This report argues that instructional improvement, which goes hand-in-hand with efforts at education reform, can be promoted through the strategic use of human resource management (HRM) practices at the school, district, and state levels. The authors present information from the organizational and management literatures on how firms in several…

An overly narrow and specialized focus on technology in schools discourages the use of computers to promote higher-order thinking. Many districts have concentrated on skills training, failed to supply such necessary supports as professional development, conflated technology use with instructional quality, and classified all software applications…

The traditional model of instructional development (ID) is found lacking by some in the face of problems that call for a customer/user focus, adaptable technical and social designs, and solutions where training is impractical or unaffordable. This paper outlines an alternative model based on the socio-technical paradigm, which suggests a better…

A discussion of microcomputer applications in elementary and secondary school social studies is accompanied by a list of publications and a checklist to aid educators in evaluating programs for microcomputers. Six instructional uses of the microcomputer are drill and practice, tutorial, demonstration, simulation, instructional games, and computer…

In 1983 Manchester High School (CT) became involved in a five-year planning process to reshape the school curriculum through redefinition of the competencies needed by its students to achieve success in the future. The five-year plan is outlined along with a discussion of establishing a flexible planning process that allows the school to shape the…

Types of changes being recommended by various national educational reports were compared with actual changes reported in a national sample of high schools. Implications for staff developers are offered. (DF)

This document contains a self-assessment tool allowing colleges to measure themselves against the criteria for an ideal learning college and identify where to focus their efforts for improvement. The tool consists of nine sections, each outlining a different area crucial to the functioning of learning colleges. Section 1 focuses on the learning…

Discussion of changes in classrooms as a result of communication networks focuses on teachers' roles in future educational settings. Topics include teachers as information consultants, as team collaborators, as facilitators, as course developers, and as academic advisors; and the computer and communication skills needed by teachers. (LRW)

Qualitative methods were used to examine teacher perceptions regarding curriculum and instructional changes made as inclusive programs for students with mild disabilities were developed and implemented in six elementary schools. Teachers reported fundamental changes had occurred related to curricular requirements, instructional methods, methods of…

Presents an overview of school inclusion programs for students with disabilities and describes specific strategies for designing and implementing successful programs which prepare students for the real world. Outlines strategies involving organizational change, curriculum and instruction modification, and school culture transformation. (GR)

Describes the introduction into a fourth-grade classroom with access to technology, a new pedagogy emphasizing prior learning, social interaction, and learning processes. Notes the tensions that arose within the class as well as between the class and segments of the local educational system, as well as specific incentives and impediments to change…

From a systemic reform perspective, this article examines risk and resilience research and its application in education, describing: application of the risk-factor model and its effects in education; resilience research and its educational application as a novel alternative to risk-based approaches; and how socio-political adherence to the…

Discusses the change from a teacher-centered approach when computers were first used in the classroom to a learner-centered approach. Highlights each of six articles presented in this special issue that explore the issues related to using the computer as a tool to learning with, rather than to learn from. (AEF)

Focuses on the advantages and the necessity of infusing instructional technologies in higher education by: exploring the assumptions about teaching and learning with technologies; identifying changes and reforms in higher education, from tradition to transformation; and summarizing necessary components for seamless student services, convenience,…

With Christianity and the Jewish religion, Islam has been the leading divine religion, accepted and obeyed by millions over a large geography since its declaration in the early 7th century. In this article, the authors shed light on some milestones in Islamic civilization, such as the golden age, the Abbasids, the Ottomans, and the rise of Western…