The articles in this special issue discuss efforts to improve academic reading outcomes for students and ways to achieve high implementation fidelity of promising strategies. At times the authors discuss if--and how--strong fidelity is associated with strong outcomes and potentially even impacts (the difference between program and control group…

In this essay, the author reviews "Education Reform in New York City: Ambitious Change in the Nation's Most Complex School System," by Jennifer A. O'Day, Catherine S. Bitter, and Louis Gomez. The book under review explores a larger set of issues, and some time has passed. But many of the issues studied remain relevant and the consistent…

A basic weakness of many national educational reports is that they focus on what is wrong with the education system and overlook how the schools can be improved. Research-based guidelines to be used in change efforts are offered. (DF)

Intended to provide background information and preliminary options for the California Community Colleges' Commission on Innovation, this document describes the principles of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and describes policy options for implementation in the state's community colleges. Following introductory materials, the paper recommends…

Perspectives on a greater partnership between education and business/industry are offered. The goal of this partnership is to achieve educational excellence. To accomplish this, greater participation of business and industry in the universities' educational preparation programs is needed. It is necessary to define role responsibilities for a…

This task force report discusses preservation practices in the University of Wyoming Library and presents recommendations for developing a more cohesive library material preservation program with a timeline for implementation. Recommendations deal with the specific areas of staffing the conservation program; condition of library materials;…

Voices concerns over expansion of writing centers. Suggests that writing centers planning to expand should articulate the basic premises upon which their center was built. Suggests that a program of expansion be accompanied by a careful examination of the center's power structure. Urges all writing center expansion preserve a strong human…

The convergence of two apparently opposite theories of urban educational reform is analyzed as it occurs in three middle schools in a New York City school district. The first theory, emphasizing small schools of choice, promotes close relationships between students and adults in distinctive school programs. The second--centralized, standards-based…

Although Public Law 94-142 (Education for All Handicapped Children Act) raised public awareness of the civil rights of the handicapped, the policy problems that it was intended to solve included more than civil rights issues. In particular, the law did not provide for modifications of its policies in improving public education opportunities for…

To ensure significant improvement in individual and organizational managerial effectiveness, the design and implementation of soft-skill management development programs need to address the six factors leading to change resistance and the five critical elements that contribute to success. These factors and elements are discussed in detail. (CT)

The aim of this paper is to indicate how Project Follow Through can contribute to a better-integrated and rationalized federal programming strategy. The first section identifies areas in which federal programs have consistently succeeded or failed and presents reasons why those outcomes are probably the inevitable results of the policy tools that…

The change process as it affects program implementation is the topic of this paper, which presents an overview of current knowledge about this process, discusses the methodology appropriate to future research on and evaluations of program implementation, and considers several areas in which new knowledge must be developed if the success of future…

A strategic approach for establishing continuous quality improvement (CQI) efforts in vocational special needs education includes defining CQI and building a rationale for its use, establishing a quality council, developing short- and long-range goals, and implementing CQI-related practices and principles. (Author)

Suggests various ways to improve business education: key environment variables that influence the thinking of the authors are specified; selected characteristics of business schools are offered; indirect influences of business schools on other academic units are outlined; difficulties in implementing change in academia are discussed; and…

A retrospective look at the Preservice Teacher Education Project shows both the benefits and shortcomings of the program. Involvement of institutions in this program indicates interest and need for support systems to help facilitate change in teacher education programs. (DF)