This study investigated the relationship between organizational climate and selected organizational variables--reading achievement, teacher experience, and teacher attrition. The study sample consisted of the total teaching staffs and 642 randomly selected students from five elementary schools in a metropolitan school district. Data were collected…

This booklet presents a discussion of some moral and philosophical aspects of issues in early childhood education, beginning with a look at the development of Project Head Start. Current educational research is interpreted and distinctions are made between academic and intellectual goals, between achieving and learning, between performing and…

The author, an elementary school principal, describes his own experiences in an urban open school program that fell far short of its goals despite ample funding and the enthusiastic participation of a group of young teachers committed to the approach. After reviewing assumptions about learning and knowledge and about the role of the teacher in the…

The student-centred education project is an action research project conducted by lecturers at an institution of higher education and university researchers over a 2-year period. Valuable experience has been gained about working with lecturers on projects that affect their beliefs about learning and instruction in practice. This article focuses on…

In 1991, the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) published "Standards for Quality Programs for Young Children." The standards were designed to provide elementary school principals with guidelines for appropriate organizational and instructional practices for children in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and primary…

Mariemont High School in Mariemont, Ohio, has an open facility that enhances the school's goal to train the student to "think reflectively, critically, and constructively about the problems of his world." (Author/MLF)

This study was a 2-year comparison of the effects of open classroom versus traditional instruction on children's self-concept, attitudes toward school and achievement of basic skills. The 250 participants were students in grades 1-6 of two elementary schools -- one utilizing an open classroom approach and the other a traditional approach. The…

The effects of classroom environment on students' achievement and perceptions of their learning environment were studied. The learning environment was categorized according to teachers' scores on the Open Education Teacher Questionnaire (OETQ). The scores on the OETQ were trichotomized to permit the formation of three groups--conventional, medium…

This is an account of the author's experience as a consultant in an elementary school which was attempting to move toward an open classroom approach. A psychologist and child development specialist with public school teaching experience, he defined for himself a twofold objective: (1) to work with principals and teachers to facilitate more open…

This report examines the efforts of a secondary school to develop comparable alternatives to those implemented at the elementary level in one Chicago school. Specifically, it examines the decision-making process of the staff to develop a 9-12 open school within the high school. The report traces the history of innovation in the high school and…

Reported is a research project conducted to train teachers in methods of open education for future implementation in their classrooms. The format of the program allowed participants to experience an open classroom in action by actually living the experience. Prior to participation in the workshop, the participants were asked to read five books to…

The education program of Northeast High School is based on the philosophy that education should be an experience in which students control some of their own learning experiences and learn how to handle them. This report describes modular scheduling, student achievement, and student and teacher attitudes toward modular scheduling. In a survey of…

While millions of dollars have been spent to build open space schools, relatively few have been allocated to teacher education, inservice training, and followup supervision. If a school district has a genuine commitment to an educational format that stresses student initiative and responsibility, backed by funds for staff development, teachers…

Teachers conducting more open programs and/or teaching in architecturally open schools had significantly more positive attitudes towards education, teaching, pupils, and educational innovation than did teachers conducting less open programs and/or teaching in architecturally closed or partially closed schools. This apparently reflects more…

Sixty-four teachers and student teachers from rural and urban schools were given the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory (MTAI) and the Classroom Environment Scale (CES) to investigate the relationship between teaching style and classroom learning atmosphere. Results indicated teachers create classroom sociopsychological climates consonant with…