This study was conducted to determine how reform at the middle school level translates into classroom practice within the framework of innovation and decision-making. A set of field notes was developed through formal and informal interviews with the building principal and two interdisciplinary teams of teachers (N=11) who had moved away from…

Pedagogical content knowledge has been shown to be important to the work of teachers. This paper assumes it should be incorporated into the curriculum of teacher preparation and explores when and how that might be done. Results from the literature are reported in order to raise issues needing to be resolved before this question can be answered…

In this document, a "two-generation program" is defined as a program "that addresses the developmental needs of children within a family support context." The rationale for Head Start as a two-generation program that includes, but goes beyond, the boundaries of the welfare reform strategy, is explored. Major program goals…

This study reports on innovative alternative approaches to children's education in 12 developing countries. These approaches are examined with reference to their flexibility regarding time and place of learning, age of pupils, relationship with formal education systems, relevance and functionality for the actual situation of learners, and ability…

It is a common public perception that schools are failing to perform their fundamental mission; in the public eye, the responsibility for this failure lies with the administrators leading the schools. Consequently, there has been a litany of criticisms of the programs that prepare administrators, particularly programs located in major research…

Within the private sector, the human resource management perspective has replaced the traditional personnel management approach. A similar evolution within the educational community is necessary for implementation of successful school reforms. Presented in this paper are an overview of the transition from personnel management to human resource…

Building on previous investigations of the effects of team-organized instructional arrangements on elementary school teachers' sense of autonomy, this report reexamines data from 14 multiunit schools which still retained the team instructional plan at the end of the second year of implementation. Indicators measured were interdependent teaching…

The mission of the two-year college is complex, controversial, and frought with internal contradictions. From the start, the two-year college has existed outside the mainstream of higher education, deemed neither serious nor selective with a curriculum paralleling the high school rather than the four-year college. Efforts to enhance the position…

The problem-solving mode of teaching science implies change for teachers, administrators, state education departments, and other individuals charged with implementing educational innovation. This study provides a descriptive record and interpretation of the words and actions of an elementary school teacher beginning to learn about teaching science…

This case study of a Colorado school district sought to assess the process and outcomes of administrative leadership in implementing school effectiveness research on time-on-task classroom strategies. The study examines the interrelationship of conditions bearing upon the change effort and focuses on those changes affecting the district's…

Macomb Community College (MCC) in Warren, Michigan, has a commitment to support business and industrial development, consequent employee retraining, and program design. In addition to helping workers in their retraining and/or relocation, the college provides systematic support in the development of basic skills. Occupational programs have tended…

Community colleges face serious challenges arising from decreased budgets, greater pressures on faculty, and an increasingly heterogeneous student population. To cope with these challenges community colleges need to develop innovative instructional strategies to ensure the fulfillment of their missions. Five conditions may be identified under…

A method of teaching English as a second language (ESL) involving open sentence combining practice with group discussion was compared with a more traditional teaching method. Students were largely college-bound and attended the University of Arizona's ESL Center. Sentence combining was analyzed for a paragraph-length exercise on a low-level…

Effective long-range planning by school districts is an imperative in dealing with declining enrollments. School districts should (1) evaluate present programs in light of current statutory regulations and educational trends and innovations; (2) appraise the structural qualities of existing school facilities; (3) conduct communitywide surveys to…

This study investigated the characteristics of an innovative cooperative high school-college program as perceived by principals of adopting and nonadopting schools. The data from survey questionnaires with 24 Likert-type items were reduced to six factors: observability, status, simplicity, cost, trialability, and relative…