This progress report of ethnographic research on instructional leadership focuses on a new elementary school principal's role formation in relation to teaching staff and district organizational culture. The project, which examines the prevailing notion of instructional leadership in school effectiveness literature, reveals a gap in perspective…

Students at Little Saskatchewan School (Manitoba, Canada) are not being adequately prepared for the future by their school, family, or community. While students in the lower grades perform adequately, the 1986 achievement of 9th graders fell to the bottom 10% of all Canadian students. While 90% of all Manitoba's students complete high school,…

Research and practice have shown that staff development is the key to the successful implementation of any effective schools project. Staff development is defined as the ongoing, job-related, research-based activity provided for employees to maintain and improve their competencies. Part 1 of this paper outlines components (such as district-level…

Based on a task force review, this policy paper outlines the state of inequity in education now present in New Zealand and sets forth proposals for action. The report recommends urgent action by the government to realize its concern for policies to address social inequity. The proposals support procedures for developing and implementing…

To assess opinions among members of the education networks of the Sisters of Mercy, a 4-part, 45-item questionnaire was distributed in 1986. Respondents represented higher education, secondary education, and elementary education. Results from major superiors of the Union and its nine provinces and each of the independent congregations are reported…

This book is a manual for educators to use in curriculum planning and development. Chapter 1 examines the nature of curriculum and its relationship to instruction by (1) defining curriculum and the four main levels of curriculum work (curriculum policy, field of study, program of studies, and course) and (2) distinguishing between six types of…

Establishing instructional priorities in public schools is a worthwhile and important process. Because time and money are insufficient to increase staffing in schools, setting priorities is a necessary component of successful managing. Steps to be taken in setting instructional priorities are as follows: (1) Adopt a statement of mission describing…

This monograph describes the concept of school district contracts with teacher partnerships for educational services; taking the view of education as an industry, the document analyzes advantages, obstacles, and strategies of such a change. Section 1, "The Challenge," suggests that societal changes make an education industry outside the…

Intended as a means of sharing information with educators and other professionals who work with exceptional Asian American children and families, the monograph includes six papers growing out of a symposium and addressing issues related to demographics, characteristics and needs, parents and families, assessment, and curriculum and service…

Declines in high school and college attendance and completion for blacks, factors that contribute to this decline, and strategies for improvement are addressed by the Chancellor of the State University of New York. Black youth attend college disproportionate to their representation in the population, in large part because of the high school…

This report is designed to provide the Beverly Hills Unified School District with an analysis of current utilization of microcomputers throughout the instructional program and to provide recommendations for practical changes to refine the district's microcomputer program. Data were collected through a variety of methods, including the…

This report contains five papers with discussions identifying policy and research issues in rural labor markets, assessing the adequacy of existing data and theories for researching these issues, and assigning priorities to research questions. The papers focus on rural economic goals, market linkages with metropolitan, national, and international…

This paper focuses on the philosophical implications of assessment methodologies by describing problems that occurred during internship programs for school administrators in Louisiana. A state conference internship's guidelines lacked a formalized learning contract for participants. At the time, more teachers sought access to administrative…

Community-based early intervention strategies can provide students with skills and attitudes that make dropping out of high school an unnecessary choice. This report analyzes the high school dropout phenomenon in terms of its magnitude, influence on minority populations, and need for local outreach programs. In California, the dropout rate has…

Oral/aural skills (1) are a major vocational requirement for a student graduating in the language field, (2) are an essential, academically valid element in the language learning process, and (3) enhance the student's overall intellectual development. If a communicative language curriculum is designed carefully, it will integrate all of these…