This report is the third and final phase of a year and one-half study on the feasibility of reorganizing the currently splintered grade system in Providence, Rhode Island into a uniform K through 8 structure. The first volume of the report is an overview of the Providence School System and the goals of the feasibility study. A variety of policy…

New American Schools (NAS) was formed in 1991 to create and develop whole-school designs that would be adopted by schools throughout the country in order to improve student performance. This book is a retrospective on NAS and draws together the finding from RAND research. Chapter 1, the introduction, gives an overview of NAS, RAND's purpose and…

A model is presented for analyzing the cost benefits of a school reorganization in which ninth graders are moved to senior high schools and sixth graders to junior high schools. Data from a Maryland school district show the reorganization will save money through increased capacity utilization and economies of scale. (Author/RW)

Although bureaucratic decentralization lies at the heart of educational restructuring, many state-level reform strategies adopted since 1983 perpetuate the regulatory orientation of school improvement. This article assesses the restructuring movement, exemplified by the Coalition of Essential Schools, and the overall politics of American…

Choice theory does not adequately account for the relationship between private schools' success and public school performance. School-choice theory failed every empirical test the authors administered. Religion and a desire for racial segregation, not poor public-school performance, appear to be driving increased private-school enrollment. (MLH)

A clear set of shared values acts as an organizational and inspirational force in educational institutions. Recently, British schools have been experiencing conflict between their values and those of the National Curriculum. This article explores the nature of values, proposes a framework for assessing values in schools, and suggests how conflicts…

Like most other reform endeavors, the current restructuring movement may fail. Advocates often oversimplify restructuring, overlooking serious underlying issues, such as the politics of organizational change, and ingrained U.S. schooling characteristics, including inclusiveness, deep structure, knowledge industry influences, growth of state power,…

Outlines the differing educational philosophies, policies, and organizational structures of the two Germanies, from nursery to university level. Examines future prospects for integrating both institutions and personnel. Although unification was made possible by the former East Germans, they and their institutions must make the greater adaptation…

Shows that action research and process consultation methodologies used in the organizational development (OD) field are vital to our changing educational culture. Instead of diagnosing and prescribing solutions, the OD consultant teaches clients (schools) how to make appropriate interventions for specific change objectives. (12 references) (MLH)

In Great Britain, recent declarations of the Department of Education and Science and the National Curriculum Council have suggested that the National Curriculum will banish continuity difficulties for students transferring from primary to secondary schooling. The National Curriculum, however, does not address the main issue--lack of communication…

A summary of 64 research studies between 1968 and 1990 clearly support using nongraded/continuous progress programs. Students in nongraded settings do as well as or better than students in traditional self-contained classes. R.E. Slavin's sidebar argues for keeping nongraded schools simple. Pavan's sidebar calls nongradedness a philosophy not just…

Consent engineering is a consultative approach used by public policy-makers to secure the legitimacy of proposed policy changes by involving representative interest groups in decision making. Using the example of five reorganizing secondary schools in Victoria, Australia, this article outlines the circumstances obviating consent engineering at the…

Although the (British) government's "league tables" may be an inappropriate method of comparing schools' relative effectiveness, analysis of the 1992 examination results points to Catholic schools' apparent success. A summary of the limited research evidence on Catholic school effectiveness suggests that a rigorous study of their…

Synthesizes evidence from three independent studies of conditions fostering organizational learning in schools conducted in different contexts, but using comparable methods. The purpose was to identify such conditions from state, district, and school sources, relying on qualitative data from 111 teachers in 14 schools. Collegial atmosphere and…

Justifies and develops a conceptual framework for a cross-cultural approach to educational administration, focusing on the school as the baseline unit for analysis. The proposed framework is built around interrelationships among core concepts: culture, organizational structures, leadership and management processes, curriculum, and teaching and…