The Netherlands' New Basic School was implemented in the mid-1980s to increase individualized instruction and curriculum differentiation in the earliest grades and to improve schools' capacity to serve students with varying learning needs and ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Under the plan, preschools and primary schools were brought…

The organizational characteristics of public schools, the impact of context on people in schools, and the consequences for school reform are examined. Based on the thesis that organizational characteristics of schools constrain most reform efforts, a suggestion is made for restructuring the teaching day, which promotes effective planning and…

Although most attempts to effect school reform have been initiated from the top down, an alternative paradigm of educational reform has emerged: the idea that educators in schools must become empowered agents in their own school improvement processes. This paper explores this new paradigm, arguing that schools are both the objects and arenas of…

This literature review focuses on the role of schools'"common properties" in planned educational change and everyday school operations. Common properties include those features that are either present in all schools, relatively stable and unchanging, or central to the concept of schools today. The author first examines five ways in which…

This paper proposes the establishment of subsystems such as legitimized committees or departments to prepare school organizations for innovation and to make the transition to a changed mode of operation smoother. The subsystems are to be primarily composed of school district personnel attempting new patterns of action. The district subsystems…

The first part of the document presents a collection of workable ideas, organized by topic, which were submitted by principals who used them to improve the programs in their schools. Some areas of interest covered include community involvement, student-choice electives, parent reporting, career education, and counseling and changing behavior. Also…

This document describes the efforts of program administrators to implement an organic curriculum in the John Adams High School in Portland, Oregon. The chief program administrator coordinated efforts to develop individualized instructional materials, to revamp school organization, and to create a fully differentiated staff. Organic curriculum is a…

Each of the seven case studies in this report describes the school and community, the implementation of Individually Guided Education (IGE) programs, and home-school-community relations programs and activities, and analyzes the home-school-community relations programs and activities. The selection of the seven schools was primarily based on the…

Implementation of educational innovations is considered from three policy perspectives: the political, the organizational, and the interactionist. In periods of educational decline, in terms of enrollments and expenditure, there is need to know how to support and encourage capacity building for change. (RL)

Describes a small school in the Ural mountains that has institutionalized an innovative pedagogical and administrative structure. The school has developed a close relationship with the parents and students and incorporated a great deal of local culture, folklore, and literature into its curriculum. Discusses the creation and implementation of…

Early in the 20th century, education reformers were calling for new approaches to meet the demands of that era. "The Great Lockout" was written by William Wirt in 1937 to describe the radical Platoon Work-Study-Play Schools that flourished in Gary, Indiana from 1907-37. This book contains Wirt's original document, which provides a…

The general meaning of research data drawn from study of school improvement programs creates the opportunity for sound theory building. By emphasizing the principal's role in policy development, this paper analyzes the characteristics of large-scale educational innovation projects and their explanatory foundations. Belgium's comprehensive Renewed…

The design described in this book incorporates experiences of the past eight years in a Model Schools Project that involved at various times 34 junior and senior high schools. It also translates many of the major statements issued by the NASSP as guidelines for improving schools into a workable model. The chapters show how the school develops the…

Papers from the Hiroshima/Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Meeting of Experts on Higher Education and from the March l981 Seminar on Innovations in Higher Education in Comparative Perspective are presented. In January, representatives from Sweden, the United Kingdom, Austria, the United States, and Japan met to discuss and…

The role of education is strongly determined by the perspective set by the political and social fabric of a given culture. Political and social upheaval, experimentation, and change accelerated at a tremendous pace during the 1960s and early 1970s. Consequently, great changes occurred in the structure of many school systems throughout the nation.…