South Carolina's Education Improvement Act (EIA) of 1984 was a comprehensive piece of reform legislation providing for 60 new educational policies and programs. These new activities were funded by a one-cent increase in the state sales tax. The Act requires annual reports that present information concerning the benefits of EIA, provide additional…

Findings from four lines of inquiry that attempt to identify teaching skills are reviewed. Following a brief introduction, the first section discusses definitions of "skill" and outlines empirical attributes of teaching skills. In the following section, the four lines of inquiry are described. Results are analyzed in the third section.…

The paper discusses the affective influences on students of problem solving instruction using computers, and the relationship of affective influences to student belief systems. It reviews affective issues and problem solving, and analyzes affect with particular reference to the work of G. Mandler. The paper considers types of congnitive processes,…

Thirteen of 14 secondary schools increased their educational effectiveness by participating in a long-term, 12-step change process with two significant features: several measures were applied to develop a picture of each school's effectiveness, and student involvement in the process was considered essential. Schools were categorized by…

Communicating values is at the heart of education. Intertwined with the processes and procedures of schooling, a host of values are taught every day. Education, therefore, carries with it a social and moral imperative. If we are to help students avoid moral bankruptcy, we cannot have a value-neutral education. A basic feature of the social and…

This report focuses on the instructional leadership role of the school superintendent and recommends an operational model superintendents should follow to produce an effective academic environment for elementary and secondary students. Americans' concern about quality of education can be addressed by informative study of successful management of…

The needs-press model, as operationalized by the Stern Activities Index (AI) and the Organizational Climate Index (OCI), was examined for its usefulness in evaluating and measuring organizational climate in a school setting. According to the model, needs represents personality and press represents the environment. This research was designed to…

A questionnaire survey was conducted to examine academic freedom as perceived by faculty members at Dowling College (New York) and by administrators in general. Topics covered in this study include: elements of academic freedom, the faculty and academic freedom, relationship of the Board of Trustees to the faculty, relationship of the…

The first journal publication of the Midwest History of Education Society contains papers presented at its 1972 annual meeting and three papers on Canadian education. "University Extension in the United States, 1885-1915" (G. M. Woytanowitz) defines the U.S. origins of the university extension as an adult education agency. "She…

A 3.5-year study of dropout prevention programs in New York City public schools shows that current programs have been effective in increasing professional and public awareness of the dropout problem and providing needed support to some students. However, the categorical approach of most programs is inadequate, providing special services to only a…

The present discussion develops the thesis that social and economic changes since the 1940s have produced educational problems requiring a new approach to school management. First, a brief overview is provided of social and economic changes prior to and after the 1940s, showing how such changes have affected the daily experience of individuals and…

The purpose of this study is to clarify the role of internal and external factors in elementary and secondary school principals' perceptions of on-the-job stress. Variables include school location, school type, the principal's gender, and the principal's work experience. Of 300 questionnaires mailed out to New York State school principals, 235…

The manual describes wellness as building a lifestyle based on a conscious commitment to accept responsibility for one's own health and for the way things turn out in one's life, and offers educators several inventory instruments for examining and changing their own lifestyle and the level of support for wellness in the school community. The…

School environments conducive to equal status relations appear counter-productive to assimilation, according to a study of the relationship between school status characteristics and assimilation levels achieved by Hispanic sixth graders. A prior study provided data for this research from 10 desegregated elementary schools in California regarding…

To test the effectiveness of an organizational development strategy to improve educational environments, data were gathered on the process and outcomes of a project for school climate improvement and school renewal. Data from two urban schools--a junior high school and a middle school--were drawn from interviews with participants, figures on…