Children First, which is Nottinghamshire, England's policy to increase mainstreaming of children with special educational needs, has been implemented by planning for cooperative rather than competitive change and providing resources for change. The policy has helped maintain the profile of these children at a time when they were at risk of being…

Discusses what the compensation manager at a diverse college or university can do with scant resources to meet the varied compensation needs of the institution. Offers as an example the University of Florida system, which has a flexible policy that incorporates new concepts into training programs and offers new options in consultations. (MSE)

Considers strategies for the implementation of quality improvement in libraries. Highlights include structured quality improvement, especially Total Quality Management; organizational change; customer focus; continuous improvement; data-based decision making; systems thinking; employee involvement in decision making; diffusion of innovation;…

Students and teachers benefit from emphasizing literacy and professional development, not technology itself. Districts must also put learning first, build support, consider alternative delivery systems, provide adequate resources, use assessments to steer programs, shed the ineffectual, remember past lessons, heed research, and ask good questions.…

A recent study found no evidence of inadequate state-aid general funding for Oklahoma's mandated elementary class size requirements as they became more restrictive during implementation phases. Over the years, state aid increased on a per-simulated-class basis for grades K-6. State-aid distribution equity also increased. (MLH)

A computerized adaptive test (CAT) may be modeled as a closed-loop system, where item selection is influenced by trait level ([theta]) estimation and vice versa. When discrepancies exist between an examinee's estimated and true [theta] levels, nonoptimal item selection is a likely result. Nevertheless, examinee response behavior consistent with…

This article describes the three-decade experience in model development and replication and in introducing and sustaining organization change of Child Development Resources (CDR), of Williamsburg, Virginia. CDR provides an integrated system of services for children with disabilities and developmental delays as well as for children who are at risk.…

Universities are under no less pressure to adopt risk management strategies than other public and private organisations. The risk management of doctoral education is a particularly important issue given that a doctorate is the highest academic qualification a university offers and stakes are high in terms of assuring its quality. However, intense…

The full-purpose partnership (FPP) schoolwide model primarily focuses on prevention and early intervention. This model brings the tenets of service coordination directly into the school and focuses efforts to involve families from a strengths perspective before behavioral issues become significant. A preliminary evaluation has shown that this…

This article develops a conceptual framework for studying how three comprehensive school reform (CSR) programs organized schools for instructional change and how the distinctive strategies they pursued affected implementation outcomes. The conceptual model views the Accelerated Schools Project as using a system of cultural control to produce…

This guidebook offers strategies for creating a district context that is conducive to initiating and sustaining school improvement. Designed to provide resources for those working at school district level, the five stages of the school-improvement process are based on effective-schools research--organize, focus, analyze, develop, and…

This book provides the steps, methods, and strategies that a team of professional educators successfully used in one school to develop Total Quality Education (TQE). As the final volume in the TQE series, the book is a useful guide for teachers, administrators, and parents in creating the self-renewing school. Seven chapters are based on the…

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 book describes a 10-state study of work force development efforts in Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Wisconsin. The book is organized in eight sections. Section 1 describes the overall visions and practices that states have created, examining the difficulties in implementing these…

This monograph contributes to the problem-solving process involved in educational globalization, presenting snapshots of technician training systems from six developed countries. Components of each system are highlighted, and problems and trends associated with them are discussed. The six essays--featuring technician education and training systems…