The school improvement process of the Springfield (Massachusetts) Public School System is offered as a model for school reform. The efforts in Springfield began from the premise that institutions do not reform themselves, and that pressure from the outside, enough to be noticed, but not enough to disrupt, was necessary to spur reform. The work in…

This paper traces the development of graded and non-graded classrooms in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries and describes the implementation of multiage classrooms at an elementary school in Hopedale, Massachusetts. After defining what is meant by multiage classrooms, the paper discusses the role of Horace Mann, who was then a…

The Educational Reform Act (ERA) of 1988 reflects the most comprehensive restructuring of education in Britain in this century. This paper discusses the implementation of the National curriculum, the innovation at the heart of the ERA. The first part of the paper offers the views of educational commentators on changes resulting from this law.…

This evaluation of an attempt by the Papua New Guinea Department of Education to establish Generalist Teaching (GT) in provincial secondary schools from 1973 to 1977 is based on survey and case study data. Generalist Teaching was introduced to schools by means of two department circulars proposing reorientation of grades 7 and 8 curricula from…

The problem of adult illiteracy in Canada is now accepted as socially significant, whether defined in terms of numbers, impact on the economy, or implications for the future. A reasonable estimate would be that one in five Canadian adults has a severe enough problem with reading, writing, or arithmetic that his or her functioning in society is to…

This document reports on a 5-year project developed by the Department of Education of the U.S. Virgin Islands to create a useful information and technical assistance system for professional personnel to bring about educational change and growth. The project was based on the original Interstate Project in Dissemination model (with the exception…

This study's major purpose was to examine intergovernmental relations in the context of compensatory education through an investigation of how far selected Title I operative goals were institutionalized, and the implications of such institutionalization (or lack of it) for stability or change of practices under Chapter 1. Three categories of goals…

The recent thinking of 20 experts in the field of school improvement is represented in this collection of essays. The authors have participated in studies from the national level to the single school level, have been involved in past and present reform efforts, and have contributed to educational policy and theory. In this book they go beyond…

Program improvement activities can be classified into four categories based on the source of the impetus and the locus of the change agent: systematic, symbolic, opportunistic, and pragmatic. This paper (1) describes the various approaches to implementing Chapter 1 program improvement activities at the state and local district levels in 13 western…

The Innovations Program, established by the Australian Schools Commission in 1974, was a small national program aimed at fostering local actions for change in Australian primary and secondary education. In this report, the author begins by examining different approaches to educational innovation and reviewing the literature on innovation. Part 2…

This final report presents the findings of a study of institutionalization of educational change at four Teacher Corps sites in schools of education. The study investigated and traced the projects' attempts at educational change, and explored the reasons why some changes became part of the regular teacher training program of the schools while…

This module is one in a series of seven focused on skills vocational teachers need to develop and manage programs that are performance-based and fully individualized. Designed to allow for individualization of a teacher education program, these modules supplement those prepared by the National Center for Research in Vocational Education for…

Instructional leadership for principals is not a panacea for the ills of education. Efforts to alter principal practices to meet this poorly defined and poorly researched construct reflect a lack of self-reference in the educational field. More study and thought are needed before plans of action are imposed. (BJV)

Discusses the significance of the shift in federal educational policies marked by the adoption of the block grant approach to federal aid in Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act. Reviews several general findings of case studies of the first year of Chapter 2 grant implementation. (PGD)

Four schools with technology rich environments were studied to gain a better understanding of the impact of technology infusion in schools. The four schools selected were a rural high school, a suburban middle school, an urban elementary school, and an urban high school. Cross case analysis shows certain characteristics these schools shared. All…