This publication summarizes a lengthy two-volume report that describes a study of six technical assistance groups (TAGS) that provide extended face-to-face help to teachers, administrators, parents, and/or students involved in attempts to improve local schools. The six groups chosen for study include AFRAM Associates, the Center for New Schools,…

A two-part report, sponsored by the Northwest Regional Exchange, focuses on the role of technical assistance in educational settings. This document, part I of the report, presents an overview of major research and literature findings, including the extant knowledge base and the state of the art in technical assistance. The introduction discusses…

The contributions that business and industry can make to help colleges and universities maintain high standards of teaching, scholarship, and research are considered. Four recent studies that address the deterioration in educational standards are noted, and the problems that confront colleges and universities are identified. It is suggested that…

This resource directory lists assistance groups that can help a school improve to meet the objectives of the Chicago (Illinois) School Improvement initiative. The assistance groups listed differ in several ways. Some specialize in improving reading or mathematics, for example, while others offer a broader range of school restructuring advice. The…

Organizational intersections are temporary systems formed when organizational members become interdependent with members in other organizations. The effectiveness of organizational intersections was an important issue for those participating in the Documentation and Technical Assistance in Urban Schools (DTA) Project. Consultants who participated…

A two-part report, sponsored by the Northwest Regional Exchange, focuses on the role of technical assistance in educational settings. This document, part II of the report, examines selected change models for establishing technical assistance systems and implications for action. After a brief introduction, the following critical components of…

Describes the approach to technical assistance offered by one of the groups that has contributed to the ongoing change process in the District of Columbia Schools. Discusses the normal path of outside technical assistance and examines some of the key differences that make the collaboration between Northeast Foundation for Children and the District…

This final report of the Mountain Plains Regional Resource Center (Utah) describes the Center's activities in support of services to children and youth with disabilities during the 2-year federal grant period (1991-1993). It notes accomplishment of its mandate and mission to strengthen state education agency (SEA) capacities by providing…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the South Dakota Statewide Systems Change Project, a 5-year federally supported project to establish a system of educational services to support children with severe disabilities within general education settings. The project provided extensive training, information, and technical…

Program improvement activities can be classified into four categories based on the source of the impetus and the locus of the change agent: systematic, symbolic, opportunistic, and pragmatic. This paper (1) describes the various approaches to implementing Chapter 1 program improvement activities at the state and local district levels in 13 western…

The application of the idea of diplomacy to educational change is addressed, with attention to the problems faced by the head of a teaching and learning support group within a university, along with the role of educational advisers, or consultants, The analysis is structured based on the main elements of diplomacy. Attention is directed to an…

The theme of this journal issue is "Institutional Renewal." Projects designed to address the issues of the 1980s at 18 colleges are described, and 15 definitions of institutional renewal are presented. Participating colleges were provided expert advice through the Association of American College's (AAC) Project Lodestar (renamed…

This final report describes the Inclusion through Transdisciplinary Teaming (ITT) project, which provided support to personnel working in schools, child care centers, and Head Start programs as they designed and provided services that included young children with disabilities and their families. During its 3 years of outreach, ITT project staff…

This paper reports on the author's 4-week consultation with faculty of the Lesotho National Teachers College as part of the Primary Education Project which provided technical assistance with issues of primary age schooling in the Kingdom of Lesotho. The consultant worked with 12 faculty members of the National Teachers College in a process that…

A project was undertaken by a university to develop in-service staff development programs for 500 part-time faculty members at three community colleges. The university project staff functioned as process consultants, who initially conducted a needs assessment of programs and services desired by faculty members. Subsequent to the assessment, their…