A common theme in educational change literature is that principals do not truly understand the change process and therefore cannot successfully implement change. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the change processes that Colorado principals utilized when initiating and implementing change in their buildings. The study also…

During 1973-75, the Rand Corporation conducted a study of federally funded change agent programs to determine the factors for successful change in the schools at the local, state, and federal levels. The programs included the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Title III, Innovation Projects; ESEA Title VII, Bilingual Projects;…

Ways in which program innovators, policy developers, and educational researchers think about and engage in disseminating innovations to schools can prove a major barrier to reform. A process for effective dissemination using the coaching model in the accelerated schools program is described here. Accelerated schools draw on three principles: unity…

A private, nonprofit corporation, New American Schools (NAS) funds the development of designs aimed at transforming entire schools at the elementary and secondary levels. This report describes a large number of NAS sites in their early implementation stages. The report is the first in a series that monitors a longitudinal sample of schools…

Findings of a study that examined the relationship between superintendents' leadership styles and educational change are presented in this paper, with a focus on the implementation of the EDUCATION 2000 National Model Schools Network, a site-based school improvement and restructuring initiative of the American Forum for Global Education. The…

This paper chronicles the organizational life of two high schools in the northeastern United States as they responded to the national impetus for change. The study used a methodology employing ethnographic field study methods including field notes, interviews, and artifact collection and analysis. Riverside High pursued a locally initiated change…

Three bilingual kindergarten classrooms were studied in depth in their school settings to see what conflicts arise between the expectations of the mainstream administrative structure of the school and the expectations of the bilingual curriculum of the district and how such conflicts are handled. Particular attention was given to potential…

This report provides information on permanent part-time employment programs in the federal government. It contains statistical data showing general characteristics of the federal part-time work force and information about the part-time employment programs of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Veterans Administration, General Services…

Attitudes of educational practitioners toward change processes associated with school improvement were assessed in a study conducted in a suburban midwestern school district. Eighty-nine teachers, principals, and instructional assistants from five schools completed questionnaires that were developed following classroom observations and interviews…

Over a 5-week period 43 typical trainers in a nationwide corporation were observed to determine uses and abuses of training techniques. The adult educators who were observed were technically expert, but otherwise untrained. Factors that enhance or detract from training effectiveness were identified, specifically as regards organizing and…

The third in a series, this report provides a brief look at the recent history of the education reform movements in 10 states. The report begins with an essay by William Chance, former executive director of the Washington State Temporary Committee on Educational Policies, Structure and Management. In an article entitled "Changing the Terms of…

A three phase study was conducted on the role of regular classroom teachers in implementing individualized education programs (IEPs) for mainstreamed special education students. IEPs in 20 elementary sites were reviewed in phase 1, 59 elementary teachers were surveyed in phase 2, and 16 of those surveyed participated in interviews in phase 3. Five…

The current literature on implementation analysis is reviewed, with emphasis on the most recent German literature. The use of implementation analysis is also discussed as a means for analysis and prediction of higher education reforms in Germany. The implementation approach emphasizes the process of carrying out a policy and explores the reasons…

Results are reported from an investigation of the implementation and effects of The Adaptive Learning Environments Model (ALEM), a program designed to provide special education services for mainstreamed handicapped students in regular classroom settings on a full-time basis. ALEM includes components of prescriptive instruction with informal…

The study examined implementation of the Dean's Grant Projects which funded institutions of higher education to change their preservice teacher education programs and the capabilities of teacher education faculty to incorporate skills necessary for mainstreaming handicapped students. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model was used to investigate two…