A description is given of a state-wide endeavor to improve the schools in Arkansas. Five recommendations provide the framework for innovative planning for the schools: (1) educators, elected officials and community leaders should assertively market "Restructuring for Higher Order Learning" throughout the state as the logical and…

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, chairman of the committee, opened the hearing by commending President Bush and U.S. Department of Education Secretary Lamar Alexander for putting forward an education reform plan. Kennedy then stated his reservations: the plan does not devote enough attention to school readiness; the administration emphasizes choice as a…

The relationship between educational policy and instructional practice is explored in this paper, with a focus on the impact of state and federal policies on instruction. The relationship between government structure and policymaking is discussed in the first section, which concludes that conflict between rapidly expanding policymaking and…

This policy brief focuses on design issues surrounding decentralization policies, drawing from the following three reports: "Working Models of Choice in Public Education," by Richard F. Elmore; "Diversity Amidst Standardization: State Differential Treatment of Districts," by Susan H. Fuhrman; and "School District Restructuring in Santa Fe, New…

Project LIRO (Leadership for Improved Restructuring Outcomes) was an attempt to influence student outcomes and school change through a year-long work experience and training of department chairs and administrators. The project used Teacher Collegial Groups (TCGs) to encourage collaboration between personnel from Institutions of Higher Education…

The impact of new educational policies initiated by the Conservative Party leadership on school management in the United Kingdom is examined in this paper. The first part highlights the background of state-sector schools and their funding. Although no clear statement of intended policy exists, the second part outlines the following general policy…

"America 2000," President Bush's national strategy for "Reinventing America's Schools" is evaluated by 30 invited experts in the following papers: "Bottom-up Reform From the Top Down" (John E. Chubb); "Would Choice + Competition Yield Quality Education?" (Richard F. Elmore); "The Federal Education Role…

The organizational and decision-making characteristics of four school-based management models being developed in Dade County, Florida; Chicago; Los Angeles; and Spain are compared in this paper. The key differences lie in the origin of and reasons for change, and the common focal point is the creation and empowerment of a local school council at…

The oversight of state education reforms is explored in this paper, with a focus on the motivations of program fixers and the strategies they use to guide implementation. Fifty-seven interviews were conducted with legislators, committee staff, and legislative agency staff to analyze the program fixing process in six states--Arizona, Louisiana,…

Change by school restructuring has followed quickly on the heels of school reform that sought to mandate improvement upon teachers by bureaucratic control and compliance. It did not take long for problems of the reform paradigm to surface as teacher improvement could not be mandated. A complete restructuring of teaching and learning organization…

California's Partnership Academies tangibly reflect not just rhetorical involvement but meaningful direct private-sector participation in the education process. The Partnership Academies and their link to vocational education are compared with other programs like Adopt-a-School and the Boston Compact. The roots of the academy are traced to similar…

Guidelines for transforming and improving the nation's public schools are presented in this book, with a focus on the regional laboratory's program for educational change. The program is organized around "designing schools for enhanced learning" and is based on three principles--a focus on learning, a systemic approach to change, and…

In 1989, the Minnesota Office of Educational Leadership (OEL) was directed to develop a plan for a 2-year research project to determine the effectiveness of a learner outcome-based system of education in improving pupil learning. Ten research and development project sites comprising 17 districts and 5 educational consortia received grants of…

Focusing on the use of advanced technologies in classrooms to reshape the educational environment in which students learn, this report on Phase II of the Learning Tomorrow program contains brief descriptions of the most promising educational practices submitted by teachers in response to two nation-wide calls for Innovation in Practice. The report…

This theme issue includes eight articles that discuss partnerships between schools, colleges, and businesses. The partnerships are members of the National Network for Educational Renewal (NNER). "School-University Partnerships: Fundamental Concepts" (J. I. Goodlad) outlines the concepts, agenda, and structure essential to…