A report of an attempt to institute alternative systems of communication in a reading center in order to restructure and personalize student- teacher and staff-staff relationships. The objectives, rationale, results, and procedures involved in the design and operation of the support system are described, along with suggestions for future research.…

A colloquium on educational reform held in New York brought together leading educators, union representatives, business leaders, and public officials to discuss one of the greatest challenges to the state and the nation: improving America's public schools. As a follow-up to the discussion, this report documents the most pressing reform issues. The…

The understanding and management of the changes called for by fundamental restructuring are discussed in this sixth guidebook in a series of nine video conferences on school restructuring. Offered are a summary of school improvement over the last 30 years, a systems framework for individual and team changes, and strategies for organizational…

This report summarizes the findings of a 1985 study of the Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) summer school program. Statistics, charts and survey results provide a picture of the student population, school financial situation, course offerings, participant attitudes, etc. The APS summer school is self-supporting, but tuition is rising rapidly and…

Open universities are analyzed from the perspective of innovation in higher education in the areas of organization/administration and curriculum/instruction. Examples are drawn from open universities internationally to illustrate what was intended to be innovative, what worked out as innovative, and what turned out unexpectedly to be innovative.…

The purpose of education should not be to fill students with objective knowledge but to develop in students the ability to process information in ways that enhance understanding, according to the process model of curriculum development proposed by Lawrence Stenhouse. Defining education thus does not allow for the establishment of fixed educational…

Pakistan's effort to achieve universal primary education is described in this study. Chapter One briefly traces economic and social developments, the growth of knowledge, and considers educational priorities. Chapter Two offers an historical perspective, focusing on the re-orientation of the schools after independence, the first national plan, the…

Although it has been in the lexicon for 20 years, educational accountability remains an untested concept. Traditionally used in public service areas involving the stewardship of public funds, the term loses its legal-financial context when applied to educational settings. Here, accountability is mainly concerned with furthering school systems'…

According to organizational theory, the administrative structure of schools has an effect on the feasibility and ease of improving their operation. To determine whether schools are better characterized as rational bureaucracies or as loosely coupled systems or whether some schools belong to each model, four dimensions were operationalized (goal…

Structural reorganization was investigated as one factor associated with the development of the University of New Mexico from an undergraduate teaching institution toward becoming of a nationally-ranked graduate research university. A longitudinal, ethnohistorical study was undertaken for the 1967-1978 period. The qualitative research methodology…

Focusing on the problem of authority, an analysis of the theories of Max Weber, James D. Thompson, and Elliott Jaques forms the basis for this proposal for improved organizational effectiveness in public schools. Basic assumptions are that modern organizations are established and operated under rational principles and subject to rational analysis,…

Two methodologies for teacher-focused process evaluation--rating scales and systematic observation--are discussed and comments are made about their characteristics and effective utilization to improve teachers' performance. Process evaluation, referring specifically to the act of evaluating what teachers do in their classrooms, may be of formative…

Local boards of education have the responsibility and authority for operating local school systems, but in a system of any size authority must be delegated. Unlike factories, schools cannot be run from the top down. The health of the schools is determined directly by and in proportion to the extent that principals and teachers have a voice in…

Most previous research on the social organization of schools neglects to consider that such organization may vary depending on several factors, including size, staff composition, and environment. This study utilized two images of school identified by Corwin: the rational bureaucracy (formally organized social structure in which activities have…

This report is the fifth in a series on cultivating excellence in education for the purpose of training and retraining school leaders of the 1990s. The role of school administrators, and especially building principals; the characteristic administrative functions; the step-by-step procedures for implementation; and the advantages and possible…