This monograph identifies key policy areas that support the concept of teaching for understanding. Part 1, "Teaching for Understanding," explores the mission and practices associated with teaching for understanding, presenting this practice from the viewpoint of the student, teacher, and school system. Part 2, "Policy Areas,"…

Discusses the use of a universal choice plan as leverage for a wide range of school improvements in the Springfield Public School System (Massachusetts). The author examines the educational reform movement in terms of change coupled with concurrent development of four transformations: organizational, pedagogical, social/attitudinal, and political.…

A case study describes implementation of holistic changes at Jubilee Junior High School in Edson, Alberta (Canada). Changes included "large-group" instruction by a team of teachers; outcome-based assessment, including portfolios; integrated curriculum; and replacement of the school's hierarchical administration with a leadership team of…

This report charts a brief history of the comprehensive high school in the United States designed particularly to highlight those key decisions that make them what they are. The first and longest part of the paper is organized chronologically into sections with the following headings: 1600-1890--Getting Started; 1890-1920--Basic Reform/Social…

This report provides an overview of primary education in Sweden. Briefly described are: (1) the reform of teacher training in Sweden; (2) the organization of the comprehensive school; (3) public school attendance; (4) school schedules; (5) curriculum; (6) student evaluation; (7) curriculum goals; (8) school responsibilities; (9) current problems…

A review of the literature on school climate provides a conceptual framework for this study in which the Kettering School Climate Profile was administered twice to students, teachers, parents, and administrators in the Stoughton Middle School (Stoughton, Wisconsin). The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between organizational…

This bibliography on organizational trends in schools lists 386 books, pamphlets, articles, bibliographies, and audiovisual resources published between 1955 and 1968, but mostly since 1965. Topics covered include (1) the educational reform movement and major trends in school organization, (2) cooperative teaching and emerging staff utilization…

This publication is a summary report of a national conference cosponsored by the U.S. Office of Education and the National Association of Secondary School Principals to discuss current concerns in secondary education. The report includes adaptations of general session addresses, reports on each of the 20 workshops, and articles on the general…

Within the conceptual framewords that surround the development of new structures for the organization of education in metropolitan areas, contributors to this anthology focus on the purpose, conceptualizations, and proposed organizational structures of metropolitan educational reform activities. The book is primarily intended for scholars and…

Surveys of Australian (n=293) and British (n=103) college faculty in 1993 assessed reactions to structural changes in the university systems in those countries. The survey investigated perceptions of institutional culture, resources, advantages, status of women academics, the change process, role of research, workload, faculty evaluation, mission,…

At Central Park East (CPE) schools in East Harlem, New York City, 90 percent of students graduate from high school and 90 percent of those go on to college. Starting with the CPE success story, this book shows why good education is possible for all children, and why public education is vital to the future of our democracy. Begun in the mid-1970s,…

The New Designs for the Comprehensive High School project should provide for an organization of the school that is aligned with learner outcomes and learning process. Components of the organization must be aligned among themselves. High school models for organizing learners that meet student needs for connectedness and improved interpersonal…

Technology, directed to each of the parts that collectively give shape and direction to the school, should provide the critical mass necessary to realize the specifications for the New Designs for the Comprehensive High School project. Learners should have access to personal productivity tools that increase effectiveness and efficiency in the…

The cost factors involved in the New Designs for the Comprehensive High School project were compared with the traditional operating costs of a comprehensive high school in the United States. The high school cost analysis was based on expenditure profiles developed by the Educational Research Service (ERS). ERS data were manipulated to derive an…

The Copernican Plan is a way to organize high schools on the basis of research and experience concerning more effective and efficient instruction. Research indicates that large-block scheduling has proven to be very successful. In the plan, each student will enroll in one class at a time for about 4 hours each day for a period of 30 days. An…