The Gifted and Talented Program (GAT) of the Mellon Junior High School, Mt. Lebanon School District, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was evaluated in 1985. Questionnaires were sent to 139 parents and 50 academic teachers. In addition, 9 teachers, 4 administrators, and 12 parents were interviewed. Responses were summarized in detail regarding 14 topics,…

In 1979 the United States District Court ordered the Detroit Public Schools to transfer its teachers in such a way that each school in the system would have a faculty comprised of not more than 60% of one race. In order to effect this balance, the district had to involuntarily transfer 472 teachers. This application for Emergency School Aid Act…

"We the People... Project Citizen" is a civic education program for Taiwanese middle school students that promotes informed and responsible participation in local government. A study evaluated the effects of the program on the civic skills and dispositions of adolescent students, explored factors associated with its effectiveness, and…

A project at the Oakland Public Library produced four volumes of oral histories, edited on four different reading levels, from beginning to intermediate, to correspond with the Laubach reading series. One consultant performed the three jobs of interviewer, transcriber, and writer, and two autobiographies were written rather than spoken by…

An action research project implemented a program for the development of citizenship, cultural awareness, and positive character attributes. Targeted population consisted of middle and high school students in several growing, middle class communities located in northern Illinois. Problems of lack of awareness and sensitivity are documented through…

Elementary two-way immersion (TWI) programs continue to proliferate throughout the United States, but the number of successfully implemented secondary TWI programs remains small. Many districts with TWI cohorts that are reaching the upper elementary grades must now make complex decisions about whether and how to extend their programs into middle…

Discussion of implementation of computer-based educational innovations highlights a case study of undergraduate music theory students who had the option of using computer-assisted instruction. Barriers to successful implementation are described, including instructor attitudes, instructional style, curriculum planning, lack of peer support, program…

Describes study that examined the mobilization and implementation stages of introducing microcomputers into the elementary and middle schools of a school district. The use of interviews, naturalistic observations, and computer usage statistics is discussed, institutional and innovation characteristics are described, and the influence of teachers'…

Discusses planning for the use of technology in education; explains a planning process model that includes needs assessment, creating and selecting goals, and implementing and evaluating the plan; and describes an application of this model in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District (Pennsylvania). (LRW)

The Luke Principle states that the successful implementation of any organizational change requires a counting of the costs (Ousley, 2003). As developers do not construct a building, nor do governments go to war, without counting costs, administrators in higher education should not reorganize units or merge departments without counting costs. This…

For teachers engaged in the process of policy change, the way that they interpret policy and translate it into their daily practices will influence the implementation and the effects of a policy shift. Thus, it is important and necessary to examine educational decentralization policies from the local perspective, for the ways in which teachers…

Teachers in England and Wales are working to implement the targets and programs of study for technology, which was defined in the 1993 National Curriculum as "the creative application of knowledge, skills, and understanding to design and make good quality products." To determine the needs and attitudes of primary-school staff,…

This case study explores the impact of outcome-based education (OBE) in one school district 5 years after its adoption. The study is guided by constructivist theory and a perspective that policy studies can have an important problem-finding function. The basic assumption of the OBE approach, that educational improvement depends on a shift in focus…

Partnerships between scientists and teachers are an important focus of the current reform in science education. This study examined the roles and the dynamics of interactions in an NSF-funded Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) project. Data sources included interviews with teachers, fellows, and students at eight K-12 schools.…

This booklet provides information for creating an oral history project as part of a service learning program in schools. It shares a user-friendly approach to oral histories using one practitioner's experience during several years of classroom practice and a year as a Christa McAuliffe Fellow. The following topics are discussed: (1) the richness…