Elliot Eisner, Lee Jacks Professor of Education and Art, Stanford University, imparts his thoughts about the salient features of schools he believes America needs, for example, having principals spend about one-third of their time in the classroom. (PKP)

Positioned in relationship to reform literature calling for small schools "by design" and interpreting data from a case study of a high performing but low-SES district in a Midwestern state, this paper provides a basis for making sense of the apparent divergence in policies governing schooling structures in rural and urban places. Its…

This book presents the case for traditional education and discusses the public's role in making education effective. The opening chapter introduces the concept of traditional education, noting its emphasis on the development of a command of language and formation of moral character, and placing the call for traditional education in a historical…

Describes informal British schools and explains the reason for the great interest among American teachers, administrators, and parents in these informal primary schools. (DR)

Reports on research that examined 15 studies from the last decade to compare achievement efforts of students in year- round education versus students in traditional calendar education over a period of 1-4 or more years. Results suggest that, overall, year-round education produces a positive but very small effect. (SM)

This paper argues that the "old paradigm" in education is a collection of assumptions, beliefs, and values that underlie the workings of present-day schools. The old paradigm is based on the notion of education as a meritocratic enterprise, institutional rationality, the positivist approach to truth, commitment to efficiency, and…

The author, one of the most outspoken proponents of fundamentalist education, describes what he sees as the invasion of illiteracy, the departure from discipline, and the paucity of patriotism rampant in today's schools. The responsibility for these problems, he believes, lies with boards of education, teachers' unions, the tenure system,…

Proposes a typology of reform within the public education system so that reforms can be characterized as conservative, liberal, or radical, depending on the degree to which they cause the traditional standards of public schools to change. The model is applied to educational reform in Chicago (Illinois) public schools. (SLD)

The issue of what comprises a good secondary school curriculum is still unresolved. The progressive education of the 1960s has yielded to a traditionalist emphasis on a strong liberal education for all students. Future reform will be based on what the present reform movement overlooks--strong vocational programs for students who are not…

While fiscal restraint has some negative impact, it provides an opportunity to bring greater order to schooling. The intellectual function of the school is "the perpetuation, transformation, and generation of knowledge grounded in the disciplines." Implicit in this vision of school is rejection of the function of school as socialization. (BRR)

The rationale behind the traditional grade organization pattern of pre-primary, primary, secondary, and tertiary is discussed, as is the trend to extend compulsory schooling later into the teenage years. The impact of these divisions and of compulsory schooling itself on equal educational opportunity is considered. (SJL)

Argues that traditional educational methods erode children's natural enthusiasm for learning. Suggests that reformers consider incorporating principles of Montessori education as a way to improve the present educational system. Replacing emphasis on performance and competition with respect for children's right to follow their own interests and…

Suggests that issues-centered education has two implications for the social studies curriculum: (1) the application and eventually the integration of subject knowledge and modes of inquiry; and (2) the development of interdisciplinary patterns of curriculum organization, such as fused or the core curriculum, to accommodate the imperative for…

This article grew out of a roundtable of national leaders in higher education which explored the role of the academic department in serving as both a force for institutional change and a link to the scholarly world of disciplinary knowledge and practice. The essay argues that the principal threat to the academy is its own fragmentation, with…

Maintains that teaching strategies which seek to develop reasoning skills in children, especially those using a "collaborative inquiry approach," must be based on enhancing children's self esteem. Inadequate teacher training and the predominate "authority/knowledge-based" view of education are identified as major reasons for…