When created and operated appropriately, school-site councils can be a very useful component of school renewal. Councils are difficult to create, since members must shift roles, compromise strongly held beliefs, and invest considerable time, energy, and know-how. Advantages of group decision making are bringing diverse experience and expertise to…

This digest is concerned with the need to develop standards and infrastructure for improving the employment, placement, preparation, and supervision of paraeducators in inclusive general and special education classrooms, Title I, multilingual/English as a Second Language, and early childhood programs. It discusses teacher responsibilities for…

This digest, based on a larger report of the same title, summarizes principles for improving quality in higher education institutions. Emphasis is on the effect of the principles when they are used holistically to create a culture of academic excellence. The quality principles are based on the conceptual framework of total quality management (TQM)…

Part of a volume which explores current issues in service delivery to infants and toddlers (ages birth to 3) with handicapping conditions, this chapter provides an overview of the relationships among screening, assessment, and curriculum in programming for this population, with attention to the potential impact of Public Law 99-457 and the…

Cooperative learning is gaining the attention of vocational educators who must prepare students for employment in a workplace increasingly focused on teamwork. It is a model that provides opportunities for students to explore concepts and develop interpersonal skills that enhance their learning. Research shows that cooperative learning promotes…

This Digest reviews some ideas and suggestions about parental involvement in middle school education, focusing on the language arts. The Digest reviews the research on how to increase parental involvement in middle schools and presents several programs already in use at various middle schools. The diverse programs outlined in the Digest feature…

Part of a volume which explores current issues in service delivery to infants and toddlers (ages birth to 3) with handicapping conditions, this chapter defines the team concept as it relates to the field of early intervention and describes three approaches (multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary) commonly used to organize…

This Digest summarizes requirements for individualized education programs (IEPs) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as amended in 1997. In addition to specific information the IEP must contain, it notes that the amendments require IEP teams to consider the child's strengths, the parents' concerns, and the results of the…

A growing number of educators are focusing their efforts on improving the work environment of teaching. In place of the typical school's norms and practices that isolate teachers from one another, collaborative schools have norms that encourage teachers and principals to cooperate for school improvement. Such schools are characterized by frequent…

This report provides a comprehensive review of quality principles in higher education and proposes that, when used holistically and systematically, the quality principles, also known as total quality management and continuous quality improvement, can create a culture for academic excellence. After an introduction, the first section explains the…

Although the existence of small Catholic elementary schools (enrollment: 300 or less) is precarious, these institutions enable students to succeed academically beyond national norms, due to the special learning environment that they provide. The recent Small Schools Survey of Catholic elementary schools indicated that classes in small Catholic…

Twelve author-contributed papers address current issues in service delivery to infants and toddlers (birth to age 3) with handicapping conditions. Issues focus on the legislative mandate of Public Law 99-457, the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986. An introductory chapter by James J. Gallagher summarizes major questions for the…

This review summarizes the rapidly growing body of findings on the social and organizational environment of teaching and examines one innovation--the collaborative school--that offers promise of an organizational context more conducive to effective teaching. Chapter 1 characterizes the actual conditions under which teachers work, focusing on…

This annotated bibliography was prepared to serve as background material for the writing of the synthesis paper "From Isolation to Collaboration: Improving the Work Environment of Teaching." Items were selected to represent the range of issues that pertain to the social and organizational context of teaching. The selected materials…

Seven job-related basic skills identified as skills employers want are as follows: (1) learning to learn; (2) reading, writing, and computation; (3) oral communication and listening; (4) creative thinking and problem solving; (5) personal management, including self-esteem, goal setting, motivation, and personal and career development; (6) group…