The Rural Educational Environment (REE) is a complex mixture of demographic and economic forces that interact to impact the rural school corporation. The condition of REE financial and human capital indicates REE health and may influence student performance on standardized tests. This paper proposes an ecosystem model of the impact of financial,…

The program Effective Schooling in Rural Africa was developed by the Basic Education Cluster of the World Bank in response to concerns about poor quality schooling in rural Africa. This report draws on a multi-agency working group meeting held in June 2000 and on subsequent work to outline some key elements of the information base for quality…

This study aims to: (1) determine if a relationship exists between faculty characteristics and attitudes concerning various forms of instructional technology; (2) document information regarding instructional technology training; (3) determine if a relationship exists between faculty characteristics and attitudes concerning distance education; (4)…

This study examined the external impacts and monitoring patterns of student assessment information on institutions, based on institutional type and control in seven areas: student applications or acceptance rates, allocation or share of state funding, evaluations from regional accrediting agency, private fund-raising results, success on grant…

Examines superintendents', principals', and teachers' coping strategies for dealing with externally imposed problems or disruptive change in four Manitoba school divisions. Identifies seven major coping strategies and analyzes them in terms of strategic choice theory versus environmental determinist theory. Contains 30 references. (SV)

Considers what would happen if traditional child care activities were used in a retirement home. The needs of both age groups are summarized. Recommendations based on requirements of human and physical environments, and community and program services, are offered. (SH)

Reflects on ideas of feminism and critical literacy and their significance in relation to the current policy environment. Topics explored include the dilemmas of personal development; issues of culture, power, and coercion; shifting the focus to teaching; personal and pedagogical influences; pedagogical praxis; and developing a collective…

A review of the literature on university faculty research productivity found a consistent set of 12 characteristics common in research-conducive environments. Findings included (1) the leader has a disproportionate impact through his influence on all the other characteristics, and (2) participative governance is important in promotion of research…

Responsibilities and relationships of professional and paraprofessional library staff are changing as a consequence of societal, educational, and technological forces. These changes are having lasting impact on organizational structure, particularly in the face of increasing service expectations and higher costs. This article contains suggestions…

To examine the perception of instructors who teach in prison college programs, two studies were conducted, the first in 1993 and the second in 2003. Three areas of measurement were included in the survey instrument sent to professors working in the Ball State University's Prison Program, Muncie, IN. The first measurement was that of instructors'…

This study examines faculty perceptions of how their institutions are governed. Data were drawn from the Carnegie Foundation International Survey of the Academic Profession; the Carnegie Survey gathered demographic data as well as information about the work patterns, career progression, attitudes and values of the professoriate in higher learning…

In this study, 76 faculty (48 tenured, 28 nontenured) at 5 private universities were interviewed and asked to rate seven questions on tenure and then comment on their ratings. Faculty were at small and medium-sized colleges and universities in Southern California and represented the fields of sociology, history, biology, and business. The faculty…

This brief report summarizes a longer document with the same title. It reviews how college faculty are increasingly collaborating to do much of their work. It notes that the two principal forms of collaboration, teaching and research, are often distinctive arrangements depending on the field of study, institutional environment, and task…

A pilot program based on a school-based decision making model (SBDM) implemented in eight inner city schools is evaluated in this report. The relationships between program effectiveness and school climate, between teacher characteristics and teacher perceptions of school climate, and between student characteristics and student perceptions of…

The environment within which an organization must operate is expected to influence its administrative and program characteristics. Since public schools operate in more complex and conflicting environments than do private schools, it is predicted that they will exhibit greater administrative complexity and less curricular coherence. These…