This book argues for much greater attention to ethical education and responds to skeptics who doubt its accomplishment in a pluralistic, secular society that is badly fragmented over values. The book seeks themes that unite rather than divide and provides a conceptual foundation for ethical education, broad enough for building consensus among…

Outcome-based education (OBE) means clearly focusing and organizing everything in an educational system around what is essential for all students to be able to do successfully at the end of their learning experiences. This book examines the issues critical to understanding and implementing OBE. Chapter 1 addresses a range of issues related to the…

Arguing that whole language must assume a more critical edge if it is to reach its potential as a force for positive change, this book calls on educators to take action to protect themselves against threats from within and outside the whole language movement. Noting that the most obvious challenges are from critics who offer simplistic solutions…

Presenting an in-depth look at alternatives to ability grouping in elementary school reading and language arts programs, this book presents eight essays that offer a variety of practical suggestions and resources for educators interested in moving to or enhancing their use of flexible grouping for reading instruction. The book describes programs…

Quality is an important part of the process of managing institutional change. This book focuses on how Total Quality Management (TQM) as a management philosophy translates into practice, both in school systems and corporations. Data were obtained through observations and interviews conducted at 11 sites--4 companies and 7 educational facilities.…

One of the main reasons why educational change often fails is the neglect of implementation. This book presents a summary of what has been learned during the past decades about implementing successful school improvement. Chapter 1 provides an overview of this knowledge, identifying factors and processes associated with success, and pointing to…

This book shows how Deming's Total Quality Management (TQM) theory for organizational management can be integrated with the effective-schools literature. Part 1 compares the 14 principles of TQM with the tenets of effective-schools research. The second part develops a blueprint for creating the total quality effective school. The conceptual…

This book provides insights into one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive school-restructuring movements, the Accelerated Schools Project. Since its inception in 1986, the focus of the movement has been on transforming schools with students at risk of dropping out into schools with high expectations of all students. This is accomplished,…

Intended primarily for principals and guidance counselors, this monograph contains 15 articles written by practitioners associated with, and staff of, the Comprehenisve Career Development Project for Secondary Schools in Tennessee. The following articles are included: "Changes: From Crisis Counseling to a Comprehensive Career Development…

There has been much recent debate in both educational and political circles about the utility of choice as a means of improving the educational system. This book argues that any discussion of choice must address choice in public schools. The book is organized into seven chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of choice in public education,…

This book provides insights into how one state department of education perceived its role in the interpretation and implementation of educational reform legislation. It is based on the experiences of a former state department of education employee and her coworker, who were hired to administer three new programs to increase teacher retention--a…

Development planning has recently become a commonly adopted strategy for school improvement in the United Kingdom. Development planning is a description and more formal explication of the process and actions required to plan and manage change with the intention of improving the school. The chapters in this book report on the "state of the…

Efforts to reform the welfare system in the United States have been gaining momentum since the late 1980s. Critics have been arguing that states should receive federal waivers to create their own programs to encourage welfare recipients to find work. The thrust of the 1996 welfare reform act transfers control over welfare spending to the states.…

Ten articles provide a detailed look at examples of real-world multiage classrooms; review the literature and research surrounding multiage groupings; explore the practical issues involved in organizing, conducting, and assessing multiage classrooms; and offer insight into the many implications of and subtleties that accompany multiage groupings.…

By discussing the commonalities of community and multicultural education; this monograph intends to provide a rational base for and encourage efforts toward coordination, cooperation, and integration of these two concepts. Part 1 addresses the conceptual structure of community education and multicultural education. Questions are listed that focus…