This paper describes a Goals 2000 project intended to redesign preservice teacher education, practicing teacher roles, and student learning experiences within a Professional Development School framework. The team includes teaching faculty from the University of Akron (Ohio) College of Education Department of Curricular and Instructional Studies,…

This study examined 10 institutions of higher education with widely different characteristics to determine whether, in the process of implementing quality improvements, they had become "learning organizations." Data were gathered through questionnaires and interviews with more than 20 individuals at nine of the campuses, and were then…

These three papers were presented at a symposium on high-involvement work teams moderated by Michael Leimbach at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development. "Beyond Training to the New Learning Environment: Workers on the High-Involvement Frontline" (Joseph Anthony Ilacqua, Carol Ann Zulauf) shows the link between…

This paper presents a model of college choice that suggests that students' choice of college can be related to perceived "capital conversion" benefits. The model was tested on an evenly distributed sample (n=22,109) of students; one group attending elite colleges (with average freshman Scholastic Assessment Test scores of 1200 or higher)…

This book provides a detailed account of a year-long curriculum development project by an interdisciplinary team to create an inclusive, democratic curriculum at a suburban Georgia middle school. The first chapter is an overview of the study and lists the eight components deemed essential to a "coherent" curriculum. A separate chapter,…

This report provides a comprehensive review of quality principles in higher education and proposes that, when used holistically and systematically, the quality principles, also known as total quality management and continuous quality improvement, can create a culture for academic excellence. After an introduction, the first section explains the…

Despite the many limitations of standardized tests, schools use them to determine if children are ready for school, to group students for instruction, to diagnose learning disabilities and other handicaps, and to guide and control the curriculum and teaching methods. No test is good enough to serve as the sole or primary basis for important…

The requirement that home schooled students score at or above the 40th percentile on a nationally standardized test runs counter to several widely accepted principles of measurement. A single score should not be used alone in decision making, and there is no evidence that this is a valid use of the test. In addition, the 40th percentile is not an…

A study analyzed attitudinal and demographic factors that influence women's choices of traditional and nontraditional training programs. A career choice survey was constructed, based on results of responses by four focus groups to questions regarding training program selection. The survey was completed by 532 women students in 15 technical…

This case study examines a 2-year faculty-centered professional development program for high school teachers. The program, which used a Foxfire approach (Wigginton, 1986) and was based on Deweyan principles (Dewey, 1963), involved having the teachers initiate, pursue, and share self-selected, independent group learning projects. Inservice sessions…

This report presents findings of an evaluation study of the District of Columbia's special education service delivery model (SDM) which focuses on decentralization, to school-based teams, of the processes of identification, assessment, and placement of special education students. The SDM was initially implemented as a pilot project with 40 schools…

This paper chronicles the transition and adjustments of a teacher educator and a group of preservice teachers from the application of the case study method in their university classrooms, to their preparation for and participation in a national team case competition, to the impact of this experience on their subsequent personal and professional…

This study was conducted to identify the most salient organizational and personality factors contributing to burnout for elementary, intermediate, and secondary teachers; and to determine the pattern of causal predominance linking these stressors to burnout for each teacher group. Participants in the study, full-time elementary (N=599),…

This paper reviews the theory and practice of teacher ethics. It defines ethics and examines the content of the Code of Ethics of the Education Profession adopted by the National Education Association (NEA) in 1975. An informal survey of 30 teachers found that none had a specific course or workshop in the area of ethics. When prompted to give…

School board members are entrusted by taxpayers to establish and maintain quality in their school systems. Unfortunately, most board members lack the experience or training necessary to face a wide range of new and daunting challenges. This book was designed to help school administrators and board members understand the principles of Total Quality…