This book offers the premise that staff development plans are often based on politically naive assumptions about authority prerogatives. Three sources of authority: the public trust, the bureaucracy, and colleagues, are traced from colonial times through the progressive era. An analysis is given of the forces that have had an impact on educational…

Reviews history of the use of the concept "core curriculum" and its decline. Includes a discussion of educational ethics and excellence centering on the need to evaluate the push toward a more academic curriculum and the effect it is having in pushing some students out of the system while developing excellence for a smaller group of…

Discusses the history of the development of the measurement of reading levels and current criticism of the use of reading levels. Also discusses the relationship between a teacher's effectiveness as a reading instructor and the teacher's understanding about the concept of reading levels. Includes suggestions for change and a list of references.…

This publication offers a vision of curriculum that redresses the balance between teaching traditions of the past and entering and participating in those of the present and future. It stresses knowledge-in-action rather than the more traditional approach of knowledge-out-of-context, encouraging ongoing conversation embedded within the larger…

This guide from Iowa is intended to: clarify changes in the state's new rules on special education; make the state's definition of mental disability operational; provide practical guidelines on preferred practices for determination of mental disability and the need for special education services; and highlight prescriptive assessment practices…

This primer explains school choice, historically reviewing the origins and growth of tax-funded schools nationwide and how they became synonymous with public education. It examines the rise of government-funded and operated schools in Michigan through the efforts of Isaac Crary and John Pierce and describes the negative effects of a 1970 state…

Describes how the "deep structure" of schooling (society's widely shared assumptions about what schools are for and how they should function) works to defeat change in education. Extrapolates from this to predict the potential for permanent success of some current reform efforts. Discusses how site-based school-improvement projects might…

This article reviews federal and state initiatives regarding gifted education. It summarizes state court decisions pertaining to gifted education and cases involving federal constitutional rights and statues. State constitutional rights and statutes are discussed, along with implications of court decisions. Recommendations for parent and teacher…

This manual familiarizes data users with the procedures followed for data collection and processing of the second follow-up student component of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), with the corollary objective of providing necessary documentation for use of the data file. Chapter 1 presents an overview and history of the…

This book's central thesis is that the relationship between school managers and teachers predicts the type of education offered children. That is, education can be seen as a handing down of information, or it can be viewed as a cooperative affair. The text is divided into two parts: 1895-1925 and 1961-1995. Chapter 1, which discusses America's…

This document offers guidance to educators concerned with enhancing recruitment, retention, and graduation of American Indian adult students, especially in North Carolina. Following a summary and recommendations of the project committee, the guide traces the history of the Indian communities from 1900 to the present and outlines the educational…

Presents a historical perspective of women's role in educational administration, pointing out that in 1928 18 percent of secondary principalships were filled by women, while in 1972 only 1.7 percent were. Exploring women's leadership styles and the use of networking for women has the most potential for helping women succeed in future educational…

Advocating the complete separation of church and state, the author outlines the history of the present debate over the school-religion controversy. Includes a detailed discussion of interpretations of the First Amendment (especially the establishment clause) and Supreme Court decisions relating to the issue. (MD)

This guide was developed to encourage community organizations to employ public engagement strategies in the context of school finance litigation taking place in their states. While litigation may at times seem daunting and complex to non-lawyers, there is much that community-based organizations concerned with education reform can do to become…

This handbook provides an overview of federal and Colorado special education laws and special education issues that affect charter schools. An introduction reviews the history of charter schools and both the school choice movement and special education in Colorado. The first major section provides a history of special education statutory and case…