Higher education is in a phase of rapid internationalization, with practices and impacts ranging from curriculum reform to satellite campuses to affiliated partner institutions. Internationally, higher education institutions are increasingly engaged with issues pertaining to technology integration. The primary reason for this is a growing…

Two elementary schools in White Plains, New York, have been involved in the Child Development Project (CDP) since 1991. This paper describes how the staffs and administrators built caring communities into their schools. The paper is written from the perspective of a staff developer who became a district coordinator for staff development. The paper…

Some educators view change as a positive process producing desirable improvements; others perceive it as a threatening force producing disruption and conflict. This paper presents findings of a study that examined whether changes in teachers' work lives affected teachers' attitudes toward educational change, and whether the resulting attitudes…

Implementation of program evaluation recommendations should persuade people that the rewards of an evaluation outweigh the reasons for resistance. A study was undertaken with the following purposes: identify facilitators and barriers to the implementation of program evaluation; determine the proportion of recommendations made in each of the nine…

The Bureau for Africa of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been examining in detail the question of how best to support and sustain sectorwide education reform in Africa. The USAID and Education Commission of the States jointly sponsored a seminar in October 1996 to examine the issue of "scaling up" and…

Educational policy does not always translate into programs that are consistent with the policymakers' original intentions. This paper presents findings of a case study that followed the course of a policy developed at the state level to teacher practice at the classroom level. Set in a western state, the study collected data through document…

This paper reports on an investigation of educator reaction to one state's systemic school reform legislation. Educators have generally been reticent to embrace state-level legislation reform initiatives while simultaneously agreeing with their ultimate goals. Findings are the latest data in a 5-year longitudinal study begun in 1992 that focused…

Problems in implementing educational change due to different perspectives and statuses of policy makers, practitioners, and researchers has contributed to an absence of shared paradigms. Combined with the intense demand for educational change, a system gridlock has ensued. Research of the last 2 decades on implementation of change is summarized in…

Since the announcement in 1999 of a plan to tie teachers' salary increases to student achievement by Denver Public Schools, there has been a flood of nationwide policy activity around teacher compensation. This paper examines pay plans in Denver, Toledo, Minneapolis, and New York City, offering a snapshot of the changing landscape of teacher…

Students are increasingly expected to be able to think critically, solve complex problems, and communicate clearly. Educators are expected to facilitate that learning in a variety of situations for an increasingly individualized student population. Therefore, educators who attempt to change their practices must become active learners. A school…

The successful implementation of site-based management (SBM) requires time and changes in the role expectations among all members of the school community. Because needs and achievement levels differ among schools, there is no one best way to implement SBM. Schools are better off developing their own self-starting, working models. This paper…

Proponents of school restructuring agree that it must occur with support from all stakeholder groups. This paper presents findings of a study that examined to what extent educational personnel engaged in restructuring (principals, teachers, and external facilitators of change) agreed or disagreed that 60 conditions identified in the research…

This paper presents findings of a case study that examined Australian primary teachers' perceptions of school-based curriculum development (SBCD). The study was conducted at Blackpool Primary School, a Catholic school in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Data were derived from participant observation, a teacher questionnaire, interviews with all…

Unacknowledged and untended opposition can lead the "resistance" to destroy even the best planned of portfolio systems. The greatest cause of initial resistance to portfolio assessment is the fear that teachers will lose their autonomy and/or authority in the classroom. Writing instructors need to ask themselves about issues of control and…

This paper examines ways in which context influences the implementation of high-stakes accountability systems. The trajectory of implementation efforts has followed a familiar course, with the emergence of scattered opposition prompting officials to "refine" testing systems in predictable ways. These efforts placate critics while softening the…