School communities feel pressure to dramatically improve the educational experience of students and principals are confronted with the need to lead their staff and community in examining current practice and implementing changes that respond to these demands. Leading school change is one of the most complex tasks faced by a school leader. The…

To provide access to and retain both students of color and low-income students, community colleges must change to create environments in which all students can succeed. Change strategies must focus on the core mission of the institution and rely on data regarding the experiences of students at the institution. When student data are used to inform…

Since 1992, the Quebec Council of Colleges has explored possible means of diversifying technical education programs in Quebec's colleges of general and professional education (CEGEP's). This report focuses on one promising option: the development of modularized degree programs for entry-level training. The first part of the report provides an…

Eight papers are presented from the 1995 CAUSE conference track on client/server issues faced by managers of information technology at colleges and universities. The papers include: (1) "The Realities of Client/Server Development and Implementation" (Mary Ann Carr and Alan Hartwig), which examines Carnegie Mellon University's transition…

This study examined how professional learning communities develop, using cross-subject teams within the context of HUMANITAS, a program designed to promote teachers' professional growth and effectiveness by creating a voluntary "community of learners" for teachers and students. Data were gathered from teacher interviews, team…

The evaluation process provides valuable information so that practitioners may share and benchmark their efforts to improve and enhance the quality of the educational reform initiative called tech prep. Evaluation should be part of every phase of a tech prep initiative, from needs assessment to completion. A tech prep program is typically at one…

This publication provides suggestions for tech prep planning and program development throughout Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens County, South Carolina, school districts with the help of Partnership for Academic and Career Education (PACE) staff. Background assumptions are outlined first. Then, 16 planning components are listed to help individual…

Quality circles (QCs) are small volunteer groups of workers who meet weekly with a trained leader operating to a strict code of conduct. They use techniques of brainstorming, cause and effect classification, pareto analysis, and presentation to consider work-related problems and recommend solutions to management. QCs have been tried in educational…

The 4MAT system of instructional change is described. The 4MAT system is an eight-step cycle of instruction that capitalizes on individual learning styles and brain-dominance processing preference. Four major learning styles are recognized: (1) imaginative; (2) analytic; (3) common sense; and (4) dynamic. Because in each style there are people…

This report focuses on three professional development school (PDS) programs in Massachusetts. The PDS collaborative programs involve the following partners: East Longmeadow High School and University of Massachusetts at Amherst; Devotion School (Brookline) and Wheelock College; and Coolidge Elementary School (Shrewsbury) and Anna Maria College.…

This digest provides a process for assuring that the unique needs of students who are gifted are addressed within the context of systemic educational reform. Several key elements guide the process: creating belief statements, clarifying the issues, and designing strategies for implementation. Generating belief statements based on what is believed…

The thought of shared leadership offers teachers a vision of more control of central issues of concern, opportunities for significant decision making, and the development of a more democratic environment. This paper presents an account of the success and frustrations encountered by an elementary school throughout an 18-month period of school-based…

This paper presents an overview of educational policymaking in several developing countries in Africa by (1) examining the nature of various educational policies in these countries; (2) drawing comparative generalizations from the outcomes of the objectives of these policies; and (3) recommending ways to avoid the failure of educational reforms.…

This guide is designed to help South Carolina's school administrators implement the school improvement process mandated by the state legislature. The first chapter introduces the educational philosophy produced by the research on effective schools. Six indicators of effective schools (positive school climate, instructional leadership of the…

Maryland is one of the states which recently developed new requirements for high school graduation. A preliminary evaluation of these new state standards has raised a number of issues about graduation standards and their assessment. The Maryland State Department of Education examined statewide policies and guidelines for high schools between 1982…