Continuous improvement is a holistic and research-based approach to education grounded in the belief that every system is designed to achieve the results it gets; therefore, change must be systemwide, not piecemeal. California is a national leader in the continuous improvement movement that is spreading throughout local school districts as well as…

"Teaching in Context" provides new evidence from a range of leading scholars showing that teachers become more effective when they work in organizations that support them in comprehensive and coordinated ways. The studies featured in the book suggest an alternative approach to enhancing teacher quality: creating conditions and school…

Without a doubt the authors' proposal of viewing gifted education in systemic terms is a promising one. In fact, it is most refreshing to read something eclectic like this with an aim to synthesize a field of research and practice which for too long has lacked consensus in both practice and theory. The author agrees with them that a mechanistic…

Despite scholarly calls for school social work (SSW) practice to orient more toward systems within and around schools, evidence indicates that individual and small-group interventions continue to dominate practice as well as the research that informs it. In response, the authors propose a more thorough consideration of educational and sociological…

The origins and evolution of the field of emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) provide a context for offering suggestions for advancing the field. Building from this historical past and the research of others in the field, four broad recommendations which focus on academic and social needs of students with E/BD are offered: (a) ensuring high…

Uses a case study to illustrate how counselors can use chaos and complexity theory in their work, providing an alternative view to assist counselors in conceptualizing their clients and their practice. Using chaos theory in counseling requires a reevaluation of counselors' assumptions about causation, prediction, and control. (LKS)

Identifies gaps between what research reveals about how college students learn and current academic, pedagogical, and administrative practices and policies. Offers five explanations of why these gaps exist and suggests that change must be systemic, and will also require that people relearn their roles, systematic measurement of progress, and a…

This guidebook describes large scale change strategies to develop inclusive approaches to educational policy and practice at the state and district levels. The information was developed under the auspices of a 5-year federally funded project, "The Consortium on Inclusive Schooling Practices," which gathered and synthesized information about…

This book presents a theoretical road map for teachers, professors, or administrators who seek guidance from the educational change literature. The introduction presents an overview of assumptions, early traditions of change research, other reviews of change research, and practical application of education change theory. Eleven chapters discuss:…

This directory is one of five which together describe almost 1200 discretionary grants and contracts currently supported by the Research to Practice Division of the Office of Special Education Programs under the 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This section of the directory covers grants and contracts in…

General education and professional education are both important in a learning society. Pedagogy has devoted all its attention to developing general education while regarding professional education as a type of nonobligatory education. From the beginning, general education and professional education have been divided, with the former oriented…

This document presents a case study for an innovative session exploring the nature of learning and the relationship between action learning within academic programs in adult education/human resource development (HRD) and the higher education institutions that house them. The first two sections discuss the dilemmas confronting higher education and…

This document contains eight papers on adult learning and literacy research and practice. "The Year 1999 in Review" (Dave Speights) presents an overview of adult learning and literacy research funding, policy, and activities in 1999. "Making Sense of Critical Pedagogy in Adult Literacy Education" (Sophie C. Degener) details a…

This book, which is written from the perspective of a practicing human resources manager, presents 17 case studies illustrating how technology is driving a new training paradigm. The case studies support 21 propositions regarding training in the e- learning (electronic learning) revolution, including the following:(1) the Internet changes…