The relationship between two educational improvement initiatives--school restructuring and systemic curriculum reform--is examined in this bulletin. School restructuring tends to focus on process in schools and curriculum reform concentrates more directly on content and curriculum across a range of schools. The main features, their promises and…

Traditional approaches to education use the level of inputs as a measure of effectiveness. Outcomes-based education (OBE) is based on the concept that educational success should be measured by what students learn, rather than by what they are taught. As a systems-level restructuring tool, OBE calls for success for all students, not just academic…

A set of belief statements outlined by Texas educators that express fundamental assumptions about individual responsibilities, school obligations, and educational system goals are described in this educational policy bulletin. The following five criteria are used to test each belief statement: relevance; importance; common meaning; context; and…

Recommendations for implementing school-based management and shared decision making are presented in this educational policy bulletin. Based on a literature review and reported experiences of educational practitioners, four recommendations include: transformation of authority at district and school site levels; development of a systemwide…

Three areas have become focal points in the restructuring movement: achievement, equity, and school-based governance. Restructuring efforts are initiated from four main sources--national and regional reform projects, state initiatives, district strategies, and individual school efforts. The Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools is…

Rapid social change in American society calls for a flexible, self-correcting educational system. The view that achievement of such a system requires major changes in the organization and delivery of educational services and a redefinition of the entire system is examined in this educational policy bulletin. Highlights of reform research are…

Implementing shared decision making in school-based management requires fundamental changes in traditional behavior. Initiation of restructuring systemic authority and decision-making arrangements requires changing deeply held beliefs and developing new roles and relationships. A recent survey of educational practitioners identified eight major…

Findings of a survey conducted in 1989 to identify the difficulties facing educational practitioners when initiating shared decision making in school-based management are presented in this educational policy bulletin. The first of a two-issue report examined five of the eight major barriers to changing traditional behavior: fear of taking risks,…

An overview of school-based management (SBM) and the issues involved are provided in this document. Information is offered on the following topics: the advantages and liabilities of SBM; its effect on the roles of the school board, superintendent, and district office; decision-making processes; elements of SBM implementation; examples of three…

The challenge of changing belief systems to engender educational change is explored in this bulletin, which asserts that the current American educational system inadequately prepares students for productive participation in a rapidly changing information-oriented society. Change in the United States culture implies that alterations in education…

Findings of three studies that investigated the extent of school restructuring in American schools are presented in this paper. The data are combined from three different sources: (1) a national survey of 268 schools nominated for their successful restructuring programs; (2) a survey of 100 restructuring proposals submitted to a funding…

Outcomes-based education (OBE) is a controversial model of educational restructuring that defines learning as what students can demonstrate that they know. This document reviews four journal articles and one bulletin that reflect a range of perspectives on OBE's potential promise and problems. In "Organizing for Results: The Basis of…

When initiating major structural change in schools, collaboration among educators, community members, and business persons is vital. This publication describes the efforts of the Ysleta (Texas) Independent School District, which successfully used collaboration to promote effective school change. Within the district, the Del Valle High School has…

This document describes the successful schools-within-a-school (SWS) program implemented at Kapa'a Elementary School in Hawaii. The SWS model addresses the issue of school size and its ramifications. In 1989, the school sought the help of a leading educational researcher, Dr. Mary Anne Raywid, to develop a change model that gave the teachers…

This policy brief clarifies the definition of charter schools and explores their place in school restructuring and reform by describing existing charter schools in Minnesota and California, examining legislative and contract guidelines, and discussing the future possibilities of charter schools. Charter schools are sponsor-created and…