Surveys of Australian college faculty, conducted in 1977 and 1993, provide data for tracing trends in workload. While time devoted to teaching and research have remained stable, changes at the margins of academic workload are considerable. These tasks are largely generated by demands of institutional competition, accountability, and quality…

This case study argues that teachers are ill-prepared to give English-as-a-Second-Language students the instruction they need for integration into mainstream classrooms, and advocates ongoing teacher study groups as a replacement for traditional one-shot workshops. (Contains 21 references.) (LR)

Explores the role of the academic library director in reconceptualizing the scholarly communication process in response to rising acquisitions costs. Highlights include being a catalyst for change; accountability; planning strategies and alliances, including ARL (Association of Research Libraries) and library consortia; and identifying target…

An approach to higher education curriculum that focuses on curriculum's potential to produce desired outcomes is outlined. Signs of need for such an approach, forces for change, and signs of hope in current educational trends are noted, and 11 principles for action are proposed. Principles focus on active, integrated learning and assessment. (MSE)

Presents seven articles that discuss reference librarians and technical services librarians; evaluating online public access catalogs; bibliographic instruction and CD-ROMs; interactive multimedia and electronic media in academic libraries; open versus closed stacks for academic library periodical collections; policies and procedures manuals as…

Describes three general trends related to technology that will influence school library media centers: (1) increasing volume and types of information in electronic form; (2) increasing resource sharing and networking; and (3) increasing attention to accountability and productivity. Implications relating to organization and structure, and…

Teaching portfolios, now largely used for evaluation of college teaching, can also be viewed as a form of action research, opening their use to other purposes, including examination of institutional, faculty, and student needs and demands; the dynamics of race, gender, and sexuality in structuring classroom interactions; and the relationship of…

The voucher "air war" is a conflict between two longstanding elements of the American political tradition: a time-honored commitment to maximum personal choice and individual freedom versus an equally compelling belief in need for a common civil infrastructure and communitarian interests. Will embracing vouchers further erode the public…

This article presents initial findings related to the psychometric issues and current state policies and practices for out-of-level testing of students with disabilities. Findings indicate 12 states have out-of- level testing policies and states are evenly distributed among those that use criterion-referenced tests, norm-referenced tests, or a…

For almost as long as teacher education programs have existed, there has been controversy about the appropriate balance between liberal arts and pedagogy, theory and practice, and university experiences and school-based experiences. The author of this article, a member of the American Educational Research Association's Panel on Teacher Education,…

Using Nicholl's (1989) and Dweck's (1999, 2002) theories on ability as conceptual frameworks, this study explored teachers' and students' conceptions of ability in elementary physical education. Participants were 8 physical education specialists from five public schools and 160 students from their second- and fourth-grade classes. Teacher and…

This article argues that, with all of its language about reaching "100% proficiency for all students in twelve years" as an "ambitious, but achievable" goal, the current federal administration seems to be on the side of the children in its No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), but further investigation reveals that many of the…

In the USA, many of the recent education reforms have been implemented in response to calls from neo-liberal and conservative policy makers to improve education efficiency and reduce public expenditures within an increasingly globalized economy. Consequently, local, state, and federal education policies increasingly employ curricular standards and…

The responsibility for the academic success of our nation's children historically has been shouldered by the school principal. In many school communities today, that accountability has been mandated by state law. The Indiana equivalent of the accountability movement sweeping the nation is Public Law 221 (P.L. 221), which makes the principal solely…

This article examines American and Australian school principals' fundamental values regarding the purpose of schools. It also illustrates their views on school reform and the role of the principal in reform, and compares their visions of the purpose of schools--the ideal schools in the 21st century. Data reveal that the majority of American and…