This paper reports a study of curriculum and teaching methods in 10 Old Order Mennonite one-room schools in Pennsylvania. It provides a review of the historical background and cultural characteristics of the Old Order Mennonites. The one-room schools examined in the study are similar in structure and instruction to U.S. public one-room schools of…

Materials presented in this document focus on the historical development of culture and politics and their effects on education in Poland. This document proposes that Polish education is affected by the societal pressures of socialization and change and that schools socialize children in the cultural and philosophical behavior patterns of a…

This paper examines three areas of alternative education: (1) In what ways, and for whom, are alternative schools alternative? (2) What appear to be the unanticipated consequences of the creation of alternative schools? (3) Can the creation of alternative schols be considered a change strategy? The authors compare the ideals of alternative…

This book brings together in a convenient form a large amount of recent research on open classrooms. Pointing out that open education is more a philosophy than a set method, the book begins with an attempt to sketch the dimensions of the term. The chapter on recent evaluative research is especially helpful. A large number of studies are grouped by…

Nine elementary schools enrolling 852 sixth grade students participated in a study that examined the relationship between the organizational climate of elementary schools (whether the school was "open" or "closed") and the reading achievement of students. Each school's organizational climate was determined by administering the Organizational…

In this paper, data collected from two midwestern schools, one open and one traditional, were compared to determine differences in pedagogical techniques, routines of teachers' work, teacher participation in decision-making and school policy, and frequency of staff communication. School profiles (neighborhood composition, student characteristics,…

This paper presents results from a study of the effects on student development of open and traditional family and school environments. The theory is entertained that a match (or congruence) of family and school styles improves some student outcomes, while a mismatch (or incongruence) of environments results in improvement of different student…

The purpose of this practicum was to develop and field-test a model for reorganizing traditional school plants to accommodate and support individualized instruction. The model was implemented in five areas of eight traditional buildings in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Results demonstrated that reorganization could be accomplished at considerable…

The guidelines, resulting from a series of sessions held by the American Council of Industrial Arts Supervisors, were prepared to offer direction by describing educational specifications for industrial arts in the middle school. The middle school philosophy is child-centered and uses an individual approach to meet the unique needs of early…

Fifth-year pupil and teacher attitudes and opinions in innovative and conventional school plants during the 1970-1971 school year are contrasted. Teachers' educational backgrounds are also compared. The most significant finding of the study was that very few teachers in innovative plants favored a return to traditional school plants or…

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…

The Prisoner's Dilemma Game and locus of control measures were administered to eighth graders enrolled in an open or closed space school. Open-space students developed cooperative interdependence and made seating choices indicative of anticipated peer interaction most frequently. Interactions involving sex and race were obtained for cooperation…

Reports on a comparative study of a traditional and an alternative course offered in Victoria, Australia. Student attitudes provided the indices to changes in students' perceptions of themselves and their courses over one-year period. Students from the alternative course showed a greater increase in self-esteem, higher satisfaction with school,…

Discusses alternative programs and schools visited by the Hispanic Dropout Project. Notes a pervasive "disconnect" between alternative programs and "regular" schools, and outlines lessons alternative programs have to offer traditional schools. (SR)

This book argues that the Canadian public higher education system should return to the principles of a classical tradition of liberal education, abandoning the experimentation in school curricula and teaching methods of the last three decades. Taking as its point of departure the Ontario government's initiatives concerning destreaming and the…