In 1982-83 the Jefferson County Public Schools (Kentucky) (JCPS) implemented a pilot effective schools project for 10 elementary buildings, based on the inservice program, "Creating Effective Schools," by Brookover and others (1982). This paper provides an overview of the origin of the program in JCPS, how the program was conducted, and…

This report focuses on self-discipline as a cornerstone in the educational development of a productive workforce and asserts that young people today are not developing a sufficient degree of self-discipline in the course of their education. Chapter I, an introduction, cites the economic costs to employers of poor academic preparation among young…

Universities can help elementary and secondary schools undertake school improvement programs under certain conditions. First, it should be recognized that programs are most effective when individual schools rather than whole systems are the objects of the improvement efforts. Second, it should be understood that university-sponsored school…

This report summarizes the design strategy and preliminary conclusions from the first year of a study that attempted to identify educational factors that produce the differences in student achievement between unusually high-performing schools and unusually low-performing schools of similar socioeconomic characteristics. The sample included 21…

In 1970, boarding school enrollments were leveling off and inflationary tremors beginning to register in the financial seismographs of most schools. Recently, the school survival issue has begun to emerge as a subject for serious open debate and private speculation. This handbook advances the ideas that for shortrun survival, many schools will…

This handbook explains basic principles and methods of evaluation that can be used in assessing the effectiveness of educational priorities, programs, and personnel. Volumes I and II provided guidelines to assist in the setting of communitywide educational goals; Volume III is intended to help schools and communities carry out educational…

The purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses that schools with more participative processes and less structure have higher levels of perceived organizational effectiveness, teacher job satisfaction, and student achievement than schools with less participative climates and more structure. A sample of 114 school units and 1,632 teachers…

Over a two-year period Hinsdale South High School (Chicago, Illinois) has successfully mainstreamed 59 hearing impaired students into such courses as English, mathematics, science, physical education, and business education. Program components include admission criteria, a Coordinator of Mainstreamed Support Services, counseling, interpreters,…

During the 1960s, Israel's primary schools were very dissimilar in their student-body compositions, and only half practiced ability grouping. Analysis of data on late 1960s male students reveals large contextual effects on educational outcomes in schools that did not group students and small contextual effects in schools which did. (KH)

Defining test scores as educational standards that should be raised causes more minority children to be retained. This lowers self-esteem and increases dropout rates. In some ways state regulations are intruding on local authority. Districts differ and therefore should have autonomy to set standards for achievement and teacher qualifications. (VM)

Introduces the other articles in this special issue. Restructuring the schools to some means changing the "mechanics" of schooling; to others it refers to changes in relations of authority. However, there is uncertainty whether any restructuring will take place because a restructuring program will be difficult to implement. (BJV)

Considers problems associated with community college open admissions policies, questioning the colleges' effectiveness in developing needed skill levels. Reviews proposed solutions to literacy problems. Argues that literacy education is the responsibility of all faculty and that open door admissions must be accompanied by policies that facilitate…

Expansion of women's schooling is associated with lower fertility and child mortality. This article provides demographic evidence and a framework for discovering how educational processes operate on maternal behavior. Findings from a study in Mexico focus on mother-infant interaction and social attitudes as important variables. Research needs are…

Argues that urban schools, as primary instruments of cultural assimilation and social equalization, have failed urban youth. Suggests the "committed school" model as a partial solution. Warns that strong white middle-class biases reflected in curricula and teacher attitudes must be eliminated before progress can be made. (DMM)

The image of school as a knowledge work organization provides guidance for improvement efforts which use suggestions from new management literature. A systemic reform should be based on the following: (1) professionalization of teaching; (2) integration of theory, research, and practice; and (3) transformational leadership. (Author/PS)