After twenty years of expanding school-choice options, state leaders, educators, and families have a new tool: course choice, a strategy for students to learn from unconventional providers that might range from top-tier universities or innovative community colleges to local employers, labs, or hospitals. In "Expanding the Education Universe:…

Proposes a quality control model for education directed toward three major groupings of indices--antecedents, processes, and operational settings. (FL)

Presents a new model of effective school leadership based on recent empirical research (nonautobiographical case studies) on 12 British headteachers. Demonstrates how the multiperspective methodology contributed to a critique of existing leadership models and development of a grounded and value-led contingency model. (Contains 65 references.) (MLH)

The text's primary purpose is to influence the actions of local school leaders, and it argues that standards-based reform is as much about confronting strongly held beliefs and values about schooling as it is about creating standards, documents, and assessment tools. Examples of organizational learning activities designed to increase individual…

The recommendation is made that Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I data should be subjected to quality control procedures at local, state, and national levels. An industrial quality control model may provide a useful approach, particularly at the state level. A brief description of the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System is given,…

Reviews the framework developed by the Expert Panel on Educational Technology, considers the tradeoffs of its broad-based approach, and presents an alternative model for assessing educational technology programs. Discusses what can be expected from educational technology programs; how educational change occurs; barriers to effective technology…

The Quality Circle Model of Planning is presented as a program evaluation approach for schools serving students with blindness. The model helps administrators solve problems using creative, innovative approaches; identifies human and monetary resources for successful implementation of the plan; and provides a framework for evaluating the plan's…

Proposes a model for consideration by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education in accrediting teacher education programs. The model uses outcome-centered accreditation, judging success of teacher preparation programs on the basis of broad outcomes. The article presents suggested standards for an outcome-centered model of…

The research reported in this paper attempted to determine what constitutes superior teaching, and what manipulable extrinsic incentives exist in education to motivate teachers to become superior teachers. The project additionally tried to determine the degree of consensus among teachers and administrators on these issues. Finally, equity, or…

The educational assessment quality assurance and control practices of Germany, Sweden, France, New Zealand, and Australia are compared to illustrate the considerable variety of approaches and some of the social factors that contribute to this variety. In Germany there is considerable variation from one province to another, and quality assurance…

In 1999, the 21st Century School Fund interviewed seven large school districts regarding management of capital-improvement programs. Researchers found three basic models: in-house management, other-public-agency management, and private-sector management. Systematic oversight and quality-control approaches will protect school systems from…

The improvement and standardization of quality Title I evaluations at the local, state and federal levels is the intent underlying the development and dissemination of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I Evaluation and Reporting System. Even if the current suggested procedures were technically perfect, implementation of any…

Efforts focused on improving quality processes based upon the Malcolm Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence may hold promise for fundamentally improving K-12 education. This policy report examines the information available on improving school quality through implementation of the Baldrige criteria. It provides a snapshot of what…

This book provides an overview of vocational-technical education and training (VTET) in the 10 member countries of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SAMEO). The book begins with an introduction explaining the objectives and methodology of the cooperative research project on which the study was based. Each of the 10…