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…

A summary of the school restructuring movement and an outline of strategies for implementation are presented. The underlying principles of restructuring are included in four broad strategies, which include school-based management, teacher empowerment, voice/choice, and teaching for understanding. New responsibilities for state policymakers include…

This annotated bibliography offers a sampling of a wide variety of viewpoints on the topic of school choice. Fourteen references selected for annotation, ranging from a 3-page journal article to a 266-page book, are listed at the beginning of the bibliography. Among the viewpoints that different authors represent are the following: (1) unlimited…

Federal spending on education has risen steadily over the past three decades to unprecedented levels. However, research indicates that "money neutral" solutions, such as local control and parent choice, are the real keys to educational reform. Educational spending, after correction for inflation, has increased each year since the 1929/30…

This paper, by the President of the Detroit Board of Education, discusses aspects of the school choice issue, providing examples from recent developments in the Detroit (Michigan) public school system. The paper argues that freedom of choice in an educational context is a critical right of parents, and that schools of choice offer the best…

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…

The Assisted Places Scheme introduced by England's Conservative government in 1980 provides for the government to make up the difference between the cost of private secondary school tuition and the amount that eligible students can afford to pay (determined according to a sliding scale based on parent income). As a result, the private schools can…

From October 1982 through September 1984, the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) piloted a research and demonstration project to test the outcome of using vouchers to finance the public provision of child care. Because of historical funding patterns which tied day care subsidies to particular…

The value system of a school is a major factor affecting the teacher's working conditions, but public discourse on educational reform tends to avoid serious discussion of the most deeply embedded values in our educational system. This absence of serious reflection on values limits consideration of alternatives for improving both education and the…

This paper considers how acceptance of arguments for the rights of parents to choose their children's schools would affect the regulatory and fiscal policies that underlie the existing mixed public/private system. The paper first reviews the existing system, describing state and federal methods for providing financial assistance to private…

This selective and annotated bibliography represents the body of literature published on nonpublic elementary and secondary education between 1950 and 1980, as well as some important titles that appeared in 1981. The work covers all aspects of independent and church-related schools--their aims and objectives, history, administration, and…

A model is proposed for enhancing family choice in public education; unlike many previous voucher plans, it would build on current trends in educational administration. Following an introduction that reviews these trends--highlighting recent developments in California school finance--two central assumptions are stated: that regulated competition…

Interviews with the parents of 153 randomly selected fifth-grade students in urban and suburban schools in the Chicago (Illinois) area provided the data for addressing two hypotheses: first, that parents' choice among educational alternatives for their children may depend on parental dispositions toward the role of schooling in their children's…

Private schools receive differential treatment in Canada because of the dominant viewpoint that parents sending their children to private schools do not deserve government assistance. Examination of entitlement to human rights can contribute to developing a more sympathetic view of the funding of private schools. (Author/JAZ)

The article reviews the National Governors Association recommendation to allow parents to choose the public schools their children attend. Included are U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett's comments on the recommendations and comments by other concurring educators. The role of school boards as elected representatives of the community is…