Factors that contribute to excellence in education, as well as those that have contributed to the failure of change efforts, are the subject of this document. It provides a summary of the literature on reform efforts; effective schools; new organizational perspectives derived from the business sector; organizational restructuring being tested in…

Opinions of middle school students, called "transescents," were studied in an effort to provide feedback to adminstrators, parents, and teachers involved in program development in a school district with a K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grade level configuration. Participants were 200 students from a school district in east central Michigan. A…

Decentralization efforts in Australia after the publishing of the "Better Schools" report in 1987 are described in this paper. An overview of the implementation process concludes that the transition is halfway completed. However, the process has encountered strong resistance. Authority to determine the means, but not ends, was devolved…

The relationship between educational finance and organizational effectiveness or "health" in 50 Connecticut high schools was examined. Data were collected using existing organizational health questionnaires and archival data. A sample was randomly selected from the population of public high schools in Connecticut. Seven…

University admission requirements and achievement levels at the time of secondary school graduation are compared for five countries: the United States, the Soviet Union, France, Japan, and West Germany. Emphasis is placed upon the structural and cultural differences in the educational systems of these countries. In addition to college admission…

This study describes primary education in the Philippines. Focusing on the primary education system, Chapter One discusses the development of primary education, educational legislation, organization of the school system, administration and supervision, teaching staff, curriculum, textbooks and instructional materials, mass media and educational…

This report provides an overview of primary education in Belgium. Part I delineates: (1) official objectives; (2) primary school organization; (3) liaison between primary school and infant school; (4) number of pupils and teachers; (5) grouping of pupils; (6) the school timetable; (7) subjects taught; (8) pupil assessment methods; (9) aspects of…

This report represents the efforts of a commission of 20 citizens who were directed by the Illinois General Assembly to identify the principal problems in Illinois' elementary and secondary schools and to recommend specific actions for improving the State's educational program. The commission concluded that student learning should be the foremost…

An overview is presented of research studies that reflect the realities that exist in elementary and secondary public education. Explorations of school culture cite behavioral and programmatic regularities that make up the school culture and the importance of school principals' roles. Focusing on the teachers and the ways things actually get done…

Reviewing papers on a wide range of issues, this bibliography contains annotations for 794 articles excerpted from 86 journals published in Czechoslovakia, socialist countries, and capitalist countries. Following a brief explanation of future changes planned for the publication, Part I groups articles under the headings (1) Social and Ideological…

Provided in this report are (1) a discussion of the effects of historical events and linguistic complexities on elementary education in the People's Republic of China and (2) information on the Chinese educational system from early childhood education through the middle school (the equivalent of junior and senior high schools in the United…

Ten-year development plans of each of the eight campuses of the Universidad de Santiago de Chile, formerly called Universidad Tecnica del Estado, are evaluated, using content analysis. In addition to narrative descriptions, diagrams illustrate the features of each plan, which covers the period 1983-1993. Topics covered by the plans were grouped…

This is an interim report of the longitudinal research presently being conducted by the staff of the Management Implications of Team Teaching (MITT) Project. The MITT Project examines a fundamental change in the organization of the instructional staff of the American elementary school generally referred to as team teaching or team organization.…

Land scarcity dominates the thinking of school planners in Singapore. Techniques for optimizing the use of land for schools include (1) the construction of multi-storied or high-rise schools; (2) operation of a double-shift system and, in some cases, a triple-shift system; (3) multiple use of educational spaces; and (4) construction of several…

This paper describes a student centered, integrated curriculum that was developed at an English comprehensive school for 14- to 18-year-old students and shows how English was taught within this curriculum. Sections of the paper discuss (1) the historical roots of the problem of curriculum organization that the school faced; (2) the organizational…