This paper reviews 25 years of research on small rural schools in England, in a period of unprecedented educational reform, and shift in government policy on small schools from persistent threat of closure through a period of a centrally funded "presumption against closure" in the early 2000s. It notes a dearth of funded or peer-reviewed…

"Schools and the Stimulus: How America's Public School Districts Are Using ARRA Funds" is the third survey in the American Association of School Administrator's 2009 Summer Surveys series. This survey finds that while school systems around the nation appreciate the opportunity the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding…

This article reports on a study of teachers at one reforming high school. Though it is not their task to debate No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the authors locate their investigation inside the current policy context to which NCLB is attached. Specifically, they present their analysis through the organizational behavior lens of threat rigidity to…

Underperforming institutions frequently face financial and enrollment challenges, and/or lack a sense of direction and momentum. There is no single or easy approach to turning things around and putting the institution on track to positive development. In 1983, Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, faced declining enrollments, a growing…

Since the establishment of the University of Hong Kong in 1911, higher education in Hong Kong has been transformed from an elitist system to one that supports the Hong Kong government's vision of a highly educated workforce and widely accessible lifelong learning. Between the late 1970s and 1994 the system expanded from admitting 2% of college-age…

America's urban Catholic schools are in crisis. This report finds that over 1,300 schools have shut down since 1990, mostly in our cities. As a result, some 300,000 students have been displaced--forced to attend other public, private, or parochial schools. The school closures have cost taxpayers more than $20 billion to accommodate the additional…

Argues that use of technology to market institutions and counsel students adds new dimensions to college recruitment practices. Predicts that emerging web technologies and their associated marketing theory will challenge the status quo and will add yet another dimension to the responsibilities of the admission professional. (Author/JDM)

This study is the sixth in a series of studies conducted by the American Association of School Administrators on the impact of the economic downturn on schools. AASA launched the series in fall 2008 in response to state budget shortfalls, federal buy-outs and interventions, and a series of additional events characterizing a slowing, stagnant…

Catholic schools' improved fortunes stem mostly from socioeconomic changes beginning in the 1970s and their role in the national debate over educational quality. A study assessing the state of Catholic education shows that Catholic common schools are becoming a system of proprietary schools that educate growing numbers of non-Catholic children…

Compares a 1970s-era Canadian high school's failure to sustain its innovative character with challenges faced by a similar, recently founded high school. Both schools experienced problems with leadership succession, staff recruitment and retention, expanding enrollments, district and policy context, and community support. Recommendations are…

The Black College and University Act defined an historically black college and university (HBCU) as one that existed before 1964 with a historic and contemporary mission of educating blacks while being open to all. An HBCU must either have earned accreditation from a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association or be making reasonable…

Argues that the identity of basic writing (its status and position) is a function of larger institutional decision-making processes and therefore the focus of efforts to change basic writing should also engage these institutional processes. Focuses on how participating in technology design can be a wedge for engaging in decision making about the…

Since January 1998, when six former Metro Toronto (Ontario) school boards were consolidated into one board, Toronto's outdoor education centers have experienced restructuring, work stoppages, strikes, relocation, and threats of closure. Outdoor education advocates must form a new united group, preferably from the bottom up, to lobby for adequate…

The environment most characterizing today's public schools is continuous change, spurred by increased demands for performance and accountability. However, discontinuous change, in which organizations must question basic operating assumptions, is imminent. Continuous learning must be built into an organizations' fabric and it needs acceptable…

This report examines the change process at a regional university in achieving a higher level of excellence in all its programs and activities. Results from 30 interviews are discussed in explaining how this university endured a major retrenchment and survived and thrived while simultaneously contributing to the surrounding community's economic…