Evaluating restructured education involves the following four roles or functions: (1) goal refinement; (2) documentation; (3) formative experimentation; and (4) impact assessment. Brief discussions of specific evaluation methods and design issues are provided. Formidable challenges involved in improving evaluation and, ultimately, education in…

Surveys school superintendents in Washington State for their views on interdistrict school choice and their perceptions of its advantages and disadvantages. Replies of 98 superintendents generally do not support interdistrict choice, although superintendents in districts with higher dropout rates tend to be more supportive. (SLD)

Discusses the role of the school media specialist in the budgeting aspects of site based management. The involvement of businesses in education is discussed, restructuring school systems through site-based management is described, and the economic recession and the resulting decline in money for education are considered. (19 references) (LRW)

According to Richard W. Riley, Secretary of Education, the federal government can be a partner to states and communities in improving education. Outlines the Goals 2000 plan to provide schools with greater flexibility in exchange for greater accountability for results. Federal priorities are to provide additional resources to high-poverty…

Principals and central-office administrators often spend little time interacting or discussing curriculum, instruction, and staff development. Leadership consciousness must be formed through links between schools and the central office. In a restructured setting, central-office leaders support the principal, provide technical assistance and…

Describes plans in The Netherlands to simultaneously restructure schools and curriculum, integrate information technology with the new curriculum, and redefine teacher support and inservice training. The PIT School Project is discussed, including evaluation; teacher networking is examined as a means of ongoing professional development; and PIT…

Reviews school effects literature concerning student dropouts and critically examines urban principals' viewpoints, focusing on definitions, current practices and proposed solutions, and context considerations. Principals blamed either the individual or the community context for student disengagement from school, relying on support services and…

The process for establishing a climate and a framework that promote school-based reform is complex. Describes the steps a typical but fictitious district takes to build support for change. (MLF)

Discusses the concept of a "literacy of thoughtfulness" for all students, characterized by the ability to think critically and creatively, to solve problems, exercise judgment, access, assimilate, and apply information, and communicate effectively with others. Suggests that thoughtfulness is inescapably bound up with culture. (KEH)

Twenty-first century principals will play a vital role in curriculum and staff development. Principals must be prepared to revitalize teachers' energies by mastering and using powerful, research-based strategies, including establishing a common vision, focusing on instructional improvement and accountability, creating a collegial, participatory…

Examines the current societal and educational context for change in public schools. Notes conditions that create roadblocks to school reform, including fiscal constraints, deteriorating home environment, teacher and administrator stress, expanding services, and diversity in schools. Briefly reviews change literature. (55 references) (MLF)

The article explores the consequences of new systems of shared decision making and governance for the assessment of principals, presenting case studies of two Chicago-area school districts that made substantial progress expanding teachers' professional roles in school- and district-level governance. (SM)

After delineating wider context of Coalition of Essential Schools restructuring in Illinois, paper explores principal's changing role in four schools immersed in restructuring process. Factors inhibiting role changes in shared governance system were lack of stability, support, trust, and commitment. Factors promoting change were new conceptions of…

Describes the results of a needs analysis conducted to determine the requirements of teachers who wish to restructure their classrooms. The development of Strategic Teaching Frameworks, a hypermedia system to aid teachers and administrators in adopting new approaches to teaching, is explained; and tools and resources needed for change are…

First step toward creating staff interest in and capacity for change is realizing things could be wrong. Second is recognizing growth-inhibiting factors, such as narrow job and role definitions, evasion of responsibility, focus on events instead of long-term patterns, intellectual isolation and quick fixes, and structural fragmentation. True…