In 1970, two of Lynchburg, Virginia's elementary school districts were combined to accomplish court-ordered pupil integration. The Elizabeth Kizer School housed grades K-2 and Dearington School, grades 3-5. Prior to the desegregation order, Kizer's enrollment had been 100 percent white and Dearington's enrollment 100 percent black. In 1989, as…

Shared leadership among members of a home, school, and community partnership is an idealistic goal that sounds good in theory but can be very difficult to achieve. Based on a review of the literature on issues in collaboration and applied research conducted by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, this paper examines the importance of…

The desegregation process has pinpointed areas of curriculum reform that are needed to help establish quality integrated educational experiences. A racial and ethnic mix is only a beginning. Institutional procedures have become established in schools which may prohibit the realization of the goal of integrated education. School systems should…

The Urban Education Studies focuses its efforts on the study of promising educational programs in urban school districts. Experience has confirmed the basic assumption that many programs and strategies of demonstrated or potential excellence are to be found in the urban setting. The generalizations gleaned from the data and on-site visits…

An attitude change campaign using an interpersonal and mass media strategy for agenda-setting could be used to elicit community understanding of child-abusing parents from a therapeutic rather than a punitive perspective, thereby improving the handling of this social problem. An outline of such a campaign would include phases of surveying the…

Compares the problems faced in public education to those of U.S. industry during the past two decades. Points out that today's educational enterprise requires greater cooperation, communication, and commitment. Calls for the formation of a new partnership among education, business, and community. In place of separate reforms, advocates a new…

The case study described here was conducted as a doctoral research project at Northern Arizona University. The study documents the success of the Shuswop Indian Band of Alkali Lake, British Columbia (Canada), in their 15-year battle with alcoholism, once the people themselves decided on recovery. The study looks back at the 95 percent recovery…

While educational institutions in rural America present unique characteristics and offer opportunities for administrative excellence, educators have tended to overlook rural resources and the possibility of implementing educational programs in community life, which in turn, would reflect the heritage of rural culture and values. This paper…

In an examination of the characteristics of universities, a plan for an educational linkage unit to facilitate lifelong learning is suggested. The five functions of higher education are defined as trusteeship of cognitive culture, research and graduate training, socialization, certification, and service to society. Factors influencing change are…

Passage in 1989 of Oklahoma's education reform bill, H.B. 1017, provided encouragement and financial rewards for use of consolidation as a reform strategy, but this approach is often met with anxiety and hostility from stakeholders. In an effort to identify strategies that facilitate consolidation, semistructured interviews were conducted with the…

Based on the proposition that shared decision making affords greater opportunity for the support, commitment, and motivation necessary to achieve improved learning situations in small communities, the Rural Education Program (REP) of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory has developed a planning model to aid small rural school districts.…

The Tenderloin Senior Outreach Project (TSOP) in San Francisco facilitated the development of intentional networks among elderly residents of eight single room occupancy (SRO) hotels in an attempt to improve residents' health and well being, and to focus on social and environmental change. The 45 block Tenderloin area is one of the largest…

This guide is written for teenagers who may be considering becoming active in their communities. It explains ways teens can increase their power and effectiveness in community life and some of the things they will encounter along the way. It begins by emphasizing the importance of community service, illustrating the ways that teens already may be…

The dilemmas facing urban schools can be examined on the instructional level. Low achievement of inner city students is attributable largely to educational inequities. Often the expectations and attitudes of teachers, parents, and students work in combination to yield a nonproductive learning climate. This negative climate is preserved by…

Four different assumptions about the nature of rural education govern major strategies to reform its deficiencies: rural education is a problem because it is not urban; some small isolated schools are "necessarily existent"; small schools are desirable because of flexibility and responsiveness; and educational problems are independent of…