The author of "The Fifth Discipline" says most schools are not learning organizations. Educators are too isolated and rule-bound to experience collective learning and engage students. Deep learning is learner-driven. Learning communities enhance people's collective capacity to create and pursue overall visions. Schools must exchange…

This article recounts the legal battles that ensued when the Saskatchewan (Canada) Minister of Education closed a special school for the deaf. The case, "Trofimenkoff versus Saskatchewan," is analyzed in terms of the plaintiffs' case against closure and decisions against the plaintiffs by the Minister, the Court of the Queen's Bench, and…

By merging and sharing operations with other institutions, small colleges can cut a variety of administrative costs. Interest in mergers is especially strong at private liberal arts colleges but has included two-year and vocational schools. Such partnerships can extend the life of a college or even promote growth. (MSE)

College presidents respond to an article by Richard Nolan challenging college and university presidents and chancellors to transform their campuses for survival and competitive advantage in the information age. Respondents include Richard D. Breslin, David M. Clarke, Joseph Cronin, Thomas Ehrlich, Donald N. Langenberg, Harold McAninch, and Donald…

Argues that the identity of basic writing (its status and position) is a function of larger institutional decision-making processes and therefore the focus of efforts to change basic writing should also engage these institutional processes. Focuses on how participating in technology design can be a wedge for engaging in decision making about the…

Many historically black colleges and universities have developed several projects to improve technology on campus and promote its use. Some see it as a key to institutional survival. Projects emphasize training students and faculty in computer use, making joint purchases, sharing on-line instructional experiences, and seeking grants to install…

During the 1990s, the school has become the center of blame. Policymakers seem more interested in identifying failing schools than celebrating successes. This paper uses case-study research on a once-innovative Ontario high school to show that "deadwood" schools do not kill themselves, but need outsiders' help. (42 references) (MLH)

To overcome cynicism, a New Jersey superintendent used his bully pulpit to convene community members in dialog about their schools' future. Enlightened public engagement led to facility improvements, technology infrastructure funding, expanded afterschool programs, critical-issues forums, state-aide advocacy efforts, and a culture of…

Since January 1998, when six former Metro Toronto (Ontario) school boards were consolidated into one board, Toronto's outdoor education centers have experienced restructuring, work stoppages, strikes, relocation, and threats of closure. Outdoor education advocates must form a new united group, preferably from the bottom up, to lobby for adequate…

Successful organizations, even when subjected to competitive pressures, soon become complacent and begin to fail. A strategic planning process that considers the dangers in a strong, shared culture might avert such complacency. Schools should take a wider development view than embodied in the (British) government's preoccupation with exam scores.…

Universities arose because a supportive and protective environment conducive to face-to-face learning, scholarship, and debate was needed. Predictions that various technologies, including television, teaching machines, and Internet-based instruction and distance learning, would replace universities have not been realized. For 800 years, nothing…

Interviews and a literature review found that outdoor recreation contributes significantly to Scotland's tourist income, particularly in rural areas; outdoor education centers are significant employers in certain rural areas; the provision of outdoor education by secondary schools has decreased in the last 20 years; and therapeutic outdoor…

This article describes the rapidly deteriorating conditions of innercity schools as a result of reductions in federal expenditures for public education during the Reagan Administration. It is argued that "excellence," in the Reagan agenda, has become a code word for retreat from equity. (TE)

Discusses ways in which community colleges have used collaboration and partnerships to enlarge resource bases, examining a range of approaches for addressing collaborative facility development. Reviews examples of community college facilities acquisition, construction, leasing, and shared-usage. Identifies issues and challenges involved with such…

In his study of the history of small towns along a rural South Dakota highway, the author discovered several economic and social forces that have influenced the growth and decline of small towns. Three towns, distinctive from the rest, have continued to grow and prosper over time. (LP)