This paper argues that the development of classroom practice is central to the purpose of the IPET (initial professional education and training) of teachers. Notwithstanding the growing use of ICTs (information and communication technologies), both in teacher development and school classrooms, the normative modeling of appropriate contact-based…

This innovative high school gives no grades and students satisfy graduation requirements through unique combinations of classes, apprenticeships, independent study, work, and travel. Funding is mostly public and flexible. A benefit has been low turnover in the principalship. The school is an important community resource. (PB)

When parents and educators are dismayed by the younger generation's declining skills, future orientation, and interest in success, they should direct their concern to the interplay between "video Valhalla," narcissistic consumerism, and open education in today's enculturative processes. (Author/IRT)

In 1967, the paths of educational reform in the United States and in England unexpectedly crossed with the publication of the Plowden Report in England and articles by Joseph Featherstone and Edward Yeoman in the United States. The years 1967-1974 marked important period in the development of American education, important in the professional lives…

As prototypes for new forms of education, public and private alternative schools have much to offer regular schools in the way of new ideas. This paper provides an overview of alternative schools and the options available. Alternative schools are characterized by a more selected student body, a smaller and less bureaucratic structure, values…

School reformers have not been too radical, but have been unable to sustain their reforming energy and innovative thinking. Reformers are not "tinkering toward Utopia," but are relapsing into habit, meandering back into mediocrity. A remarkably coherent tradition of rethinking schooling is yielding to the forces of inertia,…

This document contains the proceedings of the 25th World Assembly of the International Council on Education for Teaching. The Assembly focused on the topic of improving teacher education on a global scale. Leading educators from every continent participated in workshops, plenary sessions, and group discussions on a variety of topics dealing with…

Like many other open-education schools of the 1970s, John Adams High School (Portland, Oregon) failed as an experimental school because it rapidly implemented large reforms without parent or teacher involvement, did not provide teacher training and support, and did not develop appropriate administrative or learning structures. (SV)

The open classroom model, enthusiastically adopted in American elementary schools based on the evident success of the British open primary schools, seemed to be an ideal educational concept for implementation into the middle school. But in the past 2 years, a growing number of educators, both at the middle school and the primary school level, have…

Horizon High School combats student dropout rates in Bakersfield (California) by maintaining a small enrollment, high community involvement, close student-teacher relationships, flexible scheduling, and attention to individual students' educational needs and interests. Student attendance, graduation rates, and standardized test scores are…

General session, small group activities, and on-site visits are represented in these papers from a conference which had the objectives of defining alternatives for systematic curriculum development, providing for the interchange of experiences in determining needs and instructional specifications for material production, and developing a plan for…

This book, written by a father of school-aged children, challenges the idea that school reform must be based on raising test scores. Rather, it asserts that school reform should start by deciding what kind of students it wants to produce and then designing schools that will allow students to develop accordingly. The book advocates a child-centered…

A private alternative school in the slums of New Delhi (India) is committed to ending female child labor and ensuring that its students don't grow up poor. The school was able to enroll girls in its all-female afternoon classes by getting their mothers involved in income-generating cooperatives. The students often outperform their peers in state…

As educators try to make schools more responsive to the diverse needs of students, public alternative schools are becoming increasingly investigated as viable and necessary options. This book provides an overview of public alternative education in the United Sates. Following the foreword by Robert D. Barr, acknowledgements, and the introduction,…

A high school teacher and four students restructured the curriculum for a shop math class based on Foxfire practices. The students, former underachievers, gained support and raised monies for building a gyroplane by writing grants, meeting with school administrators, and taking part in community speaking engagements. (LP)