This case study offers an in-depth look at how one school achieved change in its culture and in its approach to curriculum and instruction. The unit of analysis for this single case study is South Loop Elementary School (SLES) and the time period is from August 2002 to June of 2007, during which SLES students demonstrated sharply improved…

This paper describes the signature role played by accomplished, experienced teachers in professional learning communities, and the importance that these practitioners make their teaching public and shared. In so doing, the authors describe how accomplished practices can be shared between classrooms and between practitioners with varying levels of…

With the objectives of assisting state educators in designing school leadership programs, school administrators in Tennessee were surveyed to determine levels of training and perceived training needs. Questionnaires were administered in 1986 to school board members, principals, and superintendents. Part 1 of the questionnaire dealt with…

Principals play a vital and multifaceted role in setting the direction for schools that are positive and productive workplaces for teachers and vibrant learning environments for children, but existing knowledge on the best ways to develop these effective leaders is insufficient. The need to identify and replicate effective pre- and inservice…

Effective teaching in mixed ability classes has dominated much of the Cyprus government's agenda for educational reform. However, there remains widespread dissatisfaction with Cyprus teachers' ability to teach in mixed ability classes. A factor behind the unsuccessful attempts of the Ministry of Education and Culture to improve teaching in mixed…

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…

This participant's manual provides local educational agency/district teams of instructional leaders a way of examining their personal beliefs and values, developing a more inclusionary perspective, and gaining skills for creating schools that work for all students including those with severe disabilities. Team participation is emphasized as…

This journal issue focuses on cooperative partnership programs for the improvement of educational services to students with disabilities. The eight articles are: (1) "Partner-Based Prelinguistic Intervention: A Preliminary Report" by M. Jeanne Wilcox (which found the intervention procedures had a strong effect on mother-child dyads); (2)…

This monograph focuses on the implementation process that has been a concern of school jurisdictions since the teacher evaluation policy became mandatory in Alberta, Canada, in 1985. Research has shown that school systems are adept at developing written policy but much less successful at putting that policy into effective operation. This overview…

This paper reports on two comprehensive multi-institutional collaborative efforts for school improvement. The two studies demonstrate that collaborative efforts involving multiple agencies and multiple agendas can be successful even when separated by considerable geographical distance. The school systems were concerned with implementing a locally…

MAJOR ISSUES AND PROBLEMS FACING PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS WERE DEFINED THROUGH AN ANALYSIS OF CONFERENCES AND PERSONAL INTERVIEWS WITH 47 ADMINISTRATORS OF VARIOUS-SIZED DISTRICTS IN 22 STATES. ASSISTING THE RESEARCH TEAM WERE PERSONNEL FROM 11 STATE DEPARTMENTS OF EDUCATION, SIX REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORIES, 36 COLLEGES AND…

The Quality Education through Staff Training (QUEST) program is described. The professional development program was conducted in the Detroit Public Schools. The major goal of this project was organizational change and renewal to influence the quality of classroom instruction. This was to be achieved by helping teachers and administrators to effect…

Inservice teacher education suffers many shortcomings, including a tradition of being reactive rather than proactive. Historically, inservice education was used to make up for educators' poor teaching skills when they entered the field. School systems also relied on new teachers to introduce innovative ideas on educational change. Today, inservice…

This volume contains papers presented at a symposium which focused on ways to mediate or tailor change facilitation efforts. The symposium's purpose was to: (1) describe and analyze the best clinical attempts to use Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) tools as guides for mediating staff development efforts; (2) present a conceptual scheme for…