Comments on the research finding that, inasmuch as schools are complex organizations, powerfully resistant to change, effective staff development requires focused school effort. The role of school climate and the principal, the relation of theory and application, and the need for evaluation are mentioned. (Contains eight references.) (KRN)

Maintains that Canadian scholar, Kieran Egan, developed a schema of childhood development that presents a bold, new approach to the stages of growth, both affectively and cognitively. Describes Egan's views and how the school curriculum must be adapted to correspond more closely to these views. (CFR)

As Houston's fourth school superintendent in 8 years, former board member Rod Paige is weathering his controversial appointment and is ready to work on improving the district's climate and teacher recruitment and selection process. Paige wants to continue the board's recent push toward local school autonomy and to oversee comprehensive curriculum…

Effects of a theoretically based LOGO programing environment on executive metacognitive abilities were studied for 48 third graders who took pretests and posttests after LOGO training or no training. The LOGO group scored higher than comparisons on two metacomponential measures: correctness of response and use of an individual metacomponent. (SLD)

A three-level multivariate statistical modeling strategy is presented that resolves the question of whether the unit of analysis should be the teacher or the student. A reanalysis of U.S. high school data (51 Catholic and 59 public schools from the High School and Beyond survey) illustrates the model. (SLD)

Studies school-site administrators' understanding about ways of gaining/maintaining power, control, and predictability. Multisite study data concerning assistant principals identify rules of the game for four micropolitical (site-level assumptive world) domains. Assumptive worlds create avoidance of value conflicts and risky change, group-think…

How students' ethnicity perceptions affect the educational process is ethnographically studied through interviews of about 50 students attending a multiethnic high school in a California city. Ethnicity's relevance varies depending on social situations and students' interpretations of events. Denial of one's ethnic identity centers around…

Data from a longitudinal study of adolescent development of approximately 2,300 sixth and seventh graders (the Michigan Study of Adolescent Life Transitions) provide a basis for the hypothesis that optimal developmental outcomes should result from an environment that gradually reduces adult control as the child's desire for autonomy increases.…

Problems of fit among five streams of educational reform and prevailing configurations of teachers' professional development are identified. It is argued that the dominant training-and-coaching model is not adequate for the requirements of present reform initiatives. Criteria are presented for assessing professional development policies and…

Discusses ongoing ethnographic research on interpersonal caring at an inner-city elementary school. Analyzes the perceptions of teachers, parents, teaching assistants, and students concerning how they describe what acting in the best interest of others means. Considers issues that may hinder the construction of shared meaning. (JB)

Develops a framework for promoting effective coaching, in the sense of encouraging children's achievement, in community settings for children of different ages. Effective coaches perform the following tasks: (1) teach; (2) assess performance; (3) structure the learning environment; and (4) provide social support. (SLD)

Examines accelerating trend in colleges and universities toward emphasis on research. Comments that prestige and funding accrue from research, not teaching. Analyzes factors in the decline of communicating knowledge as lighter teaching loads result in cost escalation and fewer course offerings. Argues the balance between scholarship and teaching…

Examines influence of various organizational constraints on nature of secondary school academic track decisions, which are categorized on basis of difference between actual and predicted program enrollment. Discusses factors such as who makes demands for an academic track, who controls the tracking process, what principals expect, degree of…

Contrasts the author's experience as a public school student in Nigeria with his experiences in a public high school in a suburb of Washington (DC). In spite of poor funding, institutional bias, and cultural differences, the student believes that his Nigerian education was superior in atmosphere conducive to academic achievement. (SLD)

Describes the philosophy and operation of the Danish Tvind Schools, private schools supported in part by public funds. Explains how the curriculum involves student travel, participation in curriculum decision making, and school management. Reviews the implicit criticisms of traditional schooling that the experiences of the Tvind Schools…