Papers are presented which were generated by this workshop on school improvement. Both session and panel presentations are included on school effectiveness research, curriculum alignment for school improvement, a school climate improvement project, the McRel school improvement program, Pennsylvania's long-range planning for school improvement, an…

Drawing upon research findings on school effectiveness, the McREL School Improvement Program was designed to examine critically such factors as school leadership, building organization, school climate and environment, and how citizens and parents are encouraged to participate in raising morale and effectiveness. Focus is upon instructional…

A new theme in the old tension between centralization and decentralization in the governance and administration of Australian higher education is explored. The argument is that the various major attempts to restructure Australian education systems both in centralizing and decentralizing forces have gained new strength, and that the recent stated…

Educational change does not occur overnight, but the introduction of information technology will initiate a chain reaction of changes in the curriculum, instruction, and organization of education. Research on the process of change both identifies factors involved in the introduction of innovations and suggests guidelines for educators. Two phases…

This paper suggests that school systems can develop and implement a plan to keep schools operating to the advantage of students, staff, and community despite declining enrollment. In arguing against the closing of schools, this paper provides quotes from a survey and summary statements from school officials to show that closings do not save school…

Through a longitudinal study of compensatory education programs conducted by the school district of River Rouge, Michigan, the question as to whether the application of an interorganizational change model produces significant improvements was tested. The compensatory education program, both before the interorganizational model and after it, was…

The central need in education is to recognize that many of the gains in pupil achievement, as measured in test scores, may not be sustainable if educators continue to be fixated on short-term outcomes and plans. This paper addresses the key concerns of how educators sustain and develop schools through the deployment of effective planning…

Proposes a conceptual framework based on research on planned organizational change, which can help groups within the school community identify inequity and create alternative organization patterns. Emphasizes critical issues, sub-groups within the school community, and problem-specific tasks. (FMW)

Analyzes and compares research on the Effective Schools Movement and the New York (New York) City School Improvement Project. Proposes a synthesis of the two traditions that can be used to implement equity-based educational innovations. (FMW)

Higher education structures need to be redesigned to make them more responsive to the public's demand for more attention to teaching and learning and the reality of limited financial resources. The enterprise model can serve as a 21st century paradigm, with three new "tools": (1) customer influence on delivery of services; (2) accountability…

Drawing on the experience of public schools in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this document details a planning model and process of middle level reorganization. Following an examination of the impetus for change and how recent changes in the nation's economy, demographics, and family structure have shaped the context for educational change, collaborative…

Poor educational performance and the changing nature of work and workers have prompted calls for a major restructuring of American schools. The following broad categories of restructuring options are discussed and supporting research is reviewed: (1) decentralizing authority over schooling through school-based management, more professional…

The Netherlands' New Basic School was implemented in the mid-1980s to increase individualized instruction and curriculum differentiation in the earliest grades and to improve schools' capacity to serve students with varying learning needs and ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Under the plan, preschools and primary schools were brought…

This paper deals with the impact of recommendations in the Carnegie report ("A Nation Prepared: Teachers for the 21st Century") on administration in schools. The Carnegie report gives a bold new outline for improving teachers' roles in the schools by greatly strengthening their decision-making role and advocating a much more…

The purpose of this study was to apply a theory of latent culture to describe the role of middle class black parents and students in effecting change in an elite educational organization and to use Schein's conceptual model of the Kurk Lewin paradigm of the change process (Unfreezing--Changing--Refreezing) to analyze this process over a three year…