Although data driven-decision making has been the mantra of school reform for the last 10 years, school leaders benefit from frequent discussions in how to engage teachers in the process. As a result, the purpose of this paper is to apply Reeves' (2004) framework concerning Antecedents of Excellence in creating a school culture that routinely uses…

Recent commission and task force reports calling for significant improvements in American education are considered in this set of three papers, and methods for implementing the recommendations are suggested. In his paper, Glen Harvey reviews the reports, noting the extent to which they fail to consider change implementation research and commenting…

A detailed report is given on the mechanics involved in conducting a successful bi-regional workshop for educators. The theme of the workshop was designed around two Research Within Reach (RWR) documents dealing with oral/written communications and secondary mathematics; however, papers and discussion generated by the workshop are not included in…

As educators across the nation launch into frenzied efforts to "do something" in response to the various recommendations of commissions on educational excellence, many are forgetting that knowledge of how to implement change is available. This paper focuses on three concerns that educators must face when fitting general recommendations…

This guidebook describes large scale change strategies to develop inclusive approaches to educational policy and practice at the state and district levels. The information was developed under the auspices of a 5-year federally funded project, "The Consortium on Inclusive Schooling Practices," which gathered and synthesized information about…

Drawing on research conclusions about the process of educational change, this report seeks to demonstrate the importance of understanding the diverse factors that inhibit or enable school improvement efforts. The report focuses on leadership and support in achieving successful change and stresses that principals are but one of several players who…

Change processes at the school building level are considered in order to formulate a number of locally based strategies, derived from research, for significantly improving schools and classrooms. Part I of the three-part analysis examines, through illustration, what is known about successful change processes at the school and classroom levels.…

Results from a project of linked alumni and employer surveys at North Carolina State University were analyzed to explore the comparability of the ratings. A survey of administrators was subsequently undertaken to explore the impact of survey-based assessment information on planning, assessment, curriculum revision, and customer satisfaction at the…

College public relations officers are urged to incorporate regular and systematic evaluation into program administration. The process of planning public relations activities would include qualitative research to identify issues; audience-specific surveys to gauge attitudes; action to accomplish objectives; and measurement of that action's…

To assist in local school improvement, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) has developed an approach in which teams of local educational leaders are made aware of the results of effective schooling research and are trained in the processes of change and improvement. Research reviews have shown specific elements of schooling at the…

This monograph is written to be used by school personnel and is a compilation of many ideas. The first chapter discusses the two key ingredients that school districts must consider to promote restructuring: leadership and teacher participation. Eight steps in the process and planning of restructuring are listed. As schools begin the process of…

This report synthesizes the findings of four studies that focused on school districts as the center of focus for school-improvement efforts. The studies did not examine school systems that had been high performing for a long time; rather, they took their data from districts serving high percentages of students who typically struggle but were…

This report highlights the research on how schools across the country have successfully transformed themselves into high-performing schools. It provides suggestions for how school leaders can use this knowledge base as they examine their schools' instructional and administrative practices. Chapter titles reflect the contents: (1)…

Designed to help principals in rural and small schools, this volume contains 29 articles under the three broad headings of new possibilities in everyday practice, applications of recent research, and initiatives to help schools and communities grow. The editors' introduction notes the challenges facing small school administrators, the problems…

This volume evaluates the effects of contemporary issues and technological trends upon the nature of Western society's educational systems and its ability to cope with changes in employment. The work is a translation from Italian. Three chapters emphasize higher education and compulsory education's relationship to a future society of quality…