To understand state-local ties involved in state education politics, policy effects and linking mechanisms in the reform-minded Public School Approval mandate in Vermont were studied using semistructured interviews. Results showed minimal involvement from board members, superintendents, principals, and teachers regarding policy formation. All…

A comparison is made between two broad strategies for instituting reform in secondary schools: the bottom-up, process-oriented approach typified by the California School Improvement Program and the top-down content-oriented approach typified by the more recent reform effort in California, the School Reform approach. The comparison was made in…

This publication builds a conceptual framework that categorizes alternative policy instruments for educational reform into actions. It defines four categories of policy instruments and hypothesizes how each will operate in addressing different policy problems in different political and organizational contexts. Subsequent research will assess…

This case study was undertaken in order to discover if there are different types of policy language, and, if so, to describe relationships betweeen policy language types and policy implementation. Content analysis of three drafts of the state educational policy, "Standards for Approving Vermont's Public Schools," demonstrated the…

Drawing on data from a study of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, this report analyzes the technical assistance that local districts receive in compensatory education, with an emphasis on the relationship between technical assistance and the local decision-making that ultimately shapes the program. The first section describes…

In contrast to the problems and policies of school boards of the 1950's and 1960's, when school enrollments increased at an unprecedented rate, the problems of school boards in the 1970's became those of retrenchment. Responding to the issues of declining enrollments and fiscal restraints, the Ontario Ministry of Education in 1981 required every…

This guide to early intervention services under Part H of Public Law 101-476 (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) is intended to aid state legislators who have the primary responsibility to create and shape programs under this Act. Three aspects of Part H legislation are stressed: (1) requirement of unprecedented coordination among…