This booklet is a reflection on a quarter century of successful leadership in a school that pioneered the nongraded learning environment and demonstrated the effectiveness of other innovations such as team teaching, elimination of tracking, long-term developmental objectives for each student, performance-based assessment, and cooperative learning.…

This organizational kit is intended to help high school clubs associated with the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) get started in their mission of introducing students to careers in special education. Topics discussed include: getting started, association with CEC, setting goals for the high school club, CEC's belief statements, suggested…

This paper argues that public education, as a contemporary industry, is more like business than any other organization. The traditional view of education defines the student as customer, the teacher as worker, teaching and learning as the products, and school boards as overly influential. An alternative paradigm is presented that defines school…

This paper proposes a two-pronged approach for examining an educational program's "quality of fit." The American Association of School Administrators' (AASA's) Curriculum Management Audit for quality indicators is reviewed, using the Downey Quality Fit Framework and Deming's 4 areas of profound knowledge and 14 points. The purpose is to…

One aspect of organizational work groups has been ignored by both group and organizational communication researchers. The concluding period or termination of an organizational work group is disregarded while research focuses on the assignment, development, and maintenance of groups. In the organizational context, how work groups process the…

The Partnership for Rural Improvement (PRI) designs and tests methods of creating and strengthening cooperation among providers and between providers and users of rural public services. PRI has defined six types of collaboration (voluntary, involuntary, formal, informal, direct, and indirect) and strives for voluntary collaboration among agencies,…

The International Council for Adult Education (ICAE) was founded in 1972 to promote comprehensive programs of adult education throughout the world. Its international cooperation efforts, administration, objectives, program activities, and priority areas are discussed. (LH)

The accumulated evidence argues that a school contemplating curricular innovation will heighten its chances of success if it first gives staff members practice in new norms and skills for the collaboration that will be necessary to the innovation's success. (Author/AM)

Presents a description of some of the needs in the 60's which generated the efforts to create the training materials and support training of trainers, the issues that seemed to need answers, a number of actions which have been taken, answers found for some of the issues, and suggestions of work yet to be done. (Author/AM)

This article examined (1) some contemporary social change phenomena, (2) how these phenomena apply to school systems, (3) some social and psychological factors that block the use of this information in renewal of educational systems, (4) Organization Development strategies that can empower school systems to renew themselves, and (5) some…

The authors discuss social taboos that hinder the free discussion of marriage problems. They then describe the Association of Couples for Marriage Enrichment (ACME) which they have started. This organization brings together married couples and through the use of various group procedures promotes the establishment of healthy marriage relationships.…

An industrial trainer describes the benefits of membership in the National Society for Performance and Instruction (an organization with members from diverse professional backgrounds) which is concerned with human performance improvement. A brief history of the group and a discussion of future directions is included. (MS)

A brief account of the consultative and organizational development work of the Task Force on Development and Renewal, established by the California State Universities and Colleges (CSUS) in order to promote adaptation and renewal in the system. (EH)

Author provided an assessment of his experience with organizational development at the Taft School, Watertown, Connecticut. (Author/RK)

An impact method for achieving organizational consensus was used in specifying research and development project selection criteria at four different organizations. The method consists of the repeated use of a paired comparison instrument along with group discussions and member interactions. The method may be generally useful for disclosing hidden…