A major challenge in implementing educational change is redefining leadership and power. A broader conceptualization of leadership includes teacher empowerment, shared decision making, and facilitation. Ideas valuable to facilitating leadership for change include not relying on one leader, not relying on force to oppose force, and honoring the…

Formal teacher leadership roles--such as coach and coordinator--have become a standard component of education reform efforts intended to support teachers' instructional improvement efforts. Yet the culture of schools is widely understood to favor autonomy and egalitarianism, suggesting that classroom teachers may be resistant to peer leadership.…

Efforts at reforming urban schools have often revolved around choosing the "right" formulaic programs or providing sufficient funds to repair schools. However, too little attention has been paid to staffing schools with competent teachers who desire to stay and effect reform. Finding ways to educate student teachers and novice teachers at these…

In the opening years of the 21st Century it would appear that a new development model has emerged supported by multilateral assistance groups such as the UN Group, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and various NGOs. This paper will: (a) briefly sketch the emergence of the major concepts and proposed actions which form the new model for…

The assumption that as teacher empowerment increases in restructuring schools teacher job satisfaction will increase was explored in a study using a large sample of classroom teachers working in schools initiating self-designed restructuring efforts. Study participants were 10,544 classroom teachers working in 307 Venture Capital Schools funded to…

The author defines her terms of goodness and empowerment in a context of studying school environments. "Good" schools are then described, the settings in which the field work was conducted are given and the methods of student and teacher empowerment at six good high schools are discussed. (JL)

Developmental assets are a research-based list of the essential building blocks of healthy youth development and comprise the relationships, experiences, and values that youth need to grow up caring, confident, and responsible. In November, 2001, Assets for Colorado Youth (ACY) convened a group of educators, students, and family advocates from the…

Data from 24 restructuring elementary, middle, and high schools are used to examine teacher empowerment in schools with at least four years of experience with decentralized or school-based management. Findings suggest that empowerment is an important but not sufficient condition of change that does affect teaching quality and student performance.…

Despite the rosy image projected by child-centered reformers, zealots and profiteers are really driving the charter school movement. Charter schools cannot flourish without drastic wage reductions or huge spending increases, nor will they benefit America's poorest children. The market, which has already destroyed kids' neighborhoods and parents'…

Interviews with high school seniors and teachers explored perceptions of technology's role in schooling. Most preferred to adapt technology to traditional, teacher-centered instruction. A minority valued technology as a facilitator of student-centered inquiry and differed in beliefs about schooling and in dispositional tolerance for uncertainty.…

Reports an analysis of Australian universities using academics' perceptions of their university-level environment. Focuses on a sample of 514 academics in 26 publicly funded universities who responded to the university-level environment questionnaires. Suggests that new universities must improve their level of research and scholarship to become…

Discusses the differences between subject matter and content within the realm of social studies. Asserts the importance of making connections within the social studies and allowing students more choices in subject matter. Explores how teacher education should change to help future teachers learn more about subject matter in the social studies.…

Reviews and critiques three viewpoints that currently predominate in debates over vocational education. Demonstrates that the current debate overlooks opportunities to address vocational life as a meaningful and socially liberating area for study. Discusses features needed for an education that empowers students to enter vocations with critical…

The Environmental Justice Movement asserts that social justice and environmental issues are inseparable, both conceptually and politically; that children from all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds should have access to environmental education; and that environmental education programs must become culturally inclusive. Outlines principles and…

The Manitoba School Improvement Program (MSIP) encourages Manitoba high schools to include students in their improvement projects. Through an array of action-oriented, student-centered initiatives, MSIP has come to a new understanding of "student voice" that encompasses various levels of students' engagement in both school improvement…