This paper focuses on the instructional leadership role behavior of school principals in relation to the management of special education programs. A framework is presented of the principal's role in seven broad areas of instructional management: community, beliefs and experience, institutional context, principal's routine behaviors, instructional…

This paper provides information about strategies that high poverty urban elementary schools have used to initiate major reforms in their processes and structures and to share the process used to elicit information from these schools. A research study analyzed the experiences of six high poverty urban elementary schools in Massachusetts, New York,…

This report raises fundamental issues that must be explored by educators considering participative decision-making as part of an educational restructuring initiative. In analyzing district readiness to implement a shared decision-making model, several factors must be considered, including school culture and climate, leadership style and attitude,…

Findings from a Massachusetts Department of Education project to describe district-led experiences with school-based management and to identify factors for improved classroom practices are presented in this paper. Interviews with 12 superintendents and assistant superintendents involved in systemwide restructuring were conducted to learn about…

The middle-level education initiative described in this document outlines an innovative program to assist New Mexico school districts in addressing the needs of early adolescents. Findings and recommendations that underscore the need for middle-level educational reform in New Mexico's schools are presented in this report. The state is a recipient…

Findings of a study that examined the outcomes of longterm institutionalization of school reform are presented in this paper. Project Excellence, implemented in 1984 in a secondary school in Cochrane, Ontario, involved a comprehensive change in curriculum, instruction, and professional roles. An initial evaluation of the program, conducted during…

This study reports results of the first year of implementation of the Success for All elementary school restructuring program in kindergarten through third grade at Philadelphia's Francis Scott Key Elementary School. Fifty-two percent of the students were from Asian backgrounds, primarily Cambodian, and spoke little or no English at home. In the…

This research brief examines the potential of technology to further the goals of restructuring U.S. schools. Strategies are presented for restructuring schools with technology. Although restructuring means different things to different people, the restructuring movement has generally focused on reorganizing school processes, taking a…

This report explores the technical, political, and socio-cultural dimensions of the scaling up process of Success for All (SFA), one of the nation's most successful and extensively researched whole-school change models. SFA, a reform effort aimed at elementary schools serving disadvantaged children, is currently being implemented in over 475…

How implementation of the middle schools concept affects student attainment of the purposes of middle grades education was studied in Georgia. Focuses were on academic achievement, the cost effectiveness of the Middle School Program, and any modifications needed to improve middle grades education. This study finds that students who attend schools…

Solid research evidence links smaller schools to fewer discipline problems, lower dropout rates, higher student participation levels, and steadier academic progress. Large buildings are no obstacle. Creating small schools requires top administrators to lend impetus and support, facilitate teacher volunteer groups, develop clear policies, adjust…

Two elementary schools were studied over two years of a schoolwide program to improve service delivery to students with behavior problems. Program components included an advisory committee, schoolwide organizational practices, schoolwide classroom management intervention, and individual behavioral interventions. Target students displayed improved…

Despite comprehensive school reform (CSR) model developers' best intentions to make school stakeholders adhere strictly to the implementation of model components, school stakeholders implementing CSR models inevitably make adaptations to the CSR model. Adaptations are made to CSR models because school stakeholders internalize CSR model practices…

This article presents findings from a 2-year qualitative study that examined teacher and administrator involvement with implementation of school reform initiatives in a public secondary school. Findings suggest that implementation had both positive and negative consequences. Although reforms advanced the school's ongoing discussion about…

Beginning in 1990, the United States and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conducted an international, 14-nation study of programs for at-risk children. This report presents findings from the second year of the study, during which the Planning and Evaluation Service of the U.S. Department of Education reviewed the…