriculum 
centers, 
and 
preparation 
of 
pro- 
posals 
for 
federal 
funding. 
All 
of 
these 
efforts 
entailed 
the 
integration 
of 
resources, 
personnel, 
and 
information 
from 
a variety 
of sources. 
23 
A 
special 
effort 
has 
been 
made 
to 
serve 
other 
federal 
programs 
in 
the 
Department. 
Thus, 
searches 
are 
frequently 
conducted 
for 
the 
local 
NDN 
project, 
and 
many 
follow-up 
requests 
are 
made 
by 
teachers 
as 
a 
result. 
Further, 
per- 
sonnel 
of 
ESAA, 
SAFA, 
ESEA 
Title 
I 
and 
Title 
1V 
projects 
have 
been 
heavy 
users 
of 
our 
services. 
And 
when 
federal 
funds 
were 
made 
available 
through 
Title 
Vl 
for 
the 
purchas« 
of 
hardware 
for 
innovative 
programs 
in 
reading 
and 
math, 
the 
linker 
brought 
the message 
to 
the 
schools 
and 
encouraged 
them 
to 
participate 
in 
the 
competition. 
In 
addition 
to 
improving 
ties 
with 
such 
projects, 
VIEDS 
personnel 
have 
participated 
in 
a 
variety 
of 
local 
committees, 
conterences, 
and workshops, 
and 
have 
travelled 
to 
the 
States 
to establish 
closer 
relationships 
with 
R 
& 
D 
agencies, 
including 
NIE. 
One 
of 
the 
linkers 
participated 
in 
the 
Youth 
Planning 
Com- 
mittee 
which 
brought 
together 
a 
number 
of 
agencies 
to 
deal 
with 
problems 
confronting 
VI 
youth. 
The 
same 
linker 
also 
attended 
a conference 
at 
the 
College 
on 
West 
Indian 
Literary 
Criticism 
and 
appealed 
to 
the 
participants 
to 
submit 
their 
papers 
to 
VIEDS 
for 
dissemination, 
while 
another’ 
linker 
presented 
a 
paper 
entitled 
"The 
Education 
Dissemination 
Model: 
Toward 
a 
Solution 
to 
Fragmentation" 
at 
a 
conference 
of 
the 
Caribbean 
Studies 
Association. 
Through 
this 
and 
other 
efforts, 
closer 
ties 
have 
been 
established 
with 
other 
Caribbean 
islands, 
and 
especially 
with 
Puerto 
Rico 
(as 
de- 
scribed earlier). 
24 
Finally, 
VIEDS 
has 
become 
increasingly 
active 
in 
referring personnel 
to others with 
special 
skills 
or 
interests 
in 
the 
educational 
system. 
Thus, 
a 
human 
resource 
file 
has 
gradually 
taken 
shape. 
Geography 
teachers 
have 
been 
brought 
together, 
an 
art 
teacher 
who 
individualized 
her 
crafts 
lessons 
was 
put 
in 
touch 
with 
a 
young 
principal 
who 
is 
adept 
at 
finding 
grant 
money, 
a 
high 
school 
teacher 
and 
her 
troupe 
of 
young 
dancers 
was 
persuaded 
to 
give 
a 
dance 
and 
storytelling 
performance 
at 
an 
elemmentary 
school, 
and 
so on. 
Examples 
of this sort could 
be multiplied many 
times. 
Overall 
use. 
Finally, 
our 
recent 
survey 
of 
clients 
revealed 
that 
the 
great 
majority 
used 
the 
information 
in 
some 
way. 
When 
asked 
about 
the 
specific 
uses 
of 
the 
information 
and 
given 
a 
check-list 
for 
response, 
only 
7 
per 
cent 
of 
the 
clients 
said 
that 
they 
"have 
not 
been 
able 
to 
use 
it 
at 
hi i 
The 
free-answer 
responses 
of 
the 
clients 
to 
another 
question 
that 
asked 
them 
to 
describe 
their 
specific 
uses 
confirms 
this high 
level 
of impact. 
C. Client Responsiveness 
and Satisfaction 
Three 
surveys 
have 
been 
conducted 
to 
measure 
the 
responsiveness 
and 
satisfaction 
of 
educational 
personnel 
with 
the 
project's 
services. 
The 
first 
survey 
collected 
base 
line 
data 
on 
information 
use 
before 
the 
project 
be- 
gan; 
the 
second 
was 
conducted 
with 
reference 
to 
the 
first 
year 
of 
the 
project 
(1978-79); 
and 
the 
third 
survey 
was 
conducted 
among 
clients 
and 
non-clients 
in 
1983. 
The 
purposes 
of 
the 
surveys 
of 
clients 
were 
to 
measure 
satis- 
faction 
with 
various 
aspects 
of 
the 
service 
(information 
quality, 
linker 
performance, 
turnaround 
time, 
etc.), 
to 
identify 
specific 
ways 
in 
which 
the 
information 
had 
been 
used 
and 
the 
extent 
of 
such 
use, 
to 
learn 
about 
the 
char- 
acteristics 
of 
clients 
who 
were 
being 
served 
more 
or 
less 
satisfactorily, 
and 
to 
elicit 
suggestions 
for 
improving 
the 
service. 
Since 
many 
of 
the 
same 
questions 
were 
asked 
in 
successive 
surveys, 
we 
were 
able 
to 
measure 
changes 
in 
clients' 
perceptions 
over 
a 
five 
year 
period. 
(for 
a description 
of research 
methodology 
and complete 
results, 
see 
Knowledge 
for 
What? 
-- 
An 
Evaluation 
of 
an 
Educational 
Dissemination 
System 
(January, 
1981), 
and 
Getting 
It 
To- 
gether 
-- 
An 
Evaluation 
of 
the 
Virgin 
Islands 
Educational 
Dissemination 
System 
(A _ Five 
Year 
Follow-Up), 
(October, 
1983). 
The 
same 
questions 
(with 
one 
minor 
exception) 
about 
satisfaction 
with 
information 
and 
personal 
assistance 
were 
asked 
of 
a 
sample 
of 
all 
educational 
personnel 
be- 
fore 
VIEDS, 
of 
clients 
after 
one 
year 
of 
VIEDS, 
and 
in 
the 
recent 
survey 
of 
both 
clients 
and 
non-clients. 
These 
questions were: 
Information 
about 
educational 
practices 
or 
ideas 
comes 
from 
many 
sources, 
including 
journals, 
books, 
per- 
sonnel 
in 
your 
school 
or 
district, 
workshops, 
curriculum 
guides, 
etc. 
Ol 
During 
this 
school 
year, 
how 
adequate 
was 
the 
availability 
of 
Information 
Personal assistance 
(check one) 
(check one) 
Very adequate 
Adequate 
Inadequate 
Very inadequate 
Had none 
this year 
In 
general, 
how 
would 
you 
rate 
the 
usefulness 
of 
the 
information 
and 
personal 
assistance 
that 
you acquired 
in this school year? 
- (SAME CATEGORIES AS ABOVE) 
First, 
it 
is 
worth 
noting 
the 
proportion 
of 
clients 
and 
non-clients 
in 
the 
most 
recent 
school 
year 
who 
said 
that 
they 
had 
“had 
none 
this 
year" 
in 
reply 
to 
both 
of 
the 
above 
questions. 
With 
regard 
to 
availability 
of 
in- 
formation, 
none 
of 
the 
clients 
gave 
this 
response, 
com- 
pared 
with 
12 
percent 
of 
the 
non-clients; 
and 
with 
regard 
to 
availability 
of 
assistance, 
4 
percent 
of 
the 
clients 
gave 
this 
response, 
compared 
with 
17 
percent 
of 
the 
non- 
clients. 
Clearly, 
non-clients were 
not 
as likely 
to receive 
information 
or 
personal 
assistance 
as 
the 
clients 
of 
VIEDS. 
(See Table 1). 
With 
regard 
to 
usefulness 
of 
information 
and personal 
assistance, 
the differences 
between 
clients 
and non-clients 
are 
even 
larger. 
Only 
2 percent 
of 
the 
clients 
said 
they 
had 
not 
received 
any 
useful 
information, 
compared 
with 
19 
percent 
of 
the 
non-clients; 
and 
only 
5 percent 
of 
the 
clients 
said 
they 
had 
not 
received 
any 
useful 
assistance, 
compared with 
23 percent 
of the non-clients. 
Thus, 
in 
27 
TABLE I 
Non-Clients Who Did Not 
Proportions of Clients and 
sistance During 1982-83 
Receive Any Information or As 
% received none 
Clients 
Non-clients 
Availability of 
informetion 
— 
12% 
(139) 
(77) 
assistence 
_ 
Mh 
174% 
(124) 
(70) 
Usefulness of 
information 
19% 
(73) 
assistance 
23% 
(57) 
the 
absence 
of 
VI1EDS, 
one 
might 
assume 
that 
about 
one- 
fifth 
of 
the Department's 
personnel would be without 
useful 
information 
or 
assistance, 
while 
in 
the 
presence 
of VIEDS, 
this 
is almost never 
the case among clients. 
Moreover, 
the 
information 
and 
assistance 
that 
is 
received 
by 
non-clients 
is 
valued 
much 
less 
than 
that 
received by clients. 
Table 
2 presents 
the relevant 
figures, 
including 
the 
responses 
of 
educational 
personnel 
before 
the 
implementation 
of 
VIEDS 
and 
after 
one 
year. 
The 
per- 
centage 
of 
personnel 
who 
felt 
that 
availability 
of 
infor- 
mation 
was 
"very 
adequate" 
has 
jncreased 
markedly: 
3 per- 
cent 
before 
the 
project, 
34 
percent 
the 
first 
year, 
and 
50 
percent 
in 
the 
most 
recent 
year. 
In 
contrast, 
among 
non-clients 
in 
the 
most 
recent 
year 
only 
22 
percent 
gave 
this response. 
It 
is 
noteworthy, 
however, 
that 
even 
non-clients 
in 
1982-83 
were 
more 
highly 
satisfied 
with 
availability 
of 
information 
than 
were 
personnel 
before 
the 
project 
was 
implemented. 
Closer 
inspection 
of 
our 
data reveals 
that 
this 
is 
mainly 
due 
to 
the 
responses 
of 
those 
non~ 
clients 
in 
1982-83 
who 
had 
formerly 
been 
clients. 
These 
former 
clients 
were 
a 
good 
deal 
more 
likely 
to 
say 
that 
availability 
of 
information 
had 
been 
"very 
adequate" 
than 
were 
persons 
who 
had 
never 
been 
clients. 
This 
result 
suggests 
that 
former 
clients’ 
had 
developed 
a 
capacity 
for 
knowledge 
utilization 
as 
a 
result 
of 
their 
involve- 
ment 
with 
VIEDS 
that 
endured 
beyond 
that 
initial 
involve- 
ment. 
And 
indeed, 
a 
larger 
proportion 
of 
former 
clients 
than 
of 
never 
clients 
(25% 
vs 
5%) 
reported 
in 
another 
part of our questionnaire that they had received information 
from 
VIEDS 
indirectly 
in 
the 
current 
year. 
In 
sum, 
the 
large 
minority 
of 
non-clients 
who 
were 
highly 
satisfied 
with 
availability 
of 
information 
owed 
their 
satisfaction 
to 
VIEDS 
despite 
their 
not 
being 
direct 
recipients 
of 
the service 
in 1982-83. 
29 
TABLE 
[1 
Satisfaction of Clients Before Project, One Year 
Later, and Five Yeers Leter with Aveilability 
of Information and Assistance 
Before project 
1978-79 
1982-83 
Clients 
lion- 
clients 
Very adecuate 
3% 
34% 
50% 
22% 
(725) 
(205) 
(139) 
(68) 
Aveilability of information 
Availability-of assistance 
Very adequate 
434 
55% 
26% 
(185) 
(219) 
(58) 
Clients 
‘ou 
“St. Thomes 
St. Croix 
18-19 
82-83)78-79 
82-83 
Aveilebility of information 
Very adequate 
364 
56% | 36% 
49% 
(116) 
(70) | 
(66) 
(37) 
Availability of Assistance 
Very adequate 
43% 
64% | 49% 
41% 
(106) 
(61) | 
(59) 
(32) 
* Not asked in survey 
before project. 
With 
regard 
to 
satisfaction 
with 
the 
availability 
of personal 
assistance, 
here we 
find 
that 
a lesser 
improve- 
ment 
occurred 
over 
the 
past 
few 
years. 
In 
the 
first 
year 
of 
the 
project 
43 
percent 
indicated 
that 
availability 
of 
assistance 
was 
"very 
adequate,"' 
and 
in 
1982-83 
55 
per- 
cent 
gave 
the 
same 
response. 
The 
improvement 
is 
signifi- 
cant, 
but 
not 
as 
strong 
as 
in 
the 
case 
of 
information 
per 
se. 
However, 
these 
figures 
mask 
a 
major 
difference 
between 
the 
two 
districts. 
In 
St. 
Croix, 
favorable 
judg- 
ments 
of assistance 
slightly 
declined, 
while 
in 
St. 
Thomas 
was 
a 
marked 
increase. 
All 
of 
the 
data 
referred 
to 
can 
be 
found 
in 
Table 
2. 
And 
here 
we 
confront 
a 
difference 
in 
linker 
styles 
between 
the 
two 
islands. 
(Clients 
of 
persons 
who 
were 
assisting 
the 
full-time 
linker 
in 
St. 
Thomas 
are 
removed 
from 
this 
comparison 
between 
islands 
so 
that 
the 
two 
experienced 
linkers 
may 
be 
compared 
more 
sharply.) 
As 
can 
be 
seen, 
64 
percent 
in 
St.Thomas 
felt 
that 
availability 
of 
assistance 
was 
"very 
adequate" 
com- 
pared with 
41 percent 
in 
St. 
Croix 
in 1982-83. 
One 
linker 
increased 
her 
availability 
to 
a 
pronounced 
degree 
while 
the other decreased 
it slightly. 
Thus 
far 
we 
have 
been 
discussing 
sheer 
availability 
of 
information 
and 
personal 
assistance. 
When 
we 
turn 
to 
the 
usefulness 
of 
these 
two 
types 
of 
resources, 
we 
find 
a 
similar 
trend 
of 
improvement 
over 
the 
past 
five 
years, 
as 
shown 
in 
Table 
3. 
And 
once 
again, 
we 
also 
find 
that 
ratings 
of 
assistance 
declined 
in 
St. 
Croix, 
but 
increased 
significantly 
in 
St. 
Thomas, 
between 
the 
first 
and 
most 
recent 
year 
of 
the 
project. 
Usefulness 
of 
infor- 
mation 
remained 
fairly 
constant 
in 
both 
districts, 
as 
measured 
by 
this 
question. 
Further, 
non-clients 
were 
not 
significantly 
more 
satisfied 
with 
usefulness 
of 
infor- 
mation 
in 
1982-83 
than 
were 
personnel 
before 
the 
project 
commended. 
However, 
these 
findings 
should 
not 
distract 
our attention 
from 
the important 
point 
that clients 
of 
31 
TABLE III 
Satisfaction of Clients Before Project, One Year 
Later, and Five Years Later with Usefulness 
of Information and Assistance 
Before project 
197&79 
1982-83 
Clients 
pon 
clients 
Usefulness of information 
Very edequate 
154 
40% 
44% 
19% 
(681) 
(202) 
(131) 
(59) 
Usefulness of assistance 
Very edequate 
44% 
56% 
30% 
(183) 
(110) 
(44) 
Clients 
St. Thomes 
Ste Croix 
School yeer: 
178-79 
 '82-83 | '7&79 
182-83 
Usefulness of information 
* Very adequate 
413 
49% 
< 
384 
| 
(112) 
(70) 
ot 
Usefulness of assistance 
Very adequate 
45% 
59% 
; 
384 
(103) 
(58) 
(31) 
the 
service 
in 
the 
most 
recent 
year 
were 
far 
more 
likely 
than 
non-clients 
to 
say 
that 
information 
was 
very 
useful 
(44% vs 19%). 
Responses 
to 
another 
question 
reveal 
a 
much 
greater 
trend 
in 
favor 
of 
usefulness 
over 
the 
past 
few 
years. 
Clients 
in 1978-79 and 1982-83 were 
asked: 
How about 
the practical value 
of the information 
as 
a whole 
(abstracts, 
articles, 
packages, 
micro- 
fiche, 
etc.)? 
Very useful 
Moderately useful 
Only slightly 
Not useful 
useful 
In 
the 
first 
year 
of 
the 
project, 
44 
percent 
said 
that 
it 
was 
"very 
useful,'"' 
but 
a 
few 
years 
later 
64 
per- 
cent 
gave 
the 
same 
response. 
Here 
once 
again 
we 
detect 
a 
marked 
improvement 
in 
the 
service. 
Further, 
virtually 
the 
same 
level 
of 
improvement 
occurred 
in 
both 
districts. 
One 
final 
overall 
question 
that 
bears 
on 
personal 
assistance remains 
to be discussed. 
Clients 
and non-clients 
in 
1982-83 
were 
asked 
whether 
they 
desired 
more 
help 
with 
implementation: 
In general, 
do you feel 
that 
you need more personal 
help 
in 
implementing 
new 
ideas 
or 
practices 
in 
your 
work, 
less 
help, 
or 
about 
the 
same 
amount 
of help as you have been receiving? 
More help 
Less help 
About 
the same 
Table 
3 presents 
the 
responses 
to 
this 
question 
among 
clients 
and 
non-clients. 
While 
more 
than 
half 
of 
the 
non-clients 
asserted 
that 
they 
needed 
more 
help with 
imple- 
mentation, 
only 
a 
third 
of 
.VIEDS’' 
clients 
gave 
this 
re- 
sponse. 
About 
three-fourths 
of 
the 
latter 
felt 
that 
as~ 
sistance 
should remain 
about 
the same. 
These 
data attest 
33 
TABLE IV 
Proportion of Clients and Non-clients in 1982-83 Who Said 
They Needed More Help, Less Help, or t2¢6 Sene 
Help with Inplenentation 
Nor-—clients 
Clients 
28% 
53% 
8 
1 
64 
46 
100% 
100% 
(91) 
(74) 
to 
the 
contribution 
that 
VIEDS' 
personnel 
have 
made 
to 
the 
actual 
implementation 
of 
new 
practices 
and 
ideas 
in 
addition 
to 
the 
provision 
of 
information. 
(The 
same 
mag- 
nitude 
of 
difference 
between 
clients 
and 
non-clients 
oc” 
curred on both islands. ) 
To 
summarize: 
We 
have 
seen 
that 
the 
clients 
of 
VIEDS 
are 
much 
more 
likely 
to 
receive 
useful 
information 
about 
new 
ideas 
and 
practices 
than 
non-clients. 
Moreover, 
the 
information 
that 
is received 
by non-clients 
is 
not 
valued 
as 
highly 
as 
that 
received 
by 
clients, 
which 
testifies 
to the superiority 
of 
a national 
data bank with 
an efficient 
retrieval 
capacity 
over 
conventional 
methods 
of 
dissemina- 
tion. 
Further, 
since 
VIEDS' 
clients 
were 
also 
much 
more 
often 
satisfied 
with 
personal 
assistance, 
it 
is 
obvious 
that 
the 
work 
of 
the 
local 
linkers 
is 
also quite valuable. 
And 
improvement 
has 
been 
very 
marked 
in 
these 
respects 
since 
the 
inception 
of 
the 
project. 
We 
have 
also 
noted 
that 
former 
clients 
keep 
in 
touch 
with 
the 
project 
indi- 
rectly, 
and 
are 
therefore 
better 
served 
than 
personnel 
who 
have 
never 
been 
clients. 
This 
indicates 
that 
exposure 
to 
the project 
is not 
a hit 
and run experience 
for clients. 
Apparently, 
their 
own 
capacity 
for 
information 
use 
inde- 
pendently 
of 
direct 
involvement 
with 
linkers 
has 
been 
enhanced. 
And 
the 
greater 
involvement 
of 
opinion 
leaders 
among 
VIEDS' 
clients 
suggest= 
that 
information 
and 
assist~— 
ance 
will 
radiate 
throughout 
the 
system. 
That 
this 
is 
indeed 
taking 
place 
is 
indicated 
by 
the 
large 
number 
of 
secondary 
recipients 
reported 
to us 
by the primary 
clients 
of VIEDS. 
If 
these 
generalizations 
are 
reliable, 
then 
we 
should 
find 
that 
both 
clients 
and 
non-clients 
of 
VIEDS 
would 
welcome 
the 
opportunity 
for 
continued 
assistance 
from 
the 
project. 
And 
this 
is 
indeed 
the 
case, 
as 
signified 
by the responses 
to 
the 
following question: 
395 
Would 
you 
like 
to 
be 
contacted 
by 
us 
in 
the 
near 
future 
for 
assitance 
in 
acquiring 
information 
on aparticular 
topic 
or 
problem 
related 
to 
your 
work? 
Yes 
No. 
Seventy-seven 
percent 
of 
the 
clients 
and 
78 
percent 
of 
the 
non-clients 
responded 
affirmatively 
to 
this 
ques-~ 
tion. 
Since 
this 
question 
bears 
on 
a 
real 
desire 
to 
re- 
ceive 
information 
on 
4a 
concrete, 
personal 
topic 
or 
pro- 
blem, 
it 
is 
probably 
more 
reflective 
of 
a 
genuine 
need 
for 
the 
service 
than 
some 
of the broader questions 
referred 
to 
earlier. 
In 
short, 
it 
is 
evident 
that 
more 
than 
three 
quarters 
of 
educational 
personnel 
are 
anxious 
to 
avail 
themselves 
of: VIEDS' 
services 
‘in 
the near 
future." 
Satisfaction with particular aspects 
of the services 
Turnaround 
time. 
Owing 
to 
the isolation 
of the Virgin 
Islands 
and 
the 
sluggishness 
of 
the 
postal 
system, 
4 
critical 
question 
is 
the 
amount 
of 
time 
that 
is 
required 
to obtain 
resources 
from 
the states. 
As mentioned earlier, 
the 
linker 
in 
St. 
Thomas 
has 
set 
up 
her 
own 
data 
bank 
comprising 
previous 
SMERC 
information, 
and 
in 
the 
past 
year 
she 
and 
an 
assistant 
made 
extensive 
use 
of 
this 
localized 
source. 
Thus, 
it 
becomes 
important 
to 
see 
if 
satisfaction 
with 
turnaround 
time 
was 
enhanced 
as 
a result 
of 
this 
activity. 
That 
this 
was 
indeed 
the 
case 
can 
be 
seen 
in 
the responses 
to the following question: 
With 
regard 
to 
your 
needs, 
was 
the 
amount 
of 
time 
it 
took 
to receive 
the information: 
Too 
long 
A 
reasonable 
length 
of 
time 
Sooner 
than expected 
In 
1978-79 
19 
percent 
said 
"sooner 
than 
expected." 
In 
1982-83, 
of 
those 
who 
received 
information 
from 
the 
retrieval 
agency 
in 
the 
states, 
37 
percent 
gave 
this 
re- 
sponse; 
and 
of 
those 
who 
received 
information 
from 
our 
local 
data 
bank, 
67 
percent 
so 
responded. 
Clearly, 
there 
is 
greater 
satisfaction 
than 
previously, 
and 
expecially 
if the local resource 
files were utilized. 
In 
terms 
of 
actual 
time 
spent 
in 
retrieving 
informa- 
tion, 
clients 
who 
were 
served 
by 
the 
stateside 
agency 
waited 
5.4 
weeks 
on 
average, 
while 
those 
who 
were 
served 
by local 
files waited 
only 
a few 
days. 
It 
is not 
surpris- 
ing 
that 
the 
latter 
would 
feel 
that 
the 
information 
was 
provided 
"sooner 
than 
expected," 
therefore. 
Later 
we 
shall 
see 
if 
this 
method 
of 
retrieval 
was 
more 
or 
less 
likely 
to have impact than reliance 
on 
the stateside agency, 
and 
more 
or 
less 
likely 
to 
be 
favorably 
evaluated 
for 
its content. 
Before 
leaving 
the 
matter 
of 
turnaround 
time, 
it 
is informative 
to 
note 
that 
almost 
all 
requests 
for 
infor- 
mation 
were 
classified 
as 
'"somewhat"' 
urgent 
(as 
opposed 
to 
"very" 
or 
"not" 
urgent) 
on 
the 
information 
request 
forms. 
Thus, 
clients 
are 
generally 
perceived 
as 
needing 
information 
in 
as 
short 
a 
time 
as 
possible 
-~- 
although 
this 
notational 
habit 
might 
also 
be 
due 
to 
the 
linkers' 
fear 
that 
a 
"not 
urgent" 
request 
would 
be 
ignored 
by 
the 
retrieval 
agency. 
Characteristics 
of 
the 
information. 
Since 
clients 
on 
the whole 
are 
satisfied 
with turnaround 
time, 
other aspects 
are 
perhaps 
more 
important. 
A 
very 
critical 
aspect 
of 
the 
service 
concerns 
the characteristics 
of the information 
itself. 
The 
clients 
were 
asked 
to 
indicate 
their 
judgment 
of 
the 
information 
supplied 
to 
them 
with 
respect 
to 
seven 
attributes: 
relevance, 
comprehensiveness, 
newness, 
useful- 
ness without 
further information 
or help, understandability, 
guidance 
provided, 
and 
ease 
of 
implementation 
in 
their 
setting. 
(See question 
8 in the appendix.) 
Table 4 shows 
37 
the 
proportion 
of 
clients 
in 
1978-79 
and 
in 
1982-83 
who 
gave 
a 
score 
of 
1 
or 
2 
to 
each 
dimension 
on 
a 
scale 
of 
7 points, 
thereby 
indicating 
a high degree 
of satisfaction. 
And 
we 
see 
little 
change 
in the 
rank 
order 
from 
one 
period 
to 
the 
next, 
with 
the exceptions 
of relevance 
and usability 
without 
any 
additional 
resources. 
Both 
of 
these 
attri- 
butes 
were 
scored 
higher 
than 
a 
few years 
ago. 
Autonomous 
usability 
made 
an 
especially 
strong 
showing, 
moving 
from 
next 
to last 
in 
rank 
order 
to 
next 
to 
first, 
and 
this 
shift 
occurred 
in 
the 
case 
of 
both 
linkers. 
(Relevance 
improved 
only 
with 
respect 
to 
St. 
Croix. ) 
This 
improve- 
ment 
suggests’ 
that 
the 
linkers 
became 
more 
skilled 
in 
acquiring information 
that would "stand alone." 
Characteristics 
of 
linkers’ 
performance. 
The 
clients 
in 
1978-79 
and 
1982-83 
were 
asked 
to 
rate 
the 
linkers 
according 
to- 
four 
scales: 
jnitial 
understanding 
of 
the 
problem 
or 
need, 
helpfulness 
in 
interpreting 
the materials 
or 
information, 
helpfulness 
in 
using 
the 
information, 
and availability 
when 
needed. 
Table 
5 shows 
the proportion 
of 
clients 
in 
each 
of 
two 
periods 
who 
rated 
the 
linkers 
"excellent" 
on 
a 
five 
point 
scale 
ranging 
from 
"excellent" 
to 
"poor", 
the 
proportion 
who 
gave 
other 
ratings, 
and 
the 
proportion 
who 
said 
that 
this 
aspect 
of 
the 
linkers' 
role 
"did 
not 
occur." 
The 
only 
notable 
difference 
between 
the 
two 
periods 
is 
that 
a 
smaller 
proportion 
said 
that 
helping 
use 
the 
information 
did 
not 
occur 
and 
a 
larger 
proportion 
rated 
the 
linkers 
excellent 
on 
this 
dimension. 
Thus, 
it 
appears 
that 
helping 
the 
client 
to 
implement 
a 
new 
practice 
or 
idea 
was 
a 
more 
prominent 
feature 
of 
the 
linkers' 
role 
in 
the 
more 
recent 
period. 
But 
this 
change 
applies 
to only 
a 
single 
linker 
-- 
the 
linker 
in 
St. 
Thomas, 
whose 
"did 
not 
occur" 
rating 
dropped 
from 
30 
percent 
in 
1978-79 
to 
2 
percent 
in 
1982-83. 
Ratings 
of 
the 
other’ 
linker 
actually 
moved 
in 
the 
opposite 
direction: 
from 
37 
percent 
saying 
that 
help 
in 
using 
information 
did 
not 
occur 
in 
1978-79 
to 
44 
percent 
38 
responding 
in this 
TABLE 
V 
Clients! Evaluations of Various Features of the 
Information in 1978-79 and 1982-83 
% highly favorable 
(1,2 on scale 1-7) 
197 8 
1982- 
1979 
1983 
Easily understood, no difficulty 
with language or ideas 
184% 
19% 
(205) 
(114) 
Very comprehensive in coverage 
45% 
48% 
(205) 
(114) 
Highly relevant to my need or request 
45% 
5 BH 
(205) 
(116) 
Provided guidance for implenenta- 
tion or use 
41% 
484% 
(199) 
(114) 
Would be easy to implement or use 
in my school or agency 
40% 
42% 
(196) 
(114) 
Could be used or applied without 
additional information or help 
38% 
56% 
(202) 
(115) 
Very new to me, quite enlightening 
274% 
30% 
(205) 
(115) 
* Bases of percentages vary owing to variation in number 
of respondents who answered each scale. 
fashion 
in 
1982-83. 
Once 
again, 
therefore, 
we 
detect 
a divergence 
in 
the 
styles 
of 
the 
two 
linkers. 
This 
find- 
ing 
is consistent 
with 
our 
earlier 
observation 
that 
favor- 
able 
judgments 
of 
assistance 
actually 
declined 
in 
St. 
Croix, 
while 
the 
St. 
Thomas 
linker 
elicited 
a much 
higher 
level 
of approval 
than before. 
These 
contrasting 
trends 
in 
the 
two 
islands 
may 
be 
due 
to 
the 
reduced 
time 
commitment 
of 
the 
St. 
Croix 
linker 
together 
with 
her 
tendency 
to 
focus 
on 
district 
level 
administrators who were 
involved 
in writing planning papers. 
This 
focus 
of 
attention 
would 
reduce 
the need 
for 
personal 
assistance 
on 
the 
linker's 
part. 
And 
indeed, 
we 
have 
seen 
that 
the single 
largest percentage 
increase 
in positive 
attitudes 
towards 
the 
information 
occurred 
in 
St. 
Crosx 
with respect 
to ''could 
be used or applied without 
additional 
information 
or 
help." 
Further, 
when 
asked 
about 
the 
need 
for 
more, 
less, 
or 
the 
same 
amount 
of 
help with 
implemen- 
tation, 
aS 
many 
as 
18 percent 
of 
the 
Crucian 
clients 
said 
less 
help 
compared 
with 
only 
3 percent 
of 
the 
St. 
Thomian 
clients. 
In 
short, 
the 
amount 
of 
help 
that 
the 
linkers 
gave 
in 
each 
district 
seems 
to 
have 
been 
an 
accommodation 
to 
their 
respective 
clients, 
which 
in 
turn, 
of 
course, 
was 
influenced 
by 
the 
linkers' 
own 
decisions 
about 
which 
clients 
she wished 
to serve. 
Similar, 
although 
less 
pronounced, 
differences 
occur 
between 
the 
two 
linkers 
with 
regard 
to 
"helpfulness 
in 
interpreting 
the 
materials 
or 
information 
received," 
and 
"availability 
when 
needed." 
The 
Crucian 
linker 
elicited 
a 
much 
higher 
percentage 
of 
“did 
not 
occur" 
responses 
than 
the 
St. 
Thomian 
linker, 
and 
especially 
with 
regard 
to 
"availability." 
Twenty-nine 
percent 
of 
the 
Crucian 
clients 
in 
1982-83 
indicated 
that 
availability 
"did 
not 
occur," 
compared 
with 
only 
2 
percent 
of 
the 
St. 
Thomian 
clients. 
And 
this 
difference 
is 
largely 
due 
to 
a 
decline 
in 
availability 
of 
the 
Crucian 
linker 
between 
1978-79 
and 1982-83. 
As mentioned earlier, 
this 
is no doubt 
40 
TABLE VI 
Clients! Evaluations of Various Features of the 
Linker's Role in 197879 and 1982-53 
1978-79 
1982-83 
Initiel understanding of your 
problen or need 
Excellent 
684% 
Other response 
32 
* 
Did not occur 
100% 
(212) 
Availability when needed 
Excellent 
54% 
Other response 
38 
Did not occur 
1003 
(110) 
Helpfulness in interpreting the 
materials or information received 
Excellent 
/ 
47% 
Other response 
33 
Did not occur 
20 
1007 
é‘ 
(1085 
Helpfulness in using the information 
Excellent 
434 
Other response 
37 
Did not occur 
» 
2 
ote 
1007 
100% 
(198) 
(97) 
* Beses of percents very because of variations 
in replies. 
** Less than 1%. 
owing 
to 
the 
reduction 
of time 
spent 
by 
the Crucian 
linker 
on 
dissemination 
as 
a 
result 
of 
her 
increasing 
commitment 
to other 
professional 
endeavors. 
In 
sum, 
one 
linker 
moved 
in 
the 
direction 
of 
being 
more 
available 
for 
help 
with 
implementation, 
while 
the 
other 
moved 
in 
exactly 
the 
opposite direction. 
It 
should 
be 
noted, 
however, 
that 
when 
the 
Crucian 
linker 
did offer 
these 
services, 
she 
was 
rated 
as 
highly 
as 
the 
St. 
Thomian 
linker, 
with 
one 
exception: 
“initial 
understanding 
of 
your 
problem 
or 
need."' 
While 
85 percent 
of 
the 
St. 
Thomian 
clients 
rated 
the 
linker 
excellent 
on 
this 
dimension, 
58 percent 
of 
the 
Crucian 
clients 
gave 
their 
linker 
this 
rating. 
Further, 
this 
approval 
rate 
increased 
over 
time 
for 
the 
St. 
Thomian 
linker 
but decreased 
for 
the 
Crucian 
linker. 
And 
this 
shift 
is 
confirmed 
by 
data 
on 
the 
extent 
to 
which 
the 
linkers 
reported 
they 
assisted 
the 
clients 
in 
developing 
the 
statement 
of 
the 
‘problem 
or 
need 
(as 
indicated 
on 
the 
Information 
Request 
Form). 
As 
shown 
in 
Table 
12, 
51 
percent 
of 
the 
clients 
in 
St. 
Thomas 
were 
helped 
"extensively," 
while 
none 
of 
the 
clients 
in 
St. 
Croix 
received 
this 
amount 
of 
help. 
This 
notable 
difference 
is 
a 
function 
of 
different 
types 
of 
clients 
as 
well 
as 
different 
role 
definitions 
in 
the 
two districts, 
as mentioned earlier. 
D. Significant Learnings 
From 
the 
beginning, 
the 
St. 
‘Thomas/St. 
John 
school 
district 
linker/supervisor 
has 
used 
the 
IPOD 
dissemination 
model: 
going 
into 
the 
field, 
discovering 
needs, 
delivering 
the 
latest 
research 
findings 
in education 
and showing clients 
how to use 
this material. 
We have learned that 
an experienced 
linker workingin 
the 
field 
develops 
sensing mechanisms 
which 
often permit her 
to identify 
the nature 
of a client's problems 
even 
before 
the 
client 
is 
able 
to 
ascertain 
them. 
We 
have 
made 
it 
a practice 
to 
see 
at 
first 
hand 
what 
are 
the 
needs 
of 
educators 
by visiting 
the 
schools 
and 
establishing 
cred- 
ibility 
for 
VIEDS. 
By 
appearing 
to 
be 
a 
helper, 
and 
not 
a 
person 
in 
a 
supervisory 
capacity 
(electing 
to 
be 
on 
a 
first 
name 
basis), 
the 
linker 
is 
better 
able 
to 
establish 
non-threatening relationships with administrators 
and teachers 
wherever 
they 
are: 
the 
lunch 
room, 
lounge, 
office, 
library 
or 
unused 
classroom. 
Except 
for 
protocol, 
when 
the 
linker 
visits 
the principal 
first, 
she 
is separated 
from 
the 
admin- 
istration 
in 
the 
eyes 
of 
the 
teachers. 
This 
disassociation 
is 
important 
since 
a 
teacher 
might 
be 
otherwise 
reluctant 
to 
expose 
weakness 
or 
inexperience 
to 
an 
authority 
figure. 
Affording 
privacy, 
and 
providing 
reliable 
and 
useful 
help 
are among our main goals 
in the dissemination process. 
The negotiation 
session 
has proven 
to be the most 
fruit- 
ful 
step 
for 
the 
client 
and 
linker. 
It 
affords 
the 
time 
when 
the linker 
is able 
to help the client 
sort 
out his 
own 
thinking, 
give 
reassurance, 
and 
allow 
him 
to 
talk 
about 
what 
he 
is 
doing 
in 
the 
classroom 
or 
office. 
The 
client 
feels 
unthreatened 
by 
a 
person 
who 
is 
not 
going 
to 
rate 
or 
criticize 
him. 
It 
is during 
this 
session 
that 
the 
linker 
suggests 
the kinds 
of information which 
can prove 
invaluable, 
whether 
it consists 
of curriculum guides, 
teaching techniques, 
special 
projects, 
latest 
research 
in 
4 
specific 
area 
and 
so 
forth. 
It 
also 
gives 
the 
linker 
the opportunity 
to 
sug™ 
gest 
assistance 
from people 
in the community who have 
similar 
interests 
and/or 
concerns. 
This 
person-to-person 
linking 
has 
been 
successful. 
An example 
of 
this 
is 
a recent 
linkage 
by 
the 
disseminator 
of 
various 
groups 
heretofore 
unknown 
to one 
another 
in 
the 
community, 
all 
working 
on 
an 
effort 
to 
curb 
teen-age 
pregnancy. 
Another 
example 
of 
this 
kind 
of 
linkage 
was 
for 
kindergarten 
teachers 
of various 
schools 
to 
phone 
one 
another 
to 
see 
how 
each 
was 
managing 
highly- 
structured 
programs. 
The 
linker 
acted 
as 
mediator 
between 
the 
two 
program 
persons 
in 
getting 
relief 
for 
the 
over-burdened 
and harried teachers. 
Delivering 
searches, 
personally, 
offers 
yet 
another 
opportunity 
for 
the 
linker 
to 
work 
with 
the 
client. 
The 
client's 
problems 
are 
reviewed 
and 
the 
linker 
can 
then 
motivate 
and 
encourage 
him 
to 
read 
the 
information 
(both 
microfiche and hard copy) and apply the data 
to his situation. 
Subsequent 
follow-up 
is essential because 
it gives 
the linker 
44 
another 
opportunity 
to reinforce, 
support 
and 
suggest 
sharing 
the 
material 
with 
others. 
The 
client 
is 
asked 
again, 
if 
he needs 
further 
information 
and/or 
linkage. 
Because 
we 
are 
a small 
island, 
information 
is 
sometimes 
unavailable, 
unreliable 
or 
difficult 
to 
get. 
Mail 
delivery 
is 
slow. 
We 
cannot 
simply 
hop 
into 
a 
car 
and 
drive 
to 
a 
university 
library. 
Going 
abroad 
to 
seek 
higher 
degrees 
or 
training 
is 
costly 
and 
sometimes 
creates 
a 
hardship 
for 
a 
teacher 
who 
might 
have 
to 
leave 
her 
family 
behind. 
Real- 
izing 
this, 
VIEDS 
has 
instituted 
a 
file 
of 
the 
most 
popular 
searches 
that 
have 
been 
requested. 
Over 
the 
five 
years, 
we 
have 
developed 
it 
to 
the 
point 
where 
we 
can 
furnish 
some 
requested 
information 
in 
less 
than 
twenty-four 
hours. 
Be- 
cause 
we 
have 
asked 
that 
microfiche 
supplied 
by 
SMERC 
or 
VIEDS 
be 
returned 
when 
they 
are 
no 
longer 
required, 
we 
are 
able 
to 
recirculate 
the 
fiche 
and 
enhance 
the 
hard-copy 
in-house 
searches. 
Through 
the 
years, 
we 
have 
collected 
and 
filed 
articles 
from 
current 
educational 
journals 
and 
periodicals which 
are 
the basis 
of our data bank. 
However, 
this 
does 
not 
mean 
that 
a 
small 
island 
or 
rural 
area 
like 
ours 
can 
hope 
to build 
a 
large 
enough 
prac” 
tice 
file 
to 
meet 
all 
of 
its 
information 
needs, 
nor 
can 
it 
easily 
go on-line 
to 
an outside 
base 
since 
by itsphysical 
jsolation 
it 
is 
poor 
in 
technical 
resources. 
When 
machines 
break down, 
there 
are 
few 
if any persons 
to repair them, 
45 
or 
keep 
them 
maintained. 
We 
believe 
that 
an 
area 
like 
the 
Virgin 
Islands 
is 
best 
served 
by 
being 
associated 
with 
an 
all-service 
information 
data bank 
like 
SMERC which 
has proven 
to 
be 
efficient, 
reliable 
and 
sensitive 
to 
the 
needs 
of 
our 
educators, 
as 
well 
as 
by 
developing 
as 
large 
a 
local 
base 
as 
possible. 
This 
kind 
of 
organization 
permits 
the 
linker 
to 
be 
in 
the 
field, 
linking, 
which 
is 
the 
most 
important 
function 
of 
an 
educational 
dissemination 
system, 
freeing 
her 
from 
the 
headaches 
and 
disappointments 
of 
break-downs 
in the 
flow 
of information 
to clients. 
Over 
the 
five years 
we 
learned 
that 
there 
is 
a 
great 
need 
for 
current, 
useful 
information 
properly 
presented, 
and 
that 
good 
linking 
is 
akin 
to 
teacher 
training 
in 
that 
it enables 
clients 
to 
grow 
professionally without 
insurmount~— 
able obstacles. 
E. Outside Agencies 
During 
the 
second 
year 
of 
VIEDS 
the 
two 
linkers, 
on 
the 
advice 
of 
NIE, 
visited 
the 
Appalachia 
Education 
Labora- 
tory 
in 
West 
Virginia. 
It 
was 
felt 
that 
the 
lab 
served 
communities 
not 
unlike 
the 
Virgin 
Islands. 
The 
visit 
re- 
sulted 
in 
establishing 
4 
good 
relationship 
which 
we 
have 
kept 
up 
over 
the 
years. 
We 
brought 
back 
helpful 
career 
education 
materials 
and 
learned 
about 
the 
outreach 
programs 
in 
parenting. 
These 
models 
have 
been 
useful 
in 
working 
with 
groups 
jnterested 
in 
such 
programs 
here. 
In 
addition, 
AEL 
and 
VIEDS 
set 
up workshops 
in 
school 
scheduling 
on 
both 
St. 
Thomas 
and 
St. 
Croix. 
Now, 
after 
much 
study 
and 
team 
work, 
two 
pilot 
junior 
high 
schools 
on 
St. 
Thomas 
have 
suc~- 
cessfully 
used 
the 
computer 
programs 
for 
scheduling 
fall 
classes 
and 
teacher 
assignments. 
We 
continue 
to 
receive 
AEL's 
linking 
news 
and 
are 
looking 
forward 
to 
turning 
to 
them once 
again 
in our RDU effort 
at one 
of the pilot schools, 
this 
time 
it 
will 
probably 
be 
in 
the 
area 
of parent/teacher 
communication. 
We 
have 
also 
gotten 
RDU 
initial 
training 
from 
the 
Net- 
work 
in 
Andover, 
Massachusetts 
and 
hope, 
after 
funds 
are 
made 
available, 
to 
receive 
additional 
training. 
Northwest 
Laboratory 
has 
been 
very 
generous 
with 
their 
materials 
on 
computer 
education 
and 
software 
evaluation. 
We 
are 
in 
cor- 
respondence with 
them. 
Our relations with 
our 
local 
NDN 
person 
are 
very 
good, 
as 
well. 
VIEDS 
supplies 
material 
to 
her 
before 
she 
begins 
any 
program, 
in 
turn, 
acts 
as 
linker 
and 
liaison 
when 
our 
clien 
help 
which 
NDN 
programs 
can 
serve. 
She 
has 
been 
especially 
successful 
in 
implementing 
the 
hood 
Failure, 
and 
we work 
together 
in 
tryir 
in 
that 
area. 
ry. VIEDS IST YEAR OF INSTITUTIONALIZATION 1982-1983. 
We 
have 
completed 
the 
institutionalization 
of 
VIEDS 
as 
a 
result 
of 
the 
consolidation 
of 
federal 
grants 
under 
Title 
V. 
P.L. 
95-134, 
Omnibus Territories 
Act. 
In 
addition, 
we 
have 
further 
coordinated 
the 
dissemina- 
tion components 
of existing 
federal 
and local programs through 
the coordination 
of efforts 
and the networking 
of funding. 
VIEDS 
has 
further 
improved 
communications 
and 
relations 
with 
other 
agencies 
such 
as 
local 
public 
health 
and 
public 
safety, 
processing 
their 
information 
for 
our 
clients 
and 
disseminating our stateside 
data 
to them 
for their outpatients 
and clients. 
For 
a short 
period, 
we were 
able 
to obtain 
the 
services 
of 
a 
full 
time ““linker/retrieval 
specialist 
to 
enhance 
our 
field 
services 
and 
to bring 
greater 
efficiency 
to 
the opera- 
tion 
or 
our 
in-house 
data 
bank. 
This 
support 
staff 
effort 
had 
to end because 
of monetary 
difficulties. 
We 
continued 
to 
further 
develop 
networking 
of 
people 
and 
agencies 
with 
information 
sources 
for 
the 
improvement 
of 
education. 
Highlights 
of 
this 
effort 
were 
in 
the 
area 
of 
school 
accreditation. 
VIEDS 
supplied 
many 
model 
curricu- 
guides 
for 
departments 
of 
secondary 
schools 
and 
other 
literature 
pertinent 
to 
school 
improvement 
in 
addition 
the 
linker 
brought 
principals 
and 
teachers, 
librarians 
together 
to discuss common problems. 
To date 
two secondary 
schools 
in the district 
of St. 
Thomas/St. 
John 
have been accredited 
by the Middle States Association 
for ten years. 
The 
linker's 
role 
as 
support 
personnel 
continues 
for 
major 
change 
projects 
in 
the 
area 
of 
use 
of 
computers 
in 
school 
administration 
and 
instruction, 
once 
again 
bringing 
personnel 
of 
various 
schools 
together 
to 
gain 
technical 
assistance. 
A 
highlight 
of 
this 
is 
the 
workshop 
arranged 
by 
VIEDS 
and 
given 
in 
the 
fall 
term 
by 
an 
original 
partici- 
pant 
of 
the 
AEL 
workshop 
in 
school 
scheduling 
to 
interested 
persons 
in another school who wished 
to adopt 
the system. 
The 
human 
resource 
file 
continues 
to 
grow 
and 
is 
fre- 
quently 
tapped 
by. 
the 
linker 
in 
bringing 
various 
persons 
together 
who 
have 
common 
goals. 
An 
example 
is 
supporting 
community 
groups 
who 
share 
the 
growing 
concern 
for 
teaching 
sex 
education 
in 
the 
schools, 
and 
disseminating 
information 
about 
venereal 
disease 
and teen-age pregnancy 
to these groups. 
VIEDS 
has 
subscribed 
to 
certain 
publications 
which 
are 
unavailable 
in 
the 
islands 
and 
which 
have 
proven 
indis- 
pensable 
to 
teachers, 
especially 
in 
the 
field 
of 
computer 
aided instruction. 
Finally, 
we 
have 
increased 
our 
ability 
at 
very 
little 
extra 
expense 
to 
provide 
more 
current 
information 
to 
our 
client 
through 
the use 
of in-house searches. 
The 
year 
1982-83 
saw 
the 
beginning 
of 
an 
RDU 
effort 
in 
the 
Virgin 
Islands. 
In 
the 
fall 
of 
1982 
¥VIEDS 
received 
partial 
training 
from 
the Network, 
Andover, 
Mass. 
In the 
00 
spring 
the 
St. 
Thomas/St. 
John 
linker 
received 
support 
from 
a 
junior 
high 
school 
principal 
to 
start 
a 
pilot 
project 
at 
the 
Addelita 
Cancryn 
Jr. 
High 
School. 
An 
orientation 
meeting 
was 
held 
for administrators 
and guidance counsellors. 
Plans 
were 
made 
to 
form 
a task 
force 
composed 
of administra- 
tors, 
teachers 
and parents. 
That 
task 
force 
is now 
a reality 
and 
their 
work 
is 
in 
progress 
with 
the 
linker 
acting 
as 
liaison 
and data provider. 
While 
the 
number 
of 
stateside 
acquired 
searches 
(from 
SMERC) 
remains 
at 
500, 
VIEDS 
has 
been’ able 
to 
increase 
the 
St. 
Thomas/St. 
John 
volume. 
In 
1980-81, 
25 
in-house 
searches 
were 
done. 
In 
1981-1982, 
38 
were 
done. 
But 
in 
1982-83, 
220 
were 
completed. 
This 
dramatic 
increase 
was 
due 
to 
the 
extra 
support 
staff 
and 
the 
increase 
of 
data 
collection. 
G. Equity 
The 
population 
of 
the 
Virgin 
Islands 
is 
underserved 
and 
is 
almost 
totally 
made 
up 
of minorities. 
This 
situation 
applies 
as 
well 
to 
the 
entire 
educational 
community 
as 
indicated 
in 
the 
narrative 
of 
our 
NIE 
grant 
applications. 
It 
should 
be 
clear:that 
any 
and 
all 
activities 
undertaken 
by 
VIEDS 
respond 
to 
the 
equity 
needs 
of 
our 
society. 
It 
should 
also 
be evident 
that 
VIEDS 
has worked 
toward 
improving 
the 
education 
climate, 
and 
helping 
to 
develop 
basic 
skills 
for 
our 
needy 
students. 
We 
have 
also 
served 
the 
community 
in nontraditional 
ways 
which 
reflect 
our 
attempts 
to 
improve 
equity 
in education. 
Highlights 
of 
these 
more 
unusual 
aspects 
of 
our 
program 
which 
address 
equity 
are 
as 
follows: 
VIEDS 
hosted 
a Women's 
Equity 
Conference 
in 
Grantsmanship. 
We 
supplied 
supporting 
documentation 
that 
has 
helped 
to 
bring 
about 
major 
changes 
in 
attitudes 
on 
the 
part 
cf 
the 
school 
authorities 
concern” 
ing 
the handicapped; 
as 
a 
result, 
a 
review 
and 
revision 
of 
high 
school 
diplomas 
for 
the 
handicapped 
was 
initiated. 
A 
community 
child 
abuse 
program 
was 
afforded 
information 
from 
our 
data 
base 
and 
the 
information 
was 
subsequently 
used 
on 
numerous 
educational 
T.V. 
programs 
over 
our 
local] 
PBS 
station. 
VIEDS 
has 
also 
provided 
documentary 
support 
to 
alcohol 
and 
drug 
abuse 
programs 
for 
the 
Department 
of 
Public Safety. 
Since 
the Virgin 
Islands 
has 
an extremely 
high 
rate 
of 
teen-age 
pregnancy, 
VIEDS 
has 
provided 
human 
resource 
and 
documentary 
support 
for 
establishing 
various 
programs 
for 
youth 
on 
sex 
education 
and 
teen-age 
pregnancy 
prevention. 
We 
were 
instrumental 
in 
researching 
and 
pro- 
viding 
models 
for 
school 
and 
community 
alternative 
educa- 
tion programs. 
Now that 
these programs 
are 
in place, 
we 
continue 
to 
provide 
the 
teachers 
and 
administrators 
with 
instructional 
help, 
for 
example, 
providing 
special 
curriculum 
guides, 
local 
career 
education 
aides 
and 
Black 
history 
and 
supplementary 
cultural 
materials. 
Most 
recently, 
we 
have 
provided 
personal 
linkage 
and 
data 
for 
a 
community 
effort 
to start up a shelter for battered women and their children. 
H. 
Summary 
of Results 
to Date 
It 
is 
essential 
to 
read 
the 
following 
data 
carefully 
and 
reconsider 
the 
comments 
made 
in 
the 
introduction 
to 
this 
document 
in 
light 
of 
this 
information. 
We 
have 
not 
arrived 
at 
these 
data 
in 
a 
casual 
manner. 
They 
are 
the 
results 
of 
careful 
professional 
analysis 
and 
consultation 
with 
one 
of 
the "gurus" 
of 
educational 
dissemination, 
Dr. 
Sam 
Sieber 
of 
Columbia 
University, 
who, 
fortunately 
for 
us, 
resides 
in the territory. 
There 
is 
enough 
positive 
information 
in 
these 
last 
pages 
to 
gladden 
the 
heart 
of 
any 
grant 
officer. 
Clearly 
Virgin 
Islands 
Educational 
Dissemination 
System 
iS 
an 
ex~ 
cellent 
example 
of 
how 
federal 
seed 
money 
can 
function 
to 
bring 
about 
change, 
or 
positive 
results; 
by 
establishing 
in:this 
case, 
a system whose 
main 
function 
is 
to 
bring 
about 
change 
and 
whose 
linker 
is 
a 
change 
agent. 
Educational 
dissemination 
is 
alive and well 
in the U.S. 
Virgin 
Islands. 
Project 
Status Before 
and After NIE Funding 
BEFORE 
Linkage 
No feeling that information 
could solve problems 
AFTER 
Greater confidence 
in accepting 
and usirg information 
and 
assistance 
Belief 
that information was 
acquired only 
in college 
Awareness 
of multiple sources 
of 
information 
and local program 
personnel 
Little confidence 
in ability 
to acquire information 
be- 
cause 
of isolation 
Widespread awareness 
of available 
resources. 
Little knowledge among teachers 
about professional 
journals 
or 
organizations 
Staff aware 
of professional organ- 
izations, 
available services, 
con- 
ferences, 
etc. 
Complete ignorance about 
existence 
of ERIC 
Majority 
of educational personnel 
have received ERIC microfiche 
Poor understanding of educa- 
tional 
planning 
in States, 
sense 
of professional 
isola- 
tion 
Awareness 
of common problems and 
available solutions 
from elsewhere 
Little knowledge 
of funding 
sources 
and technical 
assist- 
ance 
that 
is available 
A number 
of federal projects based 
on information supplied 
for pro- 
posals and operations 
Little awareness 
of special 
education 
needs 
and rights 
Parent 
groups made aware, 
commit~ 
tees 
to protect handicapped based 
on information, 
etc. 
Little willingness 
to share 
problems; 
ignorance 
of pro- 
blem-solving models 
and no 
problem-solving 
process 
Optimism about problem-solving 
and that 
information 
can 
be used 
and shared 
No trained information/dis~ 
semination specialists 
Two linkers with support 
staff 
trained 
in dissemination 
No educational 
information 
service 
for legislature 
or 
school board 
Use of service 
by legislators 
and school board 
No communication 
among Carib- 
bean islands 
re: 
education 
Use of Caribbean Studies Associa~ 
tion 
for dissemination 
functions 
Little awareness 
or sensitiv-~ 
ity regarding bilingual 
educa-~ 
tion needs 
Training 
of teacher aides 
for bi- 
lingual education 
and development 
of program based on information 
and TA of project 
Limited relations between 
Department 
and College 
Closer relationships with college 
for staff development 
Resources 
No usable 
ERIC file 
in 
college library - 
ERIC 
file 
is fully operational 
in college 
Only one microfiche 
reader 
in school 
system 
At 
least 
one reader 
in each 
school 
No dissemination 
office 
Project office with readers, 
printer, 
files, 
etc. 
Limited 
network 
of resource 
personnel 
A human 
resource 
file 
that 
is 
rapidly growing 
No external 
resource 
center 
available 
for computerized 
retrieval 
of storing 
local 
for retrieval 
Annual 
contract with 
SMERC; 
relations with 
AEL & NW lab 
Sh 
local 
materials 
available 
No packaging of materials 
on 
selected 
topics 
Packaging of in-house searches 
(220 
in 
'82) 
No depositories 
of microfiche 
in offices 
and schools 
Depositories 
in curriculum centers, 
several school libraries, 
and 
a 
few offices 
No local 
file 
of hard copy 
or microfiche 
from SMERC 
for in-house 
retrieval 
More 
than 7,000 items 
on 
file 
for 
jn-house retrieval 
on selected 
topics 
Leadership 
Fragmented development 
of 
curriculum 
Curriculum committees dependent 
on information 
No means 
of needs 
assessment 
Needs assessments conducted by 
dissemination 
project 
Uncoordinated in-service 
activities 
Several 
in-service programs based 
on technical 
assistance 
and infor- 
mation 
from project 
e.g. 
computer 
literacy 
No coordination 
of dissemina- 
tion 
activities 
at Dept. 
level 
Advisory Board comprised | of staff 
with dissemination obligations 
No evaluation 
of information 
needs 
and use/impact 
of dis-~ 
semination 
Periodic evaluation 
of needs and 
use/impact 
for top level planning 
7 
GeTTING IT 
CONTENTS 
The Virgin Islands Educational Dissemination 
System 
Evaluation Surveys 
Results 
Who uses 
the services 
and why? 
Satisfaction with availability 
and usefullness 
of information: 
clients vs non-clients, 
and 
1978-79 vs 1982-83 
Satisfaction with particular aspects of the 
service 
Turnaround time 
Characteristics 
of the Information 
Characteristics 
of the linkers' 
performance 
Microfiche 
How the information 
is used 
Long distance versus 
local retrieval 
Concluding remarks 
APPENDIX 
- Client 
and non-client questionnaires 
The Virgin Islends Educetionel Dissemination Syst 
he overerching purpose of the V.I. Educetional Dissemination Sys- 
tem (VIEDS) is to provide useful information about educational 
practices, 
policies, 
end ideas upon reques 
to educators who are 
working in e very isolated setting With extrenely limited locel 
resources. 
16 project was supported for severel yeers by the 
Th 
Netional Institute of Education (with increased funding fron 
epertnment es federel funds declined) 
es a perticipent 
e Disseninetion Capacity Building progren in NIE 
This 
xtended to 44 states, but is nov virtually et an end. 
the locel De 
TOo2zram wes 
€ 
A unique feature of VIEDS hes been the effort of full-time "linkers" 
who 
meet 
with clients at all levels of the locel educetionel 
sten +o learn about 
their needs for assistance 
or information, 
the one * request to a computerized retrieval agency 
+eo Educational Resources Center, Sen Mateo, 
s), and +o deliver the information to clients when 
in the VeI.e 
Of the 44 states or territories thet received 
tssemination, 
the Virgin Islencs 
is the only one thet 
ull-tine linkers and continued their support 
of the project, thereby following the succ 
tate Dicbepinetion Project (USOS-NIE, 1970- nota 
wes made Feasible in the Virgin Islands by the smell 
al school system. 
In contrast, 
the other 
s have concentrated on developing Tesource banks at 
trying to adept existing personnel end 
Thus, owing to the uniqueness of the V.I. 
report might be of special interest 
to steteside 
personnel at both state end local iene 
3 
We) 
> = 
> 
ck ck 
ct 
© 
Fh 
It 
O@ 
been employed in each of tio 
. Croix) for the vast five yer 
to time by part-time linkers 
iS, 
end by office personnel. 
In the past your the 
t. Croix reduced her tine commitment 
to disseninstio n 
eceuse 
of involvement in other professional activities of the Depveriment. 
is delivered 
to Virgin 
fsa 
form of abstracts, 
nicrofiche card), or reference 
ther Sources. 
be supplemented by locally 
oduced reccourccs, 
locel vroducts Asve 
been supplied 
*o SMERC 
benk. 
Finally 
y of other nervi0es, 
ance amon2 
personnel, 
information 
sent by SMERC, retrieving infornetion locally, consultin 
their speciel expertise, 
and personelly assisting in the 
tion of new prectices. 
In one of our two districts, 
a 
he 
h 
been compiled based on materiels 
sent by SMERC over 
years, 
end this data bank is regulerly consulted by 
trying to enswer a request. 
— 
~ 
- 
Types of clients, 
information 
uses of informetion and assis’ 
of this report. 
t 
impect of the project on the educetional system, 
and the ext 
which educetional personnal 2% all levels have come 
to rely on 
project. 
But first, we need to describe our evaluetion surveys 
pest 
and present 
Evaluation Surveys 
The present survey 
is the third 
i 
i 
f evalustion surveys 
VIEDS' 
clients and non-clienis. 
survey collected base 
line data on informetion use 
bé: 
ect began; 
end the second 
was conducted with reference 
j 
year of the project (197@79). 
The purposes of the latter survey 
were to determine 
the satisfection 
of clients with various asvecis of the service (infornetion quality, 
linker performence, 
turnaround time, etc.), 
to identify specific ways 
in which the _ infornction had been used and the extent 
of such use, 
to 
learn rage he characte Tistics of clients who were being served more 
or less sat 
ctorily, 
and to elicit suggestions for imoroving 
the 
service. 
peciel purpose was to determine whether clicnis who hed 
been taontafied inthe earlier survey 
as nost likely to need, 
use, 
or share informetion ectuelly did so. 
In other words, 
the project 
sought to determine whether the impact of the service could be enhanced 
by concentrating 
on certain "pro nising clients," 
a2 procedure 
that 
is 
t+echnicelly known as market segmertation. 
And indeed, 
this wes found 
to be the case. 
A auneees purpose of the second survey, 
of course, 
was 
to gain dete for conmperison With the stete of affairs prior to the 
inplementetion of VIZDS. 
In this respect 
ie found a substantial 
improvement 
in 
setisfection with the availability 
end the usefulnes 
of both informetion and personel 
istence. 
For 2 complete 
prece shew 
tion of the 
re 
ic 
sy, 
see Knowledre for whet? 
-- 
An Sveluetion o 
Suectional 
Dissemination Svstem 
(VIEDS, V.I. 
Dept. 
or Zducsti 
) 
The present 
scurvey 
Because many of the 
becomes 
ena use 
rtunl= 
e? 
| — 
Ginension in information linkage thet is often overlooked. 
Questionneires were mailed to all clients of the service who had 
reccivec infornation between September 31, 1982, and March 
15, 1983. 
Since cuestionnaires were mailed in April end May, 1983, e11 clients 
had hed at least two weeks to evaluate or use the informetion. 
Th 
nunber of clients who received ouestionnaires in St. Thomase-S+. 
John wes 
138, of whom 11 were elimineted because they were not served by 
the linkers; 
end the number in St. Croix was 45.* 
The return rates 
for 
St. Thomas and St Croix were 84 percent and 87 percent, 
respective- 
ly. 
& rendom sample of educetional personnel who had not been served 
by VIEDS in the designated time period wes also selected, 
and a spccial 
questionnaire 
wes 
sent 
to them to measure 
their evaluation of the 
availability and usefulness of information and personel assistance 
in the absence of being served by the project. 
Every fourth 
end 
fifth 
neme- 
was 
elternately selected from the Department's directory in 
order to obtain a senmple of evproximately 200 non-clients 
(the exect 
nunbe> was 204) in St. Thomes; and every ninth name’ 
was selected 
for St. Croix, which yielded 100 norn-clienis.**Fewer names were 
selected 
in St. Croix beceuse 
time wes running out et the end of 
the school year and office personnel were nore limited then in St. 
Thomes. 
The return retes of non-clients’ cuestionnaires were 25 percent 
end 40 percent 
in St. Thomas anc St. Croix, respectively. 
Many uncomplet- 
ead 
cuestionneires were returned beceuse 
the resvondent wes 
no longer 
in the schocl systen or was otherwise uneveileble. 
Results 
enswer the following basic cuestions: 
ition, 
level, 
subject, 
and opinion 
el purposes? 
Second, 
we shall exanine 
c 
ct 
(9 
ion 
and personal essistence, 
anc their need 
i 
menting new practices; 
enc the satisfaction of clients 
turrneround 
time, 
features of the information, 
end the activities 
Third, we shall look at specific uses of the informe- 
determine level of impect. 
And finally, 
we shall 
see 
retrieval of informetion from our own dete bark hes 
ive es retrieval from SMERC. 
Severel 
of these 
cuest ions 
ed over time by comparison with pest survey results. 
¢s the cervice and why? 
lients according 
to 
show the Tigures fo 
& percent of 
and 24 verceent in'é 
—Treprescnted anonz clicen 
roix is very sinmiler, 
chit 
A) 
Olg 
= 
“for information were 
frocessed thar. indicsted 
by 
wtc, for sary clients Wore 
Tence- 
terse 
noreclients ere weighted doubic 
in the totels for non-clienic 
whic report or avvecrirg 
in tebles. 
62 
oO 
rat 
rOwowwm 
4 
ON M™ ™ WY 
ry el 
wy 
i) 
4) 
> 
2s 
4 
oo rt 
4 
> 
£3 
wt 
Se 8 
Sy 
GD 
7 
22. 
.@ 
1 fr, 1) th | 
oiz, 
Thomas. 
~* ~e 
re more often serveé 
in 
more 
often serve 
Croix wes 
the proportion 
Thomes. 
We sha 
linkage styles o 
G 
a 
Q 
pu | 
eed t) 
her 
OQ 
re 
Oo 
c 
.@) 
ch 
ck 
Hb 
“ oO 
Concerning grace levels of 
rs servec by VIEDS, Table 
2 shows 
thet nore then helt 
cf the 
cli 
were elementary teachers, 
only 
hish 
enc 14 percent were senior 
: 
} 
of junior high teachers 
ked in St. 
T! 
1 
percent of the 
ed et this 
lev 
15 percent 
in 
Fic. ~ 
+ 
Y 
1-7 
ées were served by 
Thomes Gevoted some 
while St. Croiz 
ere not lereé. 
ct 
WM 
ee} 
D- 
~ 
~ 
‘x 
the informetion recuest, 
we 
see 
information recuést forms filled 
nning/instruction end awareness 
se @ete cannot be compered with 
'78~ 
multiple coded for that year.) O? greater 
zevle difference between the two isiencs. 
its resources 
on curriculum devclopnent 
(35% and 40%), St. Thomes concentrrted 
lenning/instruction (45% anc 40%). 
And 
in the two lirking styles, with 
being more 
involved 
i 
providing informstion for eaistrict 
urriculum development 
while 5 
Thomes was more 
involvec 
in 
of awareness 
and 
.S€ 
activities of teachers. 
erence reflects 
involved with 
he revorted to 
of Curriculun 
ion who is loce 
St. Thomes the 
+o the VIED 
ect 
circect 
o in turn Teporied 
snecial 
. 
OtigW 
PP 
] 
7¢ note 
e major diffe . 
J 
oO 
ct 
+r 
, - rt 
Croix linker was 
ena 
a 3 
fo] 
S. i) 
*$ 
"cS 
ch 
ct 
WO) 
ct 
© 
ct ct - 
Fe 
as 
= 
linker was freer 
more restricted 
olurntary 
in 
¢1% 
respective 
her cesé, 
TABLE 4 
General Purpose 
of 
in Two Distri 
(1962-83) 
beckground/reading assistance) 
Bre nning/instruction 
rriculun development/revision 
gran/ project plenning 
wv 
a 
o> 
+ © 
ert ih thesis research 
ch or report 
develovnent 
* The linker 
in 
St. Thomes 
checked 
more 
than 
one purpose for her clien 
A final feature of VIEDS' clients deserves special attention: 
their 
Opinion lecdership. 
It hes long been known that certein indivicuels 
in an 
organization or community are more often sought out for informa- 
tion, opinions, 
advice, 
and 
so on, 
than other menbers 
Many of the 
individuals when we identified as "promising clients" in our earlicr 
Stucy were this type of person on the essumption thet, one, 
they 
would be more interested in receiving informetion, 
and two, they 
Woulc be more likely to shere it with others. 
Thus, 
in order to 
see if VIEDS' clients were more likel y than non-clients to be opinion 
leacers, 
we asked the following ouestion of both types of personnel: 
¢ you asked for your opinion or advice by 
personnel about 
en educetionel 
issue? 
2 4 
How oft 
ti 
educa 
en er 
onal 
Very often 
Fairly often 
Sometimes 
Rerely 
Table 5 shows the proportions of clients end non-clients who responded 
according to the above categories. 
And it is obvious 
thet the clients 
were much nore likely to respond "very often." 
This is a gratifying 
result, 
for it means thet the information will have an audience 
beyone the prinaz 
ery rr eile. end thet this audience will teke 
it seriously because of its 
source 
in an opinion leader. 
Indeed, 
if we add together the sitents who saic they were asked for 
advice very or fairly often, almost half (47%) have special influence 
Over their peers. 
This contrasts with only a third sags of the 
non-clients. 
Clearly, VIEDS hes directed its energies toward the 
more significant personnel 
in the system. 
is of further interest 
thet 
this involwcment of ops nion leaders 
not due to the concentretion on cistrict adninis 
tors in St. Croix, for 
both districts almost exectly the 
seme propertion “oF Clients said 
na% they were asked for advice very ree or fairly often. 
Clearly, 
not all administrators ere osinion “serene 
In fact, 
2 slightly 
higher percentese of clients 
in St. Thone ‘tnbtestes thet they 
were very often asked for edvice then in St. Croix (323 end 24%, 
respectively), 
despite 
the fact that St. Thomes had 13 vercent fewer 
Cistrict administrators or specizlists among its clientele. 
It would be a great mistake 
to assume, thereforsg that the only clients 
of VI=DS are those whom we 
heave as ribed on the besis of their 
ouectionnsire resnonses and 
ree 
rms. 
Indecd, when we asked, 
"Did you 
talk ebout the informetion 
or shere 
it with anyone (other then «he 
who Gelivered it) ?", 75 percent of VIEDS' clients replied 
effirmetive. 
when asked avproxinetely how tanv 
cnered 
it Nigh 
‘veTcge numter per client 
wes 7.5 versons. 
¢ Obviously, 
the totel 
rool of clients extends 
beyond 
the 
ary recipients of information. 
This wee confirmed 
when we esled 
rb 
S) c& 
Meigs 
13 
© 
= 
a LS 
a) 
‘3 7 
- 
“oct 
0 
2+ 
O eo 
s 
TABLE 5 
Proportions of Clients end Non-Clients 
Who Are Opinion Leaders 
(1982-83) 
How often asked 
Clients 
Non-clients 
for edvice: 
A 
Very often 
28% 
Te 
reirly often 
19 
Sonctimes 
33 
Rarely 
our so-celled non-clients 
in 1982-53: 
f 
To the best of your knowledge, 
hes eny inforr 
received this yeer been_supplied by our servi 
of linkers wae supplicda/ either directly 
or ind 
through someone not working for the oe 
3 
0 
fon 
4 © rn 
A third of thes 
directly, 
and a 
yet, 
none of the 
in 19€2-53. 
If 
that more then he 
individuels seid they hed received information 
fth 
seid they had received it indirectly. 
And 
individuals WaS listed as a client of the service 
mney generalize fron these data, 
then it appeers 
£ 
the versonnel in the Devertment 
of Tducetion 
f VIEDS' 
services, 
even though the number of 
s is only about 10 — of the Department's 
this projection 
is even 
-pproximately cor=- 
favorably on the efforts of just two linkers 
@ 
1) 
cr 
O 
professional shade 
I 
rect, 
it reflects 
t 
with limited pert- 
Yow let us see whether clients believed that 
the 
ave been receiving 
ere valuable. 
First, 
we sha 
gencral erttitudes, “end then turn to some specific 
f 
the service, 
including 
the activities of the linker 
44 
é 
. 
ent ah 
: 
Setisfec fFion With 
ave 2" 
= 
vs non-clients, 
enc 1978-79 
vs 
The same cuestions concerning setisfection with informetion and 
versoncl assistance were esked of a sample of ail educetional 
pcr- 
connel before VIEDS y of clients after one year of VIEDS, 
and in the rece 
survey 
of doth cliente 
and non-clierts. 
These cuestions were: 
68 
Information about educetionel prectices or idéas cones fron 
many sources, 
including 
journals, books, personnel 
in your 
School 
or Cistrici, workshons, curriculun guides, 
etc, 
@. 
During this school yeer, how adequate was the availability of 
Information 
Personel assistance 
(check one) 
(check one) 
Very adeouate 
Adequate 
Inadequate 
In general, 
how wo 
the usefulness of the informa- 
tion and personel 
assista 
heat you acouired in this school 
year? 
(SAKE CAT2GORIZS as ABOVE) 
worth noting 
the proportion of clients end non=clients 
recent school yeer who said thet they had "hed none 
this 
ly to. both of the ebove cuestions. 
With regerd to 
évelilaebility of infornation, 
none of the clients geve this response, 
combared with 12 percent of the non-clientss; 
and with regard to aveil= 
ability of assistance, 
4 nercent of the clients gave this response, 
Conberedc with 17 percent of the non=-clicnts. 
Clearly, non-clients 
were not 
as likely to reccive 
information 
or personal essistance 
es 
vhe clients of VIEDS, 
(See Table 
6.) 
to usefulness of infornmetion end Personal 
2 
nees between clients and non-clients 
Only 2 vercent of the clients said they had not received 
nformation, comvered with 19 percent of the non-clients 
reent of the clients said they hed not received any 
ance, compared with 23 vercent of the non-clients, 
ebsence of VIEDS, 
one might 
assume that about one- 
Devertment's personnel would be without useful informe- 
vance; while 
in the presence 
of VIEDS, 
this 
is alnost 
emonz clients. 
Table 
7 
caucs tional 
nme ycear, 
information 
TABLE 6 
Proportions of Clients and Non-Clients Who Did Not 
Receive Any Information or Assistance During 1982-83 
% received none 
Clients 
Non-clients 
Availability of 
informetion 
124 
(77) 
assistance 
17% 
(70) 
Usefulness of 
information 
194 
(73) 
23% 
(57) 
TABLE 7 
ion of Clients Before Project, 
One Year 
and Five Years Leter with Availability 
of Information and Assistznce 
Before project 
1978-79 
1982-83 
Clients 
Non- 
clients 
3% 
34% 
504 
22% 
(205) 
(139) 
(68) 
Very edecuate 
ou 
(725) 
Availability—of-essistance 
Very adequate 
43% 
554 
26% 
(185) 
(119) 
(58) 
Clients 
Thomes 
St. Croiz 
Availability of information 
16=79 
82-33 
ability 
oF information 
‘ 
anmm 
OS 
- 
_— 
=~ bw Ve 
4 
Very adecuate 
&veilability of Assistance 
Very adeousate 
* Not asked 
in survey 
before project. 
69 
It is noteworthy, however, 
that even non-clients in 1982-83 were 
more highly satisfied with availability of information than were 
personnel before the project wes implemented. 
Closer inspection 
of our dete reveel that this is mainly cue to the responses of 
those non-clients in 1982-83 who hed formerly been clients. 
These 
forner clients were 
a good deal nore likely to say that availability 
of information had been "very adequate" than were persons who had 
never been clients. 
This result suggests that former clients had 
@eveloped 
2a capacity for knowledge utilizetion 
es a result of their 
involvement with VIEDS that endured beyond thet initiel involvement. 
And indeed, 
a lerger proportion of forner clients than of 
never clients (25% vs 5%) reported in enother part of our cuest— 
jonneire thet they hed received inform-tion fron VIEDS incirectly 
in the current year. 
In sum, 
the large minority of non-clients 
who were highly satisfied with eveilability of information owed 
theiz setisfaction to VIEDS despite their not being direct recipients 
of the service in 1982-83. 
eilebility of personal 
improvement occurred 
ear of the project 43 
s "very adecucte," 
an 
The improvement 
trong as 
in th 
of information 
per sé. 
However, 
thase figures mask a major aifference between the two 
@istricts. 
In St. Croix, favorable 
judgments of assistance 
slightly 
declined, while in St. Thomas there was @ marked incrcese. 
All of 
tue date referred to can be found in Table 7. 
And here we confront 
once again the difference 
in linker styles between the tio ‘islands. (Clie 
‘persons who were essisting the full-time linker in St. Thomas 
are 
1 
© 
fe 
ct 
we 
ct 
O 
mo 
e#u< 
oo 
HyHect# 
HOM 
renoved fron this comparison between islends 
so that the two experienced 
linkers may be comperec more sharply.) 
4s can be seen, 
64 percent in 
St. Thomas 
felt thet aveilebility of essistance was "very adequate" 
compared with 41 percent in St. Croix in 1982-83. 
One linker increased 
her availability 
to e pronounced degree while the other decreased it 
slightly. 
+] 
When we turn to 
ie find a similar 
hown in Table 6. 
ance declined 
in St. 
betzicen the first 
of information remain 
re 
this cucstione 
ad 
ic 
- 
ww 
b] 
’ 
Ss 
of 
home 
1 
a 
Vv 
Ss 
Ss 
u 
7ere not 
cignifi 
tly 
more 
satisfied with uscfulness 
re the project commen 
attentior. 
Z 
& 
he 
TABLE 8 
tion of Cli 
and Five Ye 
of Informe 
Userulness 
Very edecuare 
s of qnformavion 
Usefulnes 
fery edequeve 
ent 
2 
o- 
+ion and Bssiste! 
One Year 
Useruliness 
Ace 
s Before Project, 
rs Lever witn 
Responses 
+o another ocuestion reveal 
a much ar 
of usefulness over the past few years. 
Client 
aatrnart 
eSsxreas 
eater trend in fevor 
How about the practicel value of the information as a 
whole (ebstrects, erticles, packages, microfiche, etc.)? 
Very useful 
Noderetely useful 
Only slightly useful 
Not useful 
ss 
rirst year of the project, 
44 percent said that it Was "very 
useful," 
but e few years 
lever 64 percent gave the same response, 
Here once 
easzein we detect 
2a narked improvement in the service. 
Further, virtually the seme level of improvement occurred in both 
districts. 
One finel, overell ouestion that bears on personel assis 
to be discussed. 
Clients and non-clients 
in 1982-83 we 
whether they desired more help with implementation: 
tence remains 
re esked 
In general, 
do you feel that you need more personal help 
in implementing 
new ideas or practices 
in your work, 
less 
help, 
or about 
the sene 
amount of help es you have been 
receiving? 
Nore help 
Less help 
the responses 
to this ouestion among 
ile more 
than half of the non-clients 
re help with implementation, 
only a third of VIEDS' 
this response. 
About three-fourths of the latter felt 
+ assistence should remein about the same. 
These dave ettest to 
contribution that V1EDS' personnel have made 
to the actuel 
in- 
entetion of new practices and ideas in addition to the provision 
(The same negnitude of difference between clients 
nts occurred on both islands.) 
m 
ead 
Te have seen tha 
Ss 
DS are nuch nore 
end practices 
received by 
es thet received by clients, 
the superi 
ty of a notional 
dete 
bank wita 
capacity 
over conventicna. 
sir.cce VIHDS' 
clients were 
it is obviouc 
And 
; 
in 197&79 end 1982-63 were 
TABLE 9 
Proportion of Clients end Non-cli 
in 1982-83 
They Needed More Help, 
Less 
He 
or the Same 
Help with Implen 
help 
heln 
anount 
not a hit and run experience for clients. 
Apparently, 
their own 
capecity for information use independently of direct involvement 
with linkers has been enhancec. 
And the greater involvement of 
opinion leaders anong VIEDS' clients suggests thet information 
and assistence will rediete throughout the system. 
That this is 
indeed taking plece is indicated by the large nunber of secondery 
recipients reported to us by the primary clients of VIEDS. 
If these generalizations ere relieble, 
then we should find that 
both clients and non-clients of VIEDS would welcome the opportunity 
for continued assistence from the project. 
Ané this is indeed the 
case, 
es signified by the responses 
to the following cuection: 
Youle you like to be contected by us in the near futur 
for essistance 
in ecouiring information on 
a4 perticuler 
or problem related to your work? 
d 78 percent of the non- 
} 
» 
Since this 
question bears 
E 
desire 
to receive 
information on 
a concrete, 
it is probably more reflective 
of ea genuine need 
tome of the broader questions 
referred to earlic 
evident that more than three 
Cuerters 
; 
+o aveil themselves of 
VIEDS' 
services 
° 
+ 
Vv 
I 
Ld 
h 
service 
Turnaround time. 
Owing to the isolation of 
Virgin Islands and 
the sluggishness of the postal system, 
ea cri jcel cuestion is th 
anount of time thet is recuired 
to obtain resources from the st 
As mentioned eerlicer, 
the linker in St. Thomes hes set ud her ow 
benk comprising previous SMERC snforcetion, 
and in the past 
10 
j 
mede extensive use of this localized source. 
% 
isfaction with 
turnaround time 
ye 
Thet this wes 
indeed 
the 
he following cucstion: 
ies) 
4 
wom 
° 
IV 
— 
to your needc, 
was 
whe enount of time 
it took 
the information: 
Too lonz 
Sooncr 
19 nercent said 
reecived 
int 
27 vercent 
Zeve 
Yornetion from our local dete bank, 
67 percent 
so responded. 
, there 
is greater satisfaction then previously, 
end especielly 
locel resource files were utilized. 
In terms of actual time spent in retrieving informetion, 
clients 
who were served by the stateside egency waited 5.4 weeks on averase, while 
those who were served by locel files waited only a feu days. 
It is 
not surprising that 
the latter would feel thet the informstion was 
provided "soone> 
n expected," therefore. 
Later 
we shell see if 
+his metho? of retrieval wes more 
orf less likely to heve impact 
then relience on 
2 
ide cgency, 
and more 
or less likely 
to 
be favorably eveluate 
j 
content. 
Before lecving the matter of turnaround time, 
it is informative 
+o 
note that almost all reouests for infornetion were clessified as 
"somevwhet" 
urgent (es opposed to "very" 
or "not" urgent) 
on the 
information reauest forms. 
Thus, clients are gencrally perceived as 
needing inZormetion in as short 
ea time es possible -- although this 
notetional 
it 
might also be due to the linkers! 
"not urgent" 
vest would be ignored by the retrieve 
fa) 
ps 
~ 
informetion. 
Since clients 
urnaroune time, other aspects 
of the service concerns 
t 
f. 
The clients were esk 
ion supplied to them wit 
4 
o 
LESS g 
furtier 
eese 
of implementation in their setting. 
JUG 
Table 10 shows 
the proportion of clien 
dearce or 
from one per 
seebility wi 
1@) 
é 
u 
c 
h * 
e 
~ 
rN 
U 
yy 
resources. 
Ss 
Autonomous useability mede an 
moving, 
mn next to lest7Senk order to next 
to first; 
—_—_—— 
_—_—_— 
* 
. 
*. 
—e 
es 
- 
occurred 
in 
; 
3 
both linkers. 
(Relevance improved 
on 
TESNCCY 
o1ilx 
This improv 
becane 
nm 
j 
~ 
Ss -TOTMENCGe 
The client S 
the 
linkers according to four 
the 
moblemn oF necd, helpfulness 
tion, 
helprulnes: 
in 
l. 
Table 
11 chovs 
tnc 
rable 
4 nignly 
£2 
1982- 
. 
« 
é 
= 
-4 
or Trecv 
need 
s vary owing 
reread each 
percentese 
ho ens’ 
ndents W 
eech of two periods who rated the linkers "excellent" 
on a five 
point scele ranging from "excellent" 
to "poor," 
the proportion who 
gave other retings, 
and the proportion who seid that this aspect 
of the linkers' 
role "did not occur." 
The only notable difference 
between the two veriods is thet a smeller proportion seid that 
helping use the informetion did not occur and e larger proportion 
reted the linkersexcellernt 
on this dimension. 
Thus, 
it appears 
that 
helping the client to implement a new practice or idea Was 
a more 
prominent feature of the linkers! 
role in the mote recent period. 
But this change applies 
to only e single linker — 
the linker in 
St. 
Thomas, whose "did not occur" 
reting dropped from 30 nercent 
in 1978-79 to 2 percent in 1982-63. 
Ratings of the other linker 
actually noved in the opposite direction: 
from 37 percent saying 
thet help in using information did not occur in 1978-79 
to 44 percent 
in this fashion in 1982-63. 
Once ezain, therefore, we 
ivergence 
in the styles of the two linkers. 
This finding 
tent With our cerlier observation that favorable 
judgments 
nce ee declined 
in Ste Croix, while the St. Thomas 
higher level of enoroval than before. 
These co 
1 
j 
wo islands may be due to the 
reduced 
+73 
ani 
Croix linker together with her 
tendency 
to 
focus 
Sree e weyeer who were involved 
in writing 
hi 
ocu 
f 
2 
n would reduce 
the need 
z 
j 
the 
tinker's 
And indeed, 
ercent 
j 
ase in positive 
oe With respect 
¢ 
mation or help." 
Furt — vhen asked abou 
for tg 
eit 
the same amount 
With implementation, 
es nany es 18 pb 
the Crucien 
séid less help compared with only > percen 
the St. 
j 
In short, 
the amount 
of help 
1¢ linkers 
strict seems 
to have becn an accomocetion to their 
Which 
in turn, 
of course, Was influcnced by 
own decisions about which elients she wished to serve. 
h 
D 
pronounced, 
di 
:S 
occur vetween the 
to "helpt Zulnes 
i 
tervretins 
the materials 
wher, needed." 
The 
much ie shey nercernia2e 
of "did 
not occur" 
Thomian linker 
14 
especicily with regard 
Twentyenine percent of the Crucian clients 
in 
het availabil ay 
"Cid 
no 
cour," 
moered 
vith only 
Ste Tnomian clien 
Ana 
Hct 
ty 
mM 
Clients! Evaluations 
of Various Feetures 
of th 
Linker's Role in 197879 end 1982-83 
1978-79 
1962-83 
Initiel understanding of your 
problen or need 
Excellent 
67% 
Other response 
31 
Did not occur 
2 
100%0 
(117) 
Aveilebility when needed 
Dxcellent 
4 
56% 
Other response 
35 
Did not occur 
9 
1004 
(110) 
in interpreting the 
or information received 
A 
Excellent 
j 
47% 
Other response 
33 
Did not occur 
5 
20 
Trae 
Rar 
; 
:, 
> 
; 
(106) 
in using the information 
Excellent 
437% 
Other response 
34 
37 
Did not occur 
36 
20 
TAA 
AAA 
10073 
100% 
(198) 
(97) 
* Beses of percents vary because 
of variations 
in replies. 
*¥* 
Less 
than 1%. 
Vi 
one linker moved in the direction of being more eveilebie for _- 
helv with implementation, 
while the other moved in exactly the 
opposite direction. 
It should be noted, however, 
thet when the Crucien linker did 
offer these services, 
she was rated as highly as the St. Thomian 
linker, with one exception: 
"initial understanding of your 
problem or need." 
While 85 percent of the Sv. Tnomien clients 
reted the linker excellent on this dimension, 
5& percent of 
+he Crucien clicnts gave their linker this rating. 
Further, 
this avprovel rave increased over time for the Sv. Thomien linker 
but 
decreased for the Crucian linker. 
And this shift is confirmed 
by 
dete on the exzent to which the linkers reported they assisted 
cli 
in developing the statement of the problem or need 
indi 
3 
the Information Request Form). 
As shown in Table 
51 percent of the clients 
.in St; Thomas were helped "extensively," 
while none of the clients 
in St. Croix received this emount of help. 
This noteble difference 
is a function of different types of clients 
as well es different role definitions 
in the ‘wo districts, 
es 
mentioned earlier. 
However, 
the lower rating for the Crucien 
linker elso suggests thet clients in tiet district were 
not as 
well served with regard to the linkers' understanding of the 
problem es in St. Thomas. 
And lower ratings on the eveilability 
1d usefulness 
of personel assistance 
in St. Croix, referred to 
point 
to the same conclusion. 
Thus, while there 
is sone 
2 
being less proactive 
in Sv. Croix, 
there 
is 
need for a more active disseminetion presence 
than 
0 
e 
J 
D 
the 
me 
story 
can be told with respect 
+o another ouestions 
Did this person help you in any 
other wey (e.g6, put you 
in touch ith other personnel, 
sisted with 
e meting, 
Yes 
ho 
Don't recall 
How would you rate their 
respect? (Check one) 
Excellent 
TABLE 12 
& 
Amount of Help Given by Linker to Client in 
Developing 
the 
Statement of the Problem or Need 
in 
Two Districts, 1978-79 and 1982-83 
S 
St. Thonas 
St. Croix 
1978-79 
1982-83 | 1973-79 
1982-83 
To whet extent did you (linker) 
assist 
the client 
in developing 
© 
the statement 
of the moblen 
or need? 
Not at ell 
11% 
1% 
2% 
— 
Limited 
52 
14 
1) 
2 
Moderately 
@3 
3 
87 
96 
Extensively 
14 
51 
-- 
-— 
« 
100% 
100 
” 
* 
m 
TABLE 13 
Proportion of Clients Who Seid that Linker Helped 
in Other Ways 
in Two Districts, 
in 
Y 
end Clients! 
Evaluations 
Helved in other way? 
projects ere 
not fulfilling only dissemination functions. When 
full-time linkers ere eble to become involved in the deily 
professionel ectivities 
of their clients, 
2 unicuely integrative 
role emerges 
that reaches far beyond the standard definition. 
of 
dissemination. 
And because 
the linker is not ine superordinete 
subordinste relationship with educetionel personnel, 
as in the ces 
of edministrators,:”. 
supervisors, 
and official coordinators, 
he 
or she is eble to gain the voluntary commitment of personnel 
to 
follow-through on activities which they themselves have defined as 
urgente 
The different levels 
of performance 
“ween the two linkers reminds 
us of @ conclusion thet we reached 
in our earlier study. 
There we compered 
the verformance of tivo 
full-time 
linkers with 
a part-time one. 
We concluded: 
ace 
Vay 
a 
tance, 
e cese of the part-timer. 
« 
« 
+ 
We 
1 ectivities of linkers were 
. 
. 
These results give persuasiv 
the benefits 
to be derived from full-time linke 
only do part-tiners 
spend less tine on disseminetio 
functions, 
but these functions 
ere subordinated 
obligetions. 
The dissemination role. 
does 
2 distinct end vitel espect of educational 
consecuently clients 
#re not es well served 
otherwise bee 
(p. 16, Knowledge for What? 
us 
turn to anoth 
asa} 
5 
oriiche 
cares 
ena 
How the information 
is used 
The specific uses of the 
by a check-list 
end by e@ 
answer cuestion that asked the 
clients to devaribe their 
n detail. 
First 
st we shall look at 
the responses 
to the chec 
The ouestionvas 
es follovs: 
Pleese indicate the responses below that moct accuretely 
describe 
the degree to which you have actually been 
able 
to use 
the informetion or meterials thet you 
received (please check 21] items thet epply). 
The resvonses of the clients 
in 1978-79 
end 1982-83 are presented 
in Teble 
UU. 
The rank order of 
main excertion 
rr tO us 
ntaze then formerly 
eve not been able to 
of these shifts in 
while only 14 percent 
ion paper in 1978-79, 
— 
_#rOpO: tion who 
poed — 47 percent 
underscore 
the 
roix over 
the severe 
f recpronse 
their own, 
ch# 
ct 
O 
W 
fornetion comer 
[OPN 
5 
= 
Us 
TABLE 14 
Specific Uses of the Information Reported by 
Clients in 1978-79 and 1982-83 
The information helped me tO keep awere of gevelonnents 
and activities in education 
Yes eble to provide the information to others who 
needed it 
The informetion 
work or hy 
Have been able to use 
to improve existing 
Have been able to use 
an existing plen for improving 
Have been eble to use 
j 
-t40on to meke minor im 
yrovenent in 2@ pro2 
sen able to Use 
. 
Ge ns or precvice 
tion helped me 
soca f 
~sh\ 
position peper or other pe 
practice 
in the futur 
34 percent seid they 
h 
$4 
to meke a "minor improvement" 
in en actuel prosren 
‘atice. 
and 6 percent said a "mejor 
improvement." 
(Four 
24a 
both e mejor end minor improve- 
ment.) 
And 12 percent said 
information hac helped tham to 
initiate e new program or pr 
j 
Over ell, 42 percent of the 
clients aeve et leest one of 
three responses indicating 
on ectuel chanze in e practice 
0 
proareme 
(The level of this 
type of response wes the sane in both districts.) 
If we add 
to these individuels those who used the information for some 
tyve oF planning, then it is clear thet the greet mejority 
of clients made some use of the information. 
This does not mean thet the level of ectuel use could not be 
reised; 
and the frequency with which clients (and non-clients 
as well) expressed @ desire for more help witn implementation 
(gee our earlier discussion) shows thet there is much room 
for improvement 
in this respect, 
end much desire 
on the part 
of educetioneal persomnel 
to engese in such improvement. 
to gein e realistic picture of how information is 
erence 
to actuel cases, however 
The following 
our free enswer ouestion give flesh 
to our stetistics. 
c+ 
OM 
ty ‘ye 
OF 
Octo 
=} 
O 
ct 
O 
c 
able to use the snformetion in any Wey, 
please 
es much detzil 
eas possible the actuel use 
informetion or assistance. 
The materiel wes used to develop 
@ perent attitude ouest— 
the 14+h annual Gallup poll and to give 
cite related literature 
in an 
sn beginning 
implement chanzes 
in our 
\ 
aft 
~~ y 
a 
+he 
irtormr 
ior. 
Develovment and implementation of 
program wes made possible via use 
Info medeée eveileble 
to teacher doing re 
Info used in Alt. Ed. Resource Center an 
to all community program serving youths. 
Assisted me in formuleting strategies for en alternative 
education proposal. 
a to decide velue 
of 
tests 
to be used in V.I. 
for 
4 
students. 
(Hopefully 
Recommendetions 
on Svecial Ed. servic 
° 
" 
rights of parents 
Treatment of behevior problems 
Understanding of drug treatnen 
Explanetion of test validity 
+t 
support 
this individua 
jon on technicues 
to alleviete 
students! 
We changed the scheduling of cl 
This: endbied us 
+ 
| 
more time for the 
not really able to use 
this 
partici 
item in ny 
» but became more eware of 
ate 
of work. 
more of a personel benefit 
then anything else. 
end other 
al 
used 
it to vrepare myself 
"Harijuana and Drug Abuse. 
me compere 
our world history course 
and whet 
to some 
on contemporery issues 
and erea studies. 
me en idez of how to 20 ebourt teeching 
the U.i 
& search of rescerch 
li 
@2 nroposel. 
The local 
Gxeanmine 
a br 
sclect out the nor 
{tens 
clas 
the various 
course work, 
© 
4iony, kecpl} 
These sag Ce jllumins ve 
of us 
inclucins — ee 
of 
atisting a prog 6 
Tegitine 
the information for otherse 
hs now seq earlicrs 
many more persons 
covered in our surveys 
Tt is ympossible at 
many O- +hese seconcery clients 
used it in some 
event, 
i% is cieer that the effects OF impac 
shan we are 
te 
extended +o nany more snaiviauels 
esinning of 
conprieing 
, previously 
ave sileble 6 ae cenation hes been 
About 
the agen 
a 
Shae locé 
dev ermine W 
4 
al of 
44 becomes 
s menner were et 
Eas, 
likely 
+ 
the re* spievel eazency in 
is les¢ expensivs3 
thus, 
would make this practice Th 
a 
* 
es 
- 
son conceTns 
“peble 15 shows 
fovore 
ct 
= 
luatec 
ce 
ct 2) 
u 
om 
vere nore 
er dirferencess 
le *ho replied to 
received inf 
pres 
ot 
able v0 ide? 
in our check sao 
sroon 
ng, aware, 
practices 
end providing 
ormetion than were 
+o sey hov 
fashion. 
In any 
the service 
atify- 
ent 
the informe= 
served ty 
ase vat 
a") the clients 
fi ed wit rh 
size of 
MS 
ere 
the informe= 
ct 
ct m 
1-4) 
Ih 
We 
ss 
ry 
TABLE 15 
' Dvaluations of Information, According 
to Whe 
They Were Served Locally or Through SIERC 
4 highly favoreble 
* 
Served 
‘Through 
locally 
SIERC 
Eesily understood, 
no difficulty 
with lenguage or ideas 
94% (16) 
75% 
Very comprehensive in coverege 
573% (16) 
524 
Highly relevent to my need or request 
62% (16) 
51% 
Provided guidance for implementa- 
tion or use 
57% (16) 
Would be easy 
to inplement or use 
in my school or agency 
44% (16) 
Could be used or evplied without 
) 
. 
. 
. 
‘ 
“f 
edditionel infornetion or help 
56% (16) 
. Very new to ne, quite enlightening 
19% (16) 
* Checked 
on 
ae scele l-7. 
TABLE 16 
t Sveluation of Usefulness 
end Specific 
, According 
to Whether They Were Served 
Locally or Through SlZRC 
Served 
locally 
velue of inforre- 
"very useful" 
Reaerding specific 
uces: 
Not been able 
to use 
it 
Read it only 
Apperenily, 
the mein benefits of locel retrieval are econony 
and speedier service. 
(The latter benefit was reierred to earlier 
in the discussion of clients! 
satisfaction with turneround tine.) 
These ere not minor benefits. 
Thus, 
the project should try to 
exvand this service. 
Concluding Remerks 
In the estimetion of its clientele, VIEDS ! 
own remarkable 
improvement over the five yeers of its one 
Annuelly nore 
then half of ell educational personnel bene 
om its services, 
either directly or indirectly (that is, as 
# eepetenry 
clients). 
And the great majority of clients 
ne 
ectual 
use of the meteriels that they receive. 
the linkers 
provide a variety of services beyond the nere e disp ensetion of 
information, 
and their former clients seem to have increased 
their cavecity for knowledge utilization on their own. 
The 
only troblem seems 
to sr a, reduction of service (at least with 
respect to versonal assistance) 
in St. Croix. 
Since Crucian 
clients 
sre 
es desirous of edditional help with implementation 
t. Thomien. clients, 
this reduction means 
thet clients' needs in 
that Porat (ng are not being fully 
met. 
The different styles of the two linkers suggests 
a divergence between 
focussing on planning end administration, 
on the one hand, end 
dey to day classroom practices, 
on the other 
The letter style 
is more comvrehensive and flexible 
in the services offered, With. 
eouel attention to awareness raising, 
problem clarification, 
information provision, 
end help with implementation at all levels 
concerning dey to dey prectice. 
The former concentrates on serving 
the self-defined, 
long range needs of higher level personnel. 
who 
reouire fewer services from the linker. 
Neither style is superior 
to the other under all circumstences, 
of course; 
end yet it is 
vossible thet individuel linkers tend to specielize 
in one or the 
other. 
Zor convenience, 
the two styles may be referred to as idioaranp 
end nomothetic. 
Soest arc dictated by temperament, 
occupational 
backaround, 
or 
si 
oneal constraints 
(or a combination thereof), 
the non lovheticn jdeocrevhic dinension 
is one 
thet hes not received 
fe} 
the literature. 
4 tendency of linkers 
+ 
assune one 
or 
the other style was 
zlluded 
to 
in the study of 
the 
State 
Sveluation Pr o ject (The jss 
Educetionel Hnowledze, 
972), but its significance 
linkers! 
roles 
al 
j 
ent, UCHA, 
19773 Louis, 
So sg 
tor nnalysic 
an 
, 
ef" 
what 
fe YN 
—— 
I0 
the other dimensions described 
in the 
literature, 
s 
internal vs external, gensralist vs specialist, 
technical as 
5 
informetion provider, 
high vs low intensity, 
there might be some association 
between the idiogrephic-nomo thetic 
dimension and some of the 
others. 
In fact, 
the selection of a style according to these 
other dimensions might hinge to some extent on one's idiogravhic- 
nomotaetic 
tendencies. 
The hypothesis seems worth pursuing in 
future research 
on linkers. 
APPENDIX 
Client and Non-client Questionnaires 
nlormation about educational practices or ideas come 
books, personnel in your school or district. workshops, 
a 
During this schoo] year (1982 
- 83 
Informatio; 
alormation 
Very adequate 
Adequute 
Inadequate 
Very inadequate 
Had none this vear 
___ 
In general, how would you rate the use 
that you acquired in this schoo! year? 
Informution 
ae 
ION 
(check one) 
Ven 
d¢ 
Adequate 
Inadequate 
Very inadequate 
Had none lust yeur 
Vou 
* 
INFOrmation 
that 
was 
m 
UOnnuire? 
Pee 
I 
IF NO 
Do not 
fill out 
the remainder 
of t 
‘ 
enclosed envelope 
his Questionn 
Thank you very much 
Ws in 
Sted primarily f 
formation reque 
Or VOur use or for 
IF FOR SOME INE ELSE’S USE: For whom was 
Name 
School or Off} 
(Thank vou 
envelope 
) 
Do not 
fill out the rest o I this questionnair 
eee 
a 
—__— 
Wus the umou 
— —. A reusonuble 
length 
of time 
vO acquired the information 
for y 
r the person's name) 
f » 4 iS | lent 
(check one) 
fulness of the 
Own 
use ___ 
Nt of time that it toe 
s from many sources. including journals, 
Curriculum guides, etc. 
), how adequate was the availability of 
} 
Personal assistance 
aS 
itd! assistance 
(check one) 
information and personal assistance 
Personal assistance 
ee 
IEE 
(check One) 
recall 
receiving 
ns 
this 
entioned 
Hirst 
pape 
of 
uire, 
bul pl fCdse 
return 
it to us 
someone else's use? 
Someone else's 
| 
it requested? 
Ver) 
Ace 
e, but please send it to us in th 
a 
i 
eS 
enclosed 
— 
. 
a 
es 
| 
K tO receive the Information 
lirst 
] 
} 
OU ON 
The 
fo] 
low INg lems 
(see 
Don't 
recall 
IDid not 
OCCUT 
If you received microfiche (micro-printed film in card form), did you have access to a machine 
for reading it? 
Yes 
— 
Did not receive microfiche 
IF YES; 
Did you actually read any of it? 
Yes 
How about the practical value of the information 
as a whole 
(abstracts, 
urticles, 
puckuges, 
microfiche. etc.)? 
(Check One) 
—_—_ Very Usetul 
aie 
Moderately useful 
Only 
shiehtly usetul 
Not useful 
Please indicate 
the 
responses 
below 
that most accurately 
deseribe 
th 
"UT 
lich you have 
actually 
been able 
e 
the information 
or materials that 
ved 
louse 
check 
ull items 
that apply.) 
Have nol been 
aul He 
Have been able to read it, but hay 
__ Have been able to use 
the information 
to write 
be used In practice in the tuture 
es Huve 
been 
uble 
to 
use 
the 
pructices 
Have 
been 
uble 
to 
procrums 
— 
Huve been ul 
mMformulol 
vus underwut 
NON-CLIENT QUESTIONNATRE 
VIRGIN ISLANDS EDUCATIONAL DISSEMINATION SYSTEM 
Department of Education 
Department of Education 
Box 6640 
Box “I” 
St. Thomas 
Christiansted, St. Croix 
U.S. Virgin Islands 00801 
U.S. Virgin Islands 00820 
(809) 774-4319 or 774-8315 
(809) 773-6495 or 773-1095 
De ar 
ee 
Ee 
- 
- 
S 
Would vou please 
helt 
w 
2 
Information about educational practices or ideas comes from many sources, including journals, 
books, personnel in your school or district, workshops, curriculum guides, etc. 
a. 
During this school year (1982-83), how adequate was the availability of 
Personal 
Information 
Assistance 
(check one) 
(check one) 
Very adequate 
Adequate 
= 
—. 
Inadequate 
Very inadequate 
Had none this year 
b. 
In general, how would you rate the usefulness of the information and personal assistance 
that you acquired in this school year? 
Personal 
Information 
Assistance 
(check .one) 
(check one) 
.Very adequate 
Adequate 
|Inadequate 
Very inadequate 
Had none this year 
a: 
in 
general, do you feel that you need more personal help in implementing new 
ideas or practices 
m@ 
in your work, less help, or 
about the same amount of help as you have been receiving? 
Viore help 
Less help 
About the same 
a 
c 
T a 
cm 
tam 
oe 
, 
{ 
on amis ind 
on 
2. 
pienlice 
~ 
e 
ssmniia 
3 
'O 
the best of your knowledge, has any information you 
received this 
year been supplied by our 
eamnre 
[Rawuariss 
Alias 
i 
Be 
cs 
es 
‘ 
; 
sith 
diror?e! 
Andirorely 
rT 
service (Beverly Nieves, St. Thomas; 
Patricia 
Murphy, St. Croix) 
either directly or indirectly through 
‘ 
—— — + 
—_ 
ee 
~ 
someone 
not 
\ 
g for 
the service 
Yes, 
direc 
Yes 
Cirectly 
Br 
_ 
sure 
A 
co 
- 
ALD 
~ 
or 
tira 
tAr 
~ 
~ 
~ 
Am 
4 
4 
WV 
O 
you like to be contacted 
by us in the 
2 
ture 
TO 
} 
2nNonN 
a 
~ 
ir 
~~» 
Aris 
rr 
~ 
el- 
ar 
vie 
. 
? 
particular 
topic or problem related to 
your 
work 
Yes 
a 
f 
Bie ss 
oo 
y 
i] 
u 
YUL 
? 
(P 
check 
or 
+; 
Fairly 
often 
c 
¢ 
f 
fc 
Our cooperatio 
If you have any questions 
or further comment 
may 
Cail 
S$ at: 
774-8315 
o8 
96 
"EMD OF DOCUMENT