Examines misconceptions in both Western and Eastern countries about educational systems in postcommunist Eastern Europe. Discusses issues of slow pace of educational reform, change through formal power structures, centralization versus decentralization, role of tradition, macro- and micro-level problems, Western assistance, and the relationship…

A telephone survey of 150 north-central Montana rural residents found that they would support increased adult education programs by their schools and more economic and business-related curriculum offerings. Residents of larger towns expressed more agreement with school district consolidation than residents of smaller towns. Implications for rural…

During the last few months of 1980 the Lake Washington School District in Kirkland, Washington, conducted a futures study as part of an overall needs assessment study. The study staff identified over a hundred social, political, or economic changes predicted to affect life in the United States in the 1980s. Of these, 37 items were selected for a…

The roles of 10 federal program officers responsible for monitoring the progress and quality of rural educational change projects funded by the Experimental Schools program were explored through questionnaires, interviews, observation, and site visits. Despite differences in background, opinions, and perceptions of the officers, all 10 had to…

In this paper, an attempt has been made to define some of the difficulties and concerns which local school district administrators have to deal with in the implementation of a new program--career education. Career education is envisioned as a bold change of great magnitude, and there is a thrust for swift introduction of career education programs…

On September 10, 1996, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada) announced that public consultation on education reform would begin on September 16. Just prior to the first hearing, the government circulated a document entitled "Structuring the Education System: A Public Consultation Paper for Educational Change in Newfoundland and…

As part of a larger study of systemic educational reform in rural Alaska, this case study examines implementation of the Alaska Onward to Excellence (AOTE) process in Koyukuk, a small Athabascan village on the Yukon River in western interior Alaska. The village has a K-10 school with an enrollment of 19-41 students during the study period. A…

For the last 15 years, schools in the UK have been experiencing an unprecedented number of government imposed reforms in the quest to raise standards and increase accountability. Such reforms have relied for their implementation on the compliance and co-operation of principals and have generated a number of tensions and dilemmas Multiperspective…

This document highlights what is needed to ensure excellence in mathematics education as teachers and schools prepare students for the world beyond the classroom. One goal of this publication is to inform parent groups, school boards, business leaders, and local policy makers of the changes taking place in mathematics education. The purpose of a…

This paper describes Colton School District's (Washington) project of the Rural School of the 21st Century. The goals of the 6-year project, initiated in 1988, were to incorporate technology into all aspects of education and to use technology in restructuring the school system. The Colton School District consists of 184 students in a single K-12…

This case study examines an effort to restructure secondary education in a small rural Massachusetts public high school. Data documenting the change process include archival records, participant observation, and interviews and questionnaires conducted with community members, school staff, and students in grades 7-12. The restructuring effort…

The debate on the merits of classical education is reviewed through an examination of views of Henry Sidgwick in his "Essays on a Liberal Education" (1867). Running commentary focuses on two major concepts: (1) considerable change in teaching methodology is necessary if Latin is to survive, and (2) a majority of teachers in classical studies need…

A pilot study was designed to explore the nature of pressure groups interested in education and to determine characteristics common to those groups. Background material is presented covering the history of pressure groups in the U.S., the social structure in which pressure groups must operate, and the role of pressure groups in the decision-making…

Planning for the future is a necessity for high school principals, as well as for the clear setting of goals and directions, if "crisis management" is to be avoided. The 1960's were the outstanding years in educational progress--but there is a demand now for more. Therefore, the seventies will see more basic changes in education than have been…

This edited work brings several generations of Professor David Tyack's students and colleagues together to explore the purpose and structure of schooling for the common good. For most of the last century, school reformers have attempted to employ schools to solve nearly every social ill. Reforms since the 1980s have, in the main, emphasized using…