For the U.S. to survive despite intensifying international competition, accelerating technological change, oppressive public and private debt, and demographic and work force changes, the learning enterprise must become far more productive. Two 1998 scenarios are presented: business-as-usual (favoring the rich) and a restructured system based on…

Presents the first William Walker Oration given to the the New England Association for Educational Administration in Armidale, Australia. Following a history of the establishment of the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration, the role of leadership in the education system is described; particularly the transformational leadership. (22…

Born in rural Tennessee, 15-year-old Billy Charles Barnett is proficient enough at hunting and fishing to support himself by teaching his survivalist skills to others. His economic well-being is threatened by required school attendance. Given the impoverished state of American education, society would not necessarily benefit from a lower dropout…

Discusses middle school student tracking. Describes a longitudinal analysis of tracking among 1,669 students. Argues that the number, stability, and size of tracks are determined independently of the student population distribution. Suggests that tracking is often based upon students' track history and prior achievement. Identifies tracking…

Analyzed the Accelerated Schools Program (ASP) in two schools in New Orleans (Louisiana). ASP believes schools should pursue simultaneous, interactive changes in curricula, instruction, and organization for the changes to have lasting effects. Racial, social, and ideological conflicts must be resolved for change to take root in inner-city schools.…

Reports on a distance-independent class taught at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and examines the challenges this course posed to existing academic culture. Topics include logistical issues, including scheduling, workload, and credit hours; changing personnel and roles; and changes in power and…

Explores the relationship between (Ontario) secondary-school organizational structures and implementation of legislated change initiatives. Examines the role of individuals responsible for implementing two legislated curriculum innovations: curriculum integration and performance-based assessment. Implementing whole-school or subject-based…

Almost 25 years ago, Bourdieu and Passeron (1977) explained how educational systems foster a "misrecognition" of the part that schools play in social reproduction. They noted that it is to the advantage of the dominant elements of society and educators themselves to perpetuate a strong belief in the legitimacy of schools as institutions that…

The recent movement to restructure schools has raised fundamental questions: Can changes in school structure improve student performance? Under what conditions might some structures be more effective than others? This document presents findings from Lee and Smith's study that examined the role of school restructuring on student performance.…

Trends and research in nongraded schooling over the past three decades are described in this paper. The 1960s and early 70s were marked by a strong interest in the nongradedness movement and the British concept of open education, followed by a declining interest in the 1970s. A nongraded revival in the 1980s was facilitated by recognition of the…

This book provides an account of the major administrative restructuring and organization that has occurred in Australian public school systems over the past decade. Section 1 provides a discussion of the Australian restructuring efforts in an international context. Chapters in this section include the following: (1) "The Restructuring of…

Change by school restructuring has followed quickly on the heels of school reform that sought to mandate improvement upon teachers by bureaucratic control and compliance. It did not take long for problems of the reform paradigm to surface as teacher improvement could not be mandated. A complete restructuring of teaching and learning organization…

California's Partnership Academies tangibly reflect not just rhetorical involvement but meaningful direct private-sector participation in the education process. The Partnership Academies and their link to vocational education are compared with other programs like Adopt-a-School and the Boston Compact. The roots of the academy are traced to similar…

This paper explores the relationships among policy, structure, and culture of educational organizations, specifically, the relationships between policy-mandated educational change and the organizational variables of coupling and culture. A framework for research on policy implementation is presented, which illustrates the interactive relationships…

Several reforms recently proposed for secondary schools and their impact on students and schools are discussed. One type of reform being proposed for secondary schools is aimed at students and at the schools' power to make sorting judgments about students. Examples of these reforms are differentiated diplomas, minimal competency tests for…