Summarizes the visions of 12 newly appointed superintendents from 4 northeastern states. In composing their visions, single-handedly from the start or collaborative over time, superintendents must cope with complex realities and competing demands. Although expected to emulate visionary corporate leaders, superintendents must envision within a…

Ten learning-disabled elementary students experiencing peer rejection participated in a 20-week intervention with a contextualist training model. Five of the 10 students' social status was classified as unrejected at the postintervention measure, and there were significant increases in positive peer nominations for males at posttest and 6-month…

Data obtained from a test of erasing an initial consonant or vowel of nonwords are presented and discussed to prove the inefficiency of processing when depending solely on acoustic decontextualized data. The experimental paradigm is the same as that used by the Universite Libre de Bruxelles. (six references) (LB)

Teachers in England and Wales have recently discovered the meaning of innovation overload, including mandated teacher appraisal. Teaching is a very exposed, personal activity; governors' attitudes and behaviors concerning staff appraisal are mostly a matter of relationship. Appraising governors must consider context, responsibility, definitions of…

Presents findings of a study exploring the development of new working relationships between teacher leaders and their principals. Uses a micropolitical perspective to document the interests and prerogatives brought by both parties to the new relationships. Raises important issues concerning the principal's role in teacher leadership development…

The seven articles that follow this introduction put the discussion of particular criminal justice programs into the context of public policy and focus on the effects of a "get tough" approach. The importance of theory and policy in program evaluation cannot be ignored. (SLD)

Mentoring, a powerful tool for developing and training school principals, must be managed wisely. Drawing on the experiences of a mentoring program operating in Singapore since 1984, this article discusses three major issues influencing success: mentor selection, program preparation and development, and program operation and organization.…

Complements review in previous volume concerning Australian literacy (in first- and second-language) initiatives that drew on systemic functional linguistics, highlights ongoing research within the same theoretical framework, and focuses on the question of modeling context in educational linguistics. The discussion includes modeling context as…

Reviews research about parental perceptions of and experiences with mainstreaming and discusses implications for practice. The literature reviewed focuses on parental perceptions of the effect of mainstreaming on children, families, and communities. Suggestions for developing successful mainstream education programs are offered. (TJQ)

Two studies examined individual student differences (N=79) in student perceptions of learning context and studying utilizing a new statistical procedure (multidimensional unfolding analysis). The results confirm the existence of important associations between qualitatively different perceptions of learning context and individual approaches to…

Examines the social organization of a daily group meeting in an American primary school classroom to determine the effects of contextualization cues, that the teacher occasionally omits, on achieving social order in the classroom. Contains 35 references. (GLR)

Addresses problems in evaluation that are raised by constructivism. Highlights include a comparison of objectivism and constructivism; constructivistic criteria, including goal-free evaluation, which focus on authentic tasks, knowledge construction, context-driven evaluation, the appropriate stages of knowledge acquisition, and multiple…

Investigates how context exerts effects the meaning system that enables assessing meaning units, consisting of referent and meaning value. Reveals four kinds of effects of context on meaning. Analyzes the findings of the two studies undertaken, and discusses their implications. (HB)

Huge infusion of technology is coming into education; nothing can stop it, because so much money is involved. With computer marketers in driver seat instead of teachers, schools risk being blinded by science. Vendors have coopted progressive education buzzwords, including "frontal teaching,""linear thinking," and "computer…

Discusses some areas of particular interest in the study of education in the South Pacific islands: educational development in small, recently decolonized nations; mismatch between policies of donors of international aid and the needs of developing nations; importance of understanding the context of education; and misapplication of educational…