This book comprises part I of the eighty-sixth annual yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. Focusing on the theme of the ecology of school renewal, this volume consists of 12 articles by different authors. The first five articles focus on school improvement: "Structure, Process, and an Agenda" by John I. Goodlad; "Authority and Responsibility in Public Schooling" by Donna H. Kerr; "Evaluation in the Ecology of Schooling: The Process of School Renewal" by Kenneth A. Sirotnik; "Understanding School Culture" by Paul Heckman; and "The Road to School Improvement: Barriers and Bridges" by Ann Lieberman and Susan Rosenholtz. The next four articles focus on federal, state, and local responsibility: "The 1980's: States Assume Educational Leadership" by Calvin M. Frazier; "The District Role in School Renewal" by Richard C. Williams and others; "Seeing Clearly: The School as a Unit of Change" by John Henshaw and others; and "The School-Community Interface: Strategies of Community Involvement" by Richard L. Andrews. The final three articles focus on maximizing the effectiveness of the educational system: "Reporting and Using Educational Research: Conviction or Persuasion" by Margaret Buchmann; "Networking for Educational Improvement" by Beatrice A. Ward and Joseph T. Pascarelli; and "Toward a Healthy Ecosystem" by John I. Goodlad. Appended are a name index, a subject index, membership information, and a list of publications of the society. (TE)