The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) recently provided school improvement assistance to the Chicago Public Schools. As part of its work, the NWREL reviewed 39 national reform reports in order to summarize the research findings on effective principals and teachers, curriculum, equity, partnerships and responsibilities, parent…

Papers are presented which were generated by this workshop on school improvement. Both session and panel presentations are included on school effectiveness research, curriculum alignment for school improvement, a school climate improvement project, the McRel school improvement program, Pennsylvania's long-range planning for school improvement, an…

Data from the High School and Beyond study--restricted to over 800 regular public school students from a population of 18,684 who completed test batteries in both their sophomore and senior years--are analyzed in this report. Included in the cluster of 12 school variables are school policies, school resources, and school practices. The…

The contents of the proceedings of this conference on improving school effectiveness, the purpose of which was to bring together a group of speakers who, because of their outstanding work, could help clarify some of the major issues in this area and perhaps help to suggest some solutions, include the following papers: "Does Education Make a…

Protests the trend to turn cultural analysis into a managerial tool by arguing that our research on school culture has only skimmed the cultural surface, and demonstrating the promise of language analysis for research on school culture. (BJV)

Recent state reforms that embrace the effective schools movement may actually be counterproductive. These mandates encourage the persistence of outmoded, teacher centered, pedagogical practices and current school organizational structures, inhibiting the development of students' independent reasoning and problem-solving skills, as well as the…

The central need in education is to recognize that many of the gains in pupil achievement, as measured in test scores, may not be sustainable if educators continue to be fixated on short-term outcomes and plans. This paper addresses the key concerns of how educators sustain and develop schools through the deployment of effective planning…

Effective building leadership and time utilization are important to the success of implementing change. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe the experiences of an urban junior high school principal involved in a collaborative change effort. Specifically studied were the principal's actions, behavior, communication, and…

The 14 papers in this volume address planning and administration of higher education within an international context. Papers are grouped into general studies, regional studies, and national and institutional studies. Included papers are: (1) "Management of Global and Educational Change: Challenges for Higher Education and Graduate…

Analyzes and compares research on the Effective Schools Movement and the New York (New York) City School Improvement Project. Proposes a synthesis of the two traditions that can be used to implement equity-based educational innovations. (FMW)

Almost a third of all schools in Australia responded to an invitation to express views about how Australia's schools might be made more effective. This report presents the views that schools should have a full-blown view of what Australia wants for its children and youth, and they should be concerned with personal and social as well as…

Schools working in cooperation with business can reduce the number of youth at risk of long-term unemployment if teachers and school administrators are willing to learn from research developed outside the field of public education and if schools are substantially restructured to meet student needs. A review of the literature of labor economics and…

Poor educational performance and the changing nature of work and workers have prompted calls for a major restructuring of American schools. The following broad categories of restructuring options are discussed and supporting research is reviewed: (1) decentralizing authority over schooling through school-based management, more professional…

Parental choice is seen as a promising approach to school improvement. This report supports choice by suggesting answers to the following questions that reformers might ask: (1) is school performance poor enough to justify wholesale change? (2) what have schools done about troubling trends in student performance? (3) what do other researchers say…

To help young adolescents reach their potential, middle schools must provide high quality intellectual climates that foster the development of adaptive skills which students can use throughout their lives. Accordingly, practical advice is presented for 12 interrelated dimensions of schooling at the middle level that merit the highest priority…