A theoretical framework for mapping school political life is developed which distinguishes elite, bureaucratic, coalitional, and participant types of school political organizations. The framework provides tools for analyzing and comparing patterns of political behavior within and across school political behavior settings. Definitions and…

Distance education's use of the instructional systems design model has been challenged by critics who suggest that the learner is passive and learning is superficial. A suggestion is that distance education should be structured so that learners assume a more active role in the development and use of autonomous and self-directed learning…

This preliminary case study examined the knowledge and beliefs one seventh grade science teacher to determine: (1) how the teacher's knowledge and beliefs about teaching and learning informed her thinking and actions; (2) what her conception of teaching was; and (3) what were the constraints of the instructional setting. Data was collected from…

This paper describes a study of the connections between beliefs about mathematics, autonomy, and knowledge structures in mathematics. Assumptions underlying the study were (1) that students' beliefs and knowledge are constructs of the individual and play a dynamic role in the learning and doing of mathematics; and (2) that autonomy theoretically…

This study examined changes in 19 teachers' beliefs across the first 2 years of a professional development program in cognitively guided instruction (CGI). The study involved five teams of mathematics teachers and teacher educators. Teams attended professional development workshops on several occasions. Each team met monthly to discuss their…

This paper discusses three issues facing institutions that produce distance instruction. The first section covers the retraining of students; the new cohort of distance students must be trained to be comfortable with technology, with mediated interaction, and with the new paradigm of student-centered learning. The retraining of faculty is…

Because of its benefits to classroom teachers, tutors, and tutees, peer tutoring as a strategy for instructing handicapped students in vocational education is gaining in popularity. Several factors are important to the successful implementation of a peer tutoring program, including administrative support, assessment of tutoring needs, and…

Results of a 1979 survey of 46 states on patterns of program reduction are presented, and the institutional shrinkage process currently being implemented at the University of Michigan is examined. Additionally, several hierarchical and sequential reduction strategies, including Balderston's budgetary strategies, are reviewed. At the University of…

Administrative bureaucracy and the professionalism of teachers have combined in contemporary schooling to structure both interpersonal relations and knowledge, leaving students and parents relatively powerless to control any of the educational processes. Through bureaucratic organization, schools create structures in which knowledge, teachers, and…

The intent of this "bottom-up" project was to create a community of learners to facilitate the implementation of computer technologies in the elementary school curriculum. The participants were 6 graduate students and their professor, 10 teachers (grades 1-5), their students, and the librarian in a Professional Development School. Each…

This brief paper suggests ways of involving students with learning disabilities and/or attention deficits in their own learning, with a systematic program intended to build self-understanding and a healthy internal locus of control. The program is based on the concept of multiple intelligences and the many different ways in which students and…

This study describes how one university instructor incorporated case method instruction (CMI) into a graduate course to help her students grasp the concept of family centeredness and working with all families as partners. Two major hurdles she faced were the accepted traditional teacher roles and traditional passive student roles in the classroom.…

This paper examines some aspects of a graduate course in educational technology at the University of Regina (Saskatchewan). The focus of the course (offered in the fall 1999 semester) was to examine how aspects of learning theory can impact the use of technology in schools and to develop a theoretical model that could drive and reflect appropriate…

This study focused on the roles facilitators and students play in high school distance education classes, how these roles affect student performance, and other factors (such as school organization) which affect facilitator and student performance. Three classrooms from three different high schools, each taking the same nationally-offered distance…

This study examined what occurs in cooperative learning groups that include students with mild disabilities in grades 3-6. Teacher interviews were combined with observations of 10 special and 10 regular education students' behavior in cooperative learning groups which used the Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition model. Results are…