A national seminar was held in September, 1988, in Lisbon, Portugal for the purpose of disseminating results of the Council of Europe's Council for Cultural Cooperation's project on innovation in primary education. Details of the implementation of the project and problems of primary education in Portugal were discussed at the seminar, which was…

The Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) is intended as a pilot, on a massive scale, of particular approaches, with a systematic need to identify TVEI effects on students, staff, resources, and curricula. TVEI has a strong tendency toward the development of pilot enclaves in terms of its administrative, curricular,…

The change process as it affects program implementation is the topic of this paper, which presents an overview of current knowledge about this process, discusses the methodology appropriate to future research on and evaluations of program implementation, and considers several areas in which new knowledge must be developed if the success of future…

A study was made of nine elementary school principals involved in implementing a curriculum innovation in their schools. The goal of this research was to determine what principals actually do on a day-to-day basis in their role as facilitators of change in their schools and to learn if there was a difference in the effectiveness of their actions…

An overview of recent trends in research on educational innovation contributes to a framework for further analysis. Two basic assumptions made are that innovation depends on multiple factors and that innovation itself is a three-stage process involving initiation, implementation, and incorporation into an organizational structure. The most…

The policy-making and policy implementation processes used in Swedish higher education, the most comprehensive recent reform effort, are analyzed to illuminate the larger problem of higher education reform in general. It is concluded that the experiences do not fit the standard models of public choice, nor do they conform to prevailing ideas about…

Duval County Florida superintendent John Fryer was not used to flying blind. A retired Air Force major general and former tactical fighter wing commander new to school district leadership, Fryer was used to having a control panel packed with information. In front of him in the cockpit, Fryer had a wide range of continually updated data from which…

In this book, the authors provide an overview of adult learning and its impact on professional development. The chapters provide a theoretical foundation along with practical advice on implementing team-based professional development among educators within school districts which will lead to true systemic reform. The following seven chapters are…

Does Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) work? Research results have been mixed. Some studies have measured a modest improvement in student achievement; others have found no effect. A team of RAND researchers has approached the question of CSR's effectiveness by first focusing on an even more basic question: Has CSR been implemented? A shortcoming…

In the wake of economic and social change in Japan, several lifelong learning initiatives have been implemented. Structural changes such as internationalization, the coming of the information age, and the maturation of Japanese society caused the formerly homogeneous society to become more flexible, paving the way for lifelong learning. Additional…

This progress interim report describes trends in implementation, school performance, and related factors for a sample of schools participating in the New American Schools (NAS) program. NAS is a program funding the development of designs aimed at transforming entire schools at the elementary and secondary levels. This evaluation focuses on the…

Benin is breaking new ground through a profound reform of its primary school system. The innovation in the system is the revolutionary approach as regards educational practice. The main focus has shifted, in the objectives of the curriculum, from what to teach to whom to empower. This paper analyzes the Reforme de l'ecole de qualite fondamentale…

As states have initiated educational reforms founded on standards-based education, teachers' roles have changed dramatically, shifting from the use of more structured textbook-driven instructional methods to more flexible, collaborative approaches. Teachers have implemented these changes with varying degrees of success. In this publication,…

This study examined the impact of the second year of the federal class-size reduction (CSR) program in the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), North Carolina. The 23 participating schools in the WCPSS had from 22% to 51% of their students receiving free or reduced-price lunches. In the second year, the CSR program was expanded from grades 1…

The Concerns Based Acceptance Model (CBAM) has been a key element in developing and assessing the implementation of science and mathematics programs over the past 20 years. CBAM provides an organized approach to assessing where people stand as they learn about, and accept, changes in organizations. This study examined the status of the adoption of…