Schools are faced with increasing pressures from declining test scores and outcry from the public to improve the educational system. Efforts to reform the system have varied widely and produced inconsistent results. One school took a different approach by embracing the reform efforts through a systematic change process, led by a transformational…

Persistently low-achieving public schools around the country have received $5.8 billion from the federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) program, in addition to districts and state funds, and other supplementary federal funds. Despite all of these sources of funding, most of the schools receiving them have failed to make a dramatic difference in…

This paper contains findings of a study that investigated the extent to which three schools nationally recognized for their change efforts could provide evidence of systemic change. The conceptual framework was developed from the following sources: (1) the effective-schools movement; (2) structural reform; (3) the middle-school movement; (4)…

The major purposes of the School Improvement Resources Inquiry USA project (SIRIUS-A project) are to identify schools throughout the country, that are restructuring; to identify the kinds of structural changes being implemented; and to identify the kinds of change processes being used to plan and implement the restructuring. Some of the 62 schools…

Describes restructuring in a Western Australian school district. Provides background information and summarizes findings of a case study exploring what primary teachers thought about the restructuring of their work. The 60 teachers interviewed generally thought the restructuring process negatively influenced their curriculum work. Teachers felt…

This book is the second in a two-volume series of studies of educational change organized around three themes--systemic change, the transformation of policy into practice, and curriculum contexts. The book presents case studies from Australia, Great Britain, Israel, the United States, and New Zealand to illustrate the cross-cultural complexity of…

Provides a brief overview of historical trends in classroom instructional practices and explains the emergence of constructivist theory. Describes two instructional practices at the secondary level: curriculum integration and teaming. Reports findings of a case study examining one high school faculty's teaching practices while engaged in…

Significant curricular change extends into most other facets of schooling, including teaching, learning, and the school culture. This document reports findings of the Curriculum Reform Project, which conducted case studies of educational reforms in nine middle and senior high schools across the United States; prepared a cross-site analysis of the…

Education reform is an ongoing process that requires a major commitment over a long period of time. This volume, the second in a series of three, presents case-study findings of a 4-year research project on curriculum reform, with a focus on science education, mathematics education, and higher order thinking across the disciplines. The study, the…

Manitoba's secondary school system is under increasing pressure to respond to economic and social changes transforming the province. This report explores existing strategies related to curriculum development and adaptation, instruction, assessment, and leadership that could be used to restructure Manitoba secondary schools. A literature review…

Describes a case study focusing on the first year of a three-year change initiative in which holistic curriculum was implemented in a kindergarten through grade-eight school (Simcoe Street School) in Ontario (Canada). Documents the success of the implementation and its continued use as part of school philosophy. (SLD)

The relationship between high school restructuring and vocational reform was examined in case studies of two moderately large comprehensive California high schools that have undertaken schoolwide efforts to establish new forms of social organization for teachers' and students' work. Over the 2-year study period, several visits were made to each…

Significant change in curriculum also affects other facets of schooling, including teaching, learning, and the school culture. The Curriculum Reform Project explored the nature of various curricular reforms, the barriers to reform, and the means by which selected schools met challenges and achieved positive change. The 4-year research project…

Effective strategies for developing early childhood centers in public schools are discussed in this paper, which draws from a research-based literature search and intensive case studies of six Northwest sites. The sites represent a range of rural, suburban, and urban programs; large and small schools; and a variety of program features. The sites…

In the wake of the Chicago (Illinois) School Reform Act, Tilden High School (Chicago) hired a new principal and began self-evaluation in preparation for an accreditation association visitation. These events brought about curriculum development, staff development initiatives, changes in budget management, and, ultimately, an increase in student…