This paper briefly describes two projects--one in the United States, one in England--that studied professional learning communities (PLCs). Part I of the paper describes the two projects. The American project is called the Creating Communities of Continuous Inquiry and Improvement project. The purpose of this study was to document and examine…

Across the world countries are advocating the education of children and young people with disabilities in mainstream schools. There is also increasing interest in developing effective coordination of the specialist services pupils with disabilities receive from different agencies. This is accompanied by growing recognition that such care…

This document sets out the Higher Education Funding Council for England's (HEFCE) policy in responding to the emerging regional agenda in England and in encouraging collaboration between higher education providers in each region. The HEFCE has focused on building regional partnerships since the creation of the Regional Development Agencies in…

This report, the third annual report on the Restructuring and Collaboration Fund (R&CF) of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, summarizes the progress and projects being funded through the R&CF that had been approved before the end of December 2000. Section 1 is a summary table listing all projects and grant allocations…

Discusses postplacement adoption service contracts between East Sussex Social Services and the Post-Adoption Centre (PAC). Describes how PAC originally provided subscription services to local authorities, but when limitations of the subscription service were recognized, a collaborative service with more local authority was developed. (AJH)

Evaluated how British health and local authorities integrated mental health services into general health and social services. Stakeholder interviews and surveys showed that the recurrent theme of culture meant different things to different people. Shared culture was widely believed to lead to seamless service and collaboration, but low staff…

Developed and tested key indicators for collaboration between health and social services in mental health. Surveys of stakeholders indicated that collaboration was most effective when there was an agreed-upon strategy. Barriers to collaboration included differences in funding, accountability, governmental guidance, and the status and control of…

The Covenant between the Church of England and British Methodism now in place looks forward to a closer relationship between the two churches. An empirical study, carried out in the late spring of 2003, indicates differences in patterns of belief among the working clergy and ministers of both churches which might help or hinder further moves…

The reform of curriculum and assessment in the 14-19 age range in England seeks to address the failure of schools to engage substantial cohorts of pupils, as measured by truancy rates, disruption of lessons and GCSE pass rates. The new statutory orders for Science are motivated in part by similar concerns. Four schools, already in partnership for…

This paper examines the impact of the (British) National Curriculum on classroom practices and range of curriculum in small rural elementary schools with varying involvement in school clusters. Small schools (fewer than 100 students) cost more per student and have been under threat for several decades in England as a "rural deficiency…

The main theme of this year's annual conference of the University, College and Research Section was co-operation. The paper given at this conference by Dr. F.W. Ratcliffe is discussed at some length. (NH)

Describes a collaborative piece of theatre made by members of Headway, a charity working with head-injured people, and students and staff at Parkside Community College, an 11-16 school in Cambridge, England. Considers how the piece employs multimodal forms of expression and representational resources to challenge the invisibility of disability,…

The article is based on a review, commissioned by the East Midlands Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (EMMLAC), of the East Midlands Museums Service (EMMS) Regional Emergencies and Disaster Squad (REDS). Research methods used included: literature and Internet review, review of REDS documentation, interviews with REDS personnel, questionnaire…

Growing concerns about the experience and achievement of Black pupils (especially Black males) underpin calls for more Black people to serve as teacher and lay mentor role models in schools. Calls for increased numbers of Black teacher role models assume firstly, that Black teachers regard themselves as role models and want to perform such a role…

Describes a program for professional improvement in which head, senior, and junior staff of primary schools cooperate in the production of a school development plan. (RH)