Over the past few years, as part of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) reform on the one hand, and the increased demands for school accountability on the other, more and more schools have launched a school website aimed at enhancing educational activities, supporting student-teacher communication, contributing to school marketing…

Mental institutions and public schools appear to have many similarities, and they often operate in ways that would seem contradictory to their philosophy. This article explores certain atrocities to the self" that result from programs that are intended to be beneficial but, in reality, often result in dehumanization. (Author)

The principal of P.S. 84 in New York City recounts how his school has, with the aid of parents, managed to change and implement open education while suffering from staff cuts and other consequences of reduced funding. (IRT)

Teachers are facing an increasing number of changes in their job context, many of which significantly affect their work lives. This study offers a theoretical understanding of the changes in teachers' working conditions, starting from the intensification thesis. The case study of a Flemish (Belgian) elementary school shows the existence of various…

One of the ultimate goals of policy makers is to enable citizens to take advantage of a globalised world economy. This is leading them to focus on the improvement of education policies, ensuring the quality of service provision, a more equitable distribution of learning opportunities and stronger incentives for greater efficiency in schooling.…

Repudiates Herbert Walberg's recent review article touting homework's beneficial effects on achievement scores. Presents evidence showing that good learning environments, interactive situations, and less restricted access to community and school resources (including new technologies) were of greater significance. Faults schools' organizational…

Faculty motivation, the role of money as an incentive, and the structural compatibility of universities with merit systems of pay are examined. As presently structured, universities seem unlikely candidates for successful merit-based pay plans. (Author/RM)

Describes the "schools-within-a-school" elementary program at Broken Ground School in Concord, New Hampshire, where parents and teachers are involved in choosing the learning environment best suited for each child, either the more formal "Conventional School" or the more individualized "Continuous Progress School."…

The theory-driven Organizational Health Inventory was compared to the empirically derived Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire in predicting student achievement and teachers' commitment to the school. After controlling for the socioeconomic status of the sampled 58 schools, only academic emphasis contributed significantly to student…

Using principal interviews about state accountability systems in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, this article describes two organizational learning cultures (the symbolic and the strategic) that differ in their attitude toward, and use of, assessment information. Apparently, state accountability systems can either…

This article describes an attempt by a group of Harvard and M.I.T. graduate students to use organization development methods for the first time in a large urban school system. The group concluded that (1) organization development consultants must be aware of the different environment within which large city school systems operate, (2) such an…

To understand schools from insiders' perspectives, this study shadowed 19 high school students and 8 teachers in all of their classes for two weeks. Given schools' problematic features (structural fragmentation, teacher isolation, emphasis on intrinsic rewards, and school-relevant learning) and teachers' weak sense of school ownership, the article…

Outlines the Learning Climate Improvement Process developed by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) that is used to identify the components of a school needing improvement. Includes discussion of the five steps involved in the improvement process. Includes references. (MD)

This book is designed to inform the educational community about the empirical foundations of productive high schools. Part 1 focuses on the core technology (learning and teaching), the organizational systems in which the core function are nested (the ecology of the institution), and the institutional linkages between the school and its…

Providing humane high school environment requires some philosophical and psychological foundations. Fundamental is the belief in circumstances that permit persons to grow and change at their own pace, but under sensitive and rational guidance. (Editor)