Shares a curriculum framework based on six aspects of literacy: ownership, reading comprehension, writing process, word identification, language and vocabulary knowledge, and voluntary reading. Notes that this framework is consistent with a whole literacy approach, and includes an assessment system and provisions for accountability. (MG)

Effective schools research indicates that a good plan for school improvement grows out of the school and the school system in which it will be used. Outlines 11 components of a school system's improvement plan, and current educational trends to take into account in developing the plan. (MLF)

Examines key issues facing administrators at Athabasca University and discusses their implications for distance education organizations. Topics discussed include strategic planning; accountability and cost effectiveness; consortia and cooperation; instructional design; managing technological innovation; marketing; quality assurance; and…

Identifies pertinent constituencies that interact with state-level community college governance and coordinating bodies in assessment; data and information needed for and used with these constituencies; the balance of potentially conflicting pressures and ideas about institutional autonomy and state uniformity and control; and mechanisms for…

This article considers how special education intersects with general education reforms in reference to such issues as choice, contestability, decentralization, and accountability. Particular attention is given to events in New Zealand since the institution of educational administration reforms in 1989. (Author/DB)

Describes the impact of information technology on higher education. Highlights include balancing the educational mission between research, teaching, and service; accountability; the growing knowledge base; limited resources; the influence of universities on economic development; systemic change; strategic planning; learning environments;…

This article argues that the capacity for innovation in American higher education is at risk. Colleges and universities are persistently slow in accepting advancing technology, increasingly labor-intensive, and resistant to evaluation by their customers or in terms of efficiency. A rethinking of the roles and tasks of faculty and staff is…

Raises philosophical and theoretical issues (concerning leadership, productivity, change, adequacy, equity) that must be addressed for school-based management to succeed. Structural changes do not always produce increased autonomy for those at lower organizational levels; nor does leadership naturally evolve that empowers others. Most principals…

Principals want to be part of the decision-making process regarding business operational procedures. Principals want responsibility accompanied by the necessary authority along with having budgeting and other operational information readily available, technical assistance, evidence of equity, and immediate feedback. (MLF)

Describes alternatives to bureaucratic centralism in the administration of national education systems. Discusses forms of decentralization based on political rationales (liberalism, federalism, populist localism, participatory democracy) and those concerned with quality or efficiency (pedagogic professionalism, management by objectives,…

The skill levels of school business administrators can be divided into technical, human relations, and conceptual. Field-based research revealed that the more the districts rely on shared decision making, the higher the esteem and trust the other administrators had for the business administrator. (MLF)

Government regulation and free markets may be complementary institutions that under appropriate conditions interact as a context for cost-effective equalitarian and socially accountable education. The article discusses school choice, the government's role, and the relationship between the government, schools, and the public. (SM)

The Australian government's reform policy treats education as a mechanism for economic development. To achieve national goals, the government is stressing skills education, private-sector involvement in skills education, increased participation in education, increased school retention rates, improvement in overall education quality, and…

A shift in federal policy is causing Americans to examine the basic values and aspirations of public education, and the "schools of choice" debate must address the following significant issues: (1) effectiveness; (2) equity; (3) governance and accountability; (4) resource allocation; (5) mission; (6) sociological factors; (7) psychological…

Reviews the motives behind four Iowa university presidents' decision to drop NCATE (the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education), including budgetary shortfalls, declining program quality, NCATE's "intrusion" into liberal arts domains, antipathy toward accountability, and negative attitudes toward teaching. By acting…