The trends and reforms of the French postsecondary education system show fundamental adaptation to new concerns, but the development is slow and uneven, being kept in check by certain well-established institutions. The main causes of malfunctions, attributed to it by students, employers, governments, and teachers, are identified and discussed.…

This paper discusses present forms of traditional Islamic (Quranic) education in Morocco in the light of modernization. Also considered is the potential impact of such traditional pedagogy on various cognitive abilities, whose growth is sometimes said to have been stunted by such experiences. (Author/SJL)

This paper examines three areas of alternative education: (1) In what ways, and for whom, are alternative schools alternative? (2) What appear to be the unanticipated consequences of the creation of alternative schools? (3) Can the creation of alternative schols be considered a change strategy? The authors compare the ideals of alternative…

This book argues that the Canadian public higher education system should return to the principles of a classical tradition of liberal education, abandoning the experimentation in school curricula and teaching methods of the last three decades. Taking as its point of departure the Ontario government's initiatives concerning destreaming and the…

This study compares open education groups and traditional education groups with respect to student attitudes toward high school; creative thinking of students; collaborative behavior among students; and student preferences for intellectual activities, activities involving change or sameness, and activities involving autonomy or dependence. Groups…

Argues that technology now offers the opportunity for neutralizing the conflicting demands of child-centered, progressive, humanistic education with the back-to-basics demands voiced in recent years. Analyzes why education has had difficulty in responding to the potential of new technology. (JDH)

Despite the world of rapid change, many have argued that, compared with other social systems, schooling has not changed appreciably in the past century. In an attempt to address this problem, educators, in conjunction with parents and business, have begun to push for the restructuring of time, space, organization, resources, and focus of schools.…

Eight years ago the Cambridge, Massachusetts, public school system initiated alternative schools and methods to make education more relevant to various students. The article describes seven different alternative schools and programs for basics, moral development, preparation for work, relaxed classrooms, or discipline. (MF)

A case study of change leadership in a Thai school illustrates the salience of multicultural perspectives on school leadership. A cultural analysis of the change process contrasts the nature of "empowering" reforms with the underlying cultural norms of Thai society. Implications for leading East/West reforms are discussed. (Contains 52…

Findings from this Fordham-sponsored survey--the fourth survey of Dayton, Ohio parent/community attitudes toward education since 1988--present a fascinating array of opinions about today's schools (and those who are responsible for them) and the changes that could be made tomorrow. Over 70 percent of Dayton-area parents support the idea of…

Compares indicators of curricular and instructional differentiation and innovation in magnet and traditional schools in two large urban school districts. Finds among other things that magnet schools were more likely than traditional schools to lead to school-level rather than classroom-level curricular and instructional changes. (Contains 42…

This policy statement adopted by American Federation of Teachers delegates in the summer of 1992 discusses two great tasks for U.S. education: improving the traditional model of education, while creating a different kind of learning institution to replace the traditional school. How to proceed in both areas is outlined. (SLD)

This essay traces the history of the school reform movement from colonial times to the present. Public school reform tends either toward equalizing educational opportunity or higher academic achievement, but seldom both. The essay asks the question: Can public school provide equal educational opportunity and be excellent too? By tracing the…

Although classrooms vary in design and populations, there are certain features that are common to virtually all classrooms. These include the crowding of pupils, the compulsion of school attendance, and the expectation that teachers will foster literacy. The manner in which these features are dealt with in a classroom constitutes the core problem…

The people of the Abaco Islands could, but do not, have a meaningful educational system. Although there are many problems inherent in the physical distribution of students, which complicates transportation efforts and contributes to a high student-teacher ratio, the major problem stems from administrative educational policy and fund distribution.…