This article documents the socialization experiences of beginning teachers in five pairs of middle schools and explores the differences in the socialization experiences as they relate to the effectiveness of the middle school where these experiences took place. This research jointly studies school effects and teacher effects through the case study…

Organized around a series of "Critical Questions" and "Leadership Challenges", this book offers knowledge and expertise about the elementary principal's leadership role in effective instructional strategies, student assessment, school climate, parent involvement, and other ways to improve the academic achievement of English Language learners.…

The time has come to improve the quality of core courses so that all students have equal opportunities to become prepared for postsecondary education and for work. The purposes of this report are to examine the gap between secondary and postsecondary education in the U.S. and to focus on successful strategies for eliminating this gap so that all…

This case study explores the influence of a changing and more diversified leadership on a struggling religiously-affiliated institution, Eureka College of Illinois. Eureka is a liberal arts institution founded by the Disciples of Christ denomination of the Church of Christ during the "Emergent Era" of college building in the mid-1800s.…

The paper sets out the main characteristics of the school system in Wales since 1999 when responsibility for education was devolved to the newly-created National Assembly for Wales. It moves on to consider the advances made in student attainment during this period, some of which can be ascribed to progress in learning and teaching pedagogy,…

In 1992 the government of New South Wales, Australia, announced its commitment to a program of quality-assurance reviews of schools. The New South Wales school system plans to implement a quality-assurance system, which is process-based on the following: a primary focus on student learning, clear and shared direction, focused involvement and…

Perspectives on educating persons with disabilities and the move toward inclusive education and school restructuring are considered. Trends in the number of students with disabilities and placement patterns are briefly examined. Four categories of students that represent 95 percent of students served are identified: specific learning disabilities,…

This monograph reviews recent trends in school reform and proposes "learner-based accountability" as a new paradigm for conceptualizing and implementing school reform. The first chapter notes both an economic mandate for school change and a mandate for increased equity. It identifies key findings of the school effectiveness movement and…

The fall 1992 and spring 1993 graduating classes of Owens Community College (OCC), in Ohio, were surveyed to assess their employment, salary, and educational status and determine their perceptions of their experience at OCC. Survey results, based on responses from over 90% (n=859) of the graduates, included the following: (1) 92% of respondents…

The Student Success Project at Fresno City College (FCC), in California, is structured around 13 student success core indicators for which activities and completion timelines are developed annually. This report presents data on the status of the indicators as of 1994 and describes activities planned for 1995. Following an introduction, a list of…

The Conflict Resolution Advisory Team has been involved with establishing and maintaining Conflict Resolution programs at Toronto Board (Canada) elementary and secondary schools. Research and Assessment was requested to support the Advisory Team in an evaluation of the programs in 1995. Questionnaires were sent to students (n=1181) and teachers…

Five issues relative to the use of different Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) models to identify effective schools and teachers were examined using data from all students in the Dallas (Texas) public schools in grade 3 in 1994 and grade 4 in 1995. OLS models using first- and second-order interactions produced…

Illinois' school-reform act of 1985 authorized the development of an Administrators Academy for training principals to evaluate teachers and for training superintendents to evaluate principals. Renewal of school administrators' certification was contingent upon attendance. Some practitioners, educators, and state association directors began to…

Education professionals are recognizing that the multiple and complex problems of children with emotional and behavioral difficulties and their families exceed the capacity of any single service system. The 13 articles in this edited collection present educators and social service practitioners with innovative programs and practices for such…

In some countries there has been a general trend toward centralizing control in areas such as the development and measurement of school goals while also increasing responsibility at the school level for financial and staffing decisions and for structuring learning activities to achieve those goals. The British and New Zealand educational reforms…