This article is a literature review of the professional competencies and personal qualities commonly associated with successful leadership in rural schools. Multiple definitions of the term rural are provided. A delimitation of this research is that findings reflect literature published from 2005-2015, positioning this document as a current…

Originally published as a special issue of the "Middle School Journal," this book presents integrative curriculum as a foundational element of the middle school. By addressing the current gap in literature on curriculum integration in the middle grades, this text explores how learning can be organized around authentic concepts or…

This paper is a reflection on my journey in a work-based (WB) research project while completing my PhD at a large Australian university. The paper explores issues that arose as I studied strategic change in the university and my role evolved from that of a "change agent" working as part of a project team to that of a researcher. A case…

To study the actions that can be used to manage and support change in high schools, two researchers made two-day visits to two high schools in each of nine districts in various geographic areas of the nation, where they interviewed students, staff, and central office personnel. In each district, researchers selected one school they judged to be…

This article describes conceptual and statistical issues in three approaches to the measurement of change in early intervention programs: change scores, indexes of change, and residual change scores. Advantages and limitations of each approach are reviewed. Problems with the reliability of change scores are highlighted. Criteria for selecting…

This paper begins by providing a thorough history and review of the diffusion of innovations research tradition. It then focuses on undesirable, indirect, and unanticipated consequences of innovations based on the dominant paradigm of development. In the case of high-input agriculture, the consequences have affected the quality of the environment…

Designed to serve as an introduction to instructional development for the teacher or graduate student who has not read extensively in the field, this chapter presents an operational definition of the instructional development process; explores the human dimensions of the process; provides graphic models of instructional development; and makes…

Of the 233 facilitators trained between August 1979 and January 1985 to introduce the /I/D/E/A/ Principals' Program to principals in their local areas, 206 completed a training program evaluation form. From this form the facilitator trainers obtained data concerning factors affecting the effectiveness of facilitator training programs. Ratings were…

This chapter examines several aspects of the instructional development (ID) process as it occurs in higher education, and presents arguments: (1) in favor of using students in various aspects of the instructional development process; (2) in favor of "shotgunning" rather than taking on only large projects; and (3) against confusing instructional…

Presents and analyzes the first year's results of a longitudinal study designed to measure teachers' and principals' stages of concern regarding implementation of a potentially controversial innovation--benchmark testing. Results indicate that the responding 241 teachers and 52 principals were positively disposed and interested in making the…

This discussion of the current state of the art in the field of instructional development includes an integration of the points made by the authors of Chapters 1-12 in the book, "Instructional Development: The State of the Art, Volume I," together with additional material. A discussion of professional organizations, journals, and…

Rural sociology needs a conceptualization of social change and its implications for the discipline. Scientifically adequate conceptualization would enable rural sociologists to understand their own and others' social roles as activities which are aspects of social change. With this understanding the rural sociologist could conceive of his…

E.W. Scripps's penny newspapers brought a new style of public service journalism to the Pacific Northwest's four largest cities--Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, and Portland--in the turbulent years of the Progressive movement from 1899 to 1912. Minimal investment, tight cost controls, and the idea that a small, condensed newspaper could be more popular…

This article reports findings from a two-year study of 17 change agents working in three New York City school improvement programs. Interview, observation, and ranking data from the change agents, their managers, and their school clients were analyzed, and a synthesis of findings resulted in a list of 18 key skills for educational change agents.…

Introduces Q-analysis, a methodology for investigating a wide range of structural phenomena that defines structures in terms of relations between members of sets and reveals their salient features by using techniques of algebraic topology. Applications relevant to librarianship and information science are reviewed and present limitations…