Annotations of ERIC literature on the learning environment are presented in this document. Materials were selected for inclusion from the ERIC catalogs Resources in Education (RIE) and Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE). The 10 publications are as follows: "School Is for Teachers: Enhancing the School Environment," by Buck Adams and…

To broaden the scope of effective schools research by including change processes and a wider unit of study, this project investigated three Georgia school districts demonstrating improvements in student achievement for three consecutive years. Research identified these elements: (1) the sequence and influence of events, factors, and people…

This curriculum analysis of black South African education considers conflict and change in historical, contemporary, and postapartheid contexts. Part 1, "The Historical Context," interprets curriculum evolution, beginning with the evangelical curriculum for slaves in 1658 and concluding with formalization of racism in the apartheid…

Included in this summary analysis of three journal articles and two documents on teacher evaluation are reports that touch on difficulties facing school officials in developing a teacher evaluation system and suggestions for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of an evaluation system. The first article, by Susan S. Stodolsky, challenges…

Immigrant children face serious problems in gaining access to a free public education. Many schools discourage immigrant children from enrolling; once inside the schoolhouse, these children continue to experience barriers to a comprehensive and effective education. Immigrant students lack the quality language assistance programs they need to…

American schools might improve their performance by emulating certain successful businesses that, while distinctly American, have much in common with Japanese corporations. William Ouchi attributes Japanese business success to worker involvement; the typical Japanese corporation, he asserts, unifies its employees around a corporate philosophy…

The Department of Education has assembled 20 "indicators," drawn from the mass of available statistics on institutions, enrollments, finances, and staff, that describe the condition and progress of elementary and secondary education. Data are assembled under three categories of measures: outcomes, resources, and context of education. The…

This paper examines fiscal implications of five 1983 reports that recommend reform of America's schools. Greater rigor in curriculum and textbook content is a common report theme, while three call for specific graduation requirements. Generally, reports recommend increasing time for key courses and requiring regular homework, achievement tests,…

It is within the sphere of their socioreligious domain that Arizona Yaquis have been able to survive as a cultural group. Yet this domain, consisting of the two realms of the profane (good versus evil), and the sacred enchanted world of "huya ania," exists apart from the external world of a modern industrial society. The school, because…

This research report is comprised of a series of 14 papers, each accompanied by a bibliography. Murnane's nine self-contained articles are grouped into four projects. The first consists of three papers that interpret the results of quantitative research on school effectiveness in a manner that highlights the active behaviors of participants and…

This report defines what is meant by quality basic education in Georgia and makes numerous recommendations for achieving it for all Georgians. The recommendations are that: (1) basic skills and general job skills be emphasized in vocational education; (2) the salary base for teachers be increased; (3) a five plateau teacher career ladder be…

The history of the school choice idea is briefly traced, and then some contemporary family choice models are examined in detail. "Tracking" was the major choice mechanism in public schools prior to recent efforts to expand the options. The alternative movement within individual schools began in the late 1960's, with many forms…

This document is the last of 10 reports resulting from New York's 1983 First Statewide Symposium on Rural Development and is intended to be used primarily as a resource document for the development of public policy proposals. The 9 preliminary reports generated discussion at 12 public hearings, plus written testimony, and served to catalog rural…

The booklet discusses results of a values education survey of teachers and administrators and examines issues, curriculum, and teaching techniques in values education. The report is intended for use by pre- and inservice teachers and teacher educators as they develop awareness of values and devise strategies to transmit this awareness to students.…

The role of the rural school on the plains of eastern Nebraska from the early days of the frontier to 1980 is examined in this portion of an eight-state research effort, the Country School Legacy Project, sponsored by the Mountain Plains Library Association to locate and preserve information related to country schools. Data and anecdotes obtained…