School improvement activities have commonly been treated as objects of study, constituting "research on" school improvement rather than "design of" school improvement. The key elements in a school improvement effort design involve particularizing for the instant situation the operational referents for the terms: school,…

Examines experiences and evaluations of the New American Schools design teams and other whole-school reform efforts, focusing on challenges in the scale-up effort and suggesting that there are some designs that are effective in making improvements in some aspects of schooling in some places at some times. Discusses how to fulfill the promises of…

Asserts that general education requires continuous attentiveness by all those involved in its design and implementation, because in general education courses, students get their first experience of the vitality of college-level learning. Suggests that the issues involved in the framework of effective general education include such things as…

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson discusses his "Push for Excellence" program and shares his views on the responsibilities of teachers, parents, and students. (Editor/SJL)

Describes the learning college model for community colleges, which places learning first and assumes that educational experiences should be designed for learners rather than faculty. Chronicles efforts of Oregon's Lane Community College, California's Palomar College, and Arizona's Maricopa Community Colleges to restructure into learning colleges.…

The future of educational design, development, and improvement lies in integrating "how" with "what" and "why." Critical strategic thinking factors include abandoning comfort zones; focusing on ends, not means; linking all three planning and result levels; starting with an ideal vision; preparing measurable…

Discusses the rationale and basic features of an educational partnership between Boston University (Massachusetts) and the Chelsea Public Schools (Massachusetts) designed to rebuild Chelsea's school quality. It reviews the reasons for the educational quality decline in today's urban public school system and highlights the underlying principles and…

According to this report, since the 1960s many of the gains of post-Sputnik reform have been allowed to slip away and, as reports of the early 1980s have emphasized, elementary and secondary education has been neglected. The shock of technological and economic losses to other countries has once again alerted the United States to its educational…

A senior foundation executive addresses a number of concerns about higher education's performance, including the low national college completion rate, decreasing minority enrollment, programs poorly designed for nontraditional students, cooperation with two-year and technical institutions, lagging minority faculty recruitment, and contributions to…

Discussion of redesigning the current models of public education focuses on the Schoolyear 2000 Initiative in Florida, which is aimed at large-scale redesign of schooling. Design requirements for the new model are described, the role of technology is discussed, and the use of quality systems and total quality management (TQM) concepts is reviewed.…

The papers presented at this conference review current research on effective educational practices for low-achieving students and identify those that might be applied to programs funded under Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981. A function assumed by several conference participants was to act as reactor to papers…

Local educational reform efforts involving school systems, higher education, and the community must address educational pipelines through college and systemic deterrents like health, stress, and violence. A sense of moral imperative will bind collaborators in a new spirit of cohesiveness and community. Educational reform efforts in Birmingham…