The evolution and governing structure for teacher education and certification provide the context for analyzing the probable impact and issues caused by the implementation of performance-based teacher education (PBTE). Because the concept of PBTE is still being refined, such an analysis must be of a prescriptive and speculative nature. However,…

This article explores the origin of demands for school curriculum reform, discusses why some secondary school reforms last while others don't, lists prospects for current reforms, and suggests approaches and methods to improve the formulation of curriculum policy in the United States. Thirty-eight references are listed. (DCS)

Article talks about who makes curriculum decisions and the problems involved. Discusses the different pressure groups and organizations that have influence in the area of curriculum decisions. (ML)

By synthesizing theoretical and empirical research on issue networks, this paper describes and classifies four examples of networks involving educational issues. A literature review shows that, unlike other social and economic influences, networks are marked by flexibility in membership, leadership (individual, group, or organizational),…

This book offers a comprehensive analysis and description of the political aspects of American education, utilizing both empirical data and case studies on the politics of education. Included are two case studies of recent school policies, which focus on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 and the school desegregation…

Discusses 10 years of research on intergovernmental relations in education policy and examines current intergovernmental issues. Overall, governmental action at all levels is revealed to be largely unproductive. The author states that policies need to be more robust and sophisticated without losing sight of the realities of the classroom and that…

This paper presents research findings to help policymakers understand and select various options for holding schools accountable for their performance and to help them devise a multistrategy accountability system. However, it does not recommend one system over another, since a given accountability option must be compatible and adapted to…

This booklet is one of a series of reports addressing the most critical issues confronting state boards of education throughout the United States. Each report attempts to present a concise, informative review and analysis of the best and most current information available on one of these critical topics. This booklet focuses on improving…

Literature on public school curriculum development since 1950 is reviewed to determine who is determining curriculum policy-making. There is an increasingly political approach to curriculum questions on the part of the general public. (Author/VW)

The history of intergovernmental relations in educational policy has been dominated by regulations, categorical programs, and technical assistance by higher levels of government to stimulate or require lower levels to make changes in policy and practice. This paper summarizes recent research collected by the Consortium of Policy Research in…

Recent analyses of the linkages between policy analysis and politics suggests that contemporary focus on the first had been poorly attenuated to the theoretical needs of the second. This paper specifies the kinds of research in educational politics that should ensue if the politics-of-education field is to become less oriented to specific policies…

This analysis of the changing balance in who controls the schools contends that local authorities have been slowly losing authority to the states. Moreover, within the local districts, the central offices are assuming more control in such matters as curriculum content and state testing programs. The paper begins with an overview of recent…

Changes in the overall conditions of children as indicated by income, family structure and background, health, and other measures warrant a reassessment of the delivery of children's services and a reconsideration of the school role. Children's conditions and their implications for educational administrative policy are examined in this paper. The…

Commissioned papers on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) have recommended new roles for NAEP, but its system of governance, as conceived in the 1960s, was not designed for all these functions. The NAEP Policy Committee, revised in 1978, never envisioned the current interest in a linkage system relating local and state…