Describes the 1997 Keizai Koho Center Fellowship study tour of Japan in which a group of American, Australian, Canadian, and English educators visited two Japanese elementary schools. Compares the structure, classroom activities, and curriculum of each elementary school in detail and reflects upon the future trends in Japanese education. (CMK)

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the leadership factors that emerged during the planning and implementation of a neighborhood schooling program for special education students with mild and moderate handicapping conditions in 12 schools in an urban school district in a community in the southwestern United States. Leadership is…

The relationship of middle school climate to academic achievement was examined. Participants were members of eight 6th grade classes. Four of the classes were in elementary settings, and four in middle school settings. Classes were matched as closely as possible on economic status and ethnic composition. Entered into correlational analyses were…

This paper discusses the effective restructuring of schools to accommodate at-risk children. Broadly, it addresses some issues of school structure and management for meeting the educational needs of this large and increasing group of students. Specifically, it defines and analyzes effectiveness within the accelerated schools model developed by…

Although there is controversy as to whether middle-level education should be more comparable to high school or to elementary school, this paper argues that the school within a school (SWAS) concept effectively makes large schools seem small so that they have more in common with a typical K-5 school than with a grade-10-through-12 high school. The…

This study addresses the issue of how different school organizational patterns affect the academic learning of students of different backgrounds and abilities. Using data from the Pennsylvania Educational Quality Assessment (EQA) on approximately 8,000 sixth-grade students in elementary and middle schools, the study examines how instructional…

Due to inconclusive data, inconsistent findings, and a lack of relevant empirical studies, no definite conclusions could be drawn in this research review of school grade organization effects. The review specifically sought research that could illuminate the effects of elementary and middle school grade organization on student achievement, parent…

The reflections of two social scientists regarding an inservice education program for elementary school teachers were the basis of their approach to inservice programs: Teachers need to have analytical and inquiry skills that will allow them to read research reports and listen to inservice presentations, digest the information, and then apply what…

Stanford's Environment for Teaching study involved analysis of data collected in 1973 and 1975 by questionnaire and interview from 188 principals and over 200 teachers from a stratified sample of 46 elementary schools drawn from 34 San Francisco Bay Area school districts. Using aggregate indices, the study examined data relating school complexity…

The structure and support of Canadian elementary and secondary education is presented with concise descriptions of its organizational structure, administration, curriculum, and special programs. This general overview is appended with organizational charts; directories of provincial, territorial, and federal departments of education; and national…

The teacher education model developed by the consortium of Ohio universities contains 818 specifications which include in excess of 2,000 behavioral objectives. Each specification identifies the behavioral objectives. Specifications were developed within five broad contexts and apply to one or more of the six target populations involved in…

Summarizes research on instruction-related practices and policies and their implementation in effective urban schools. Discusses outcomes-based instruction, effective organizational arrangements for low achievers, instructional coordination, avoidance of overemphasis on lower order skills, operationalization of shared values, "organic"…

This paper describes an elementary school's attempts to give its students a "moral education." The school's program emphasized participation and discussion while stressing rules and principles of cooperation, trust, community, autonomy, and self-reliance. School personnel initiated a more democratic environment by moving the locus of…

The use of microcomputers in elementary education is described by focusing on an empirical study of computer use in a 10% random sample of elementary schools in one large local education authority. The inclusion of people at the "grass roots" level was considered to be a priority. Interviews of school-level administrators, teachers, and…

This pamphlet reviews five recent research studies that focus on various key aspects of school climate, a popular metaphor that is difficult to define, measure, or manipulate. "The Search for School Climate: A Review of the Research," by Carolyn Anderson, surveys the full scope of school climate literature, concluding with a summary of…