This collection of articles focuses on the practice and policy of staff development in terms of recent developments in teacher learning. Following an introduction by the editors, the book is divided into five parts. Part 1: New Perspectives on Practice contains three chapters: (1) "Reconceptualizing Teaching: Moving toward the Creation of…

Principals from the 1991-1992 Blue Ribbon Schools--those schools selected by the U.S. Department of Education that have demonstrated an unusual ability to create an atmosphere that promotes learning for "everyone"--were asked to share a "best idea" that they had put into practice in their schools. Selected from over 100 submissions, the "best…

This book presents suggestions, organized by categories of eduational concerns, that many principals have used to prepare students for the 21st century. Principals of the 1993-94 Blue Ribbon Scools--those schools selected by the U.S. Department of Education as outstanding elementary and middle schools--were asked to share a "best idea" that they…

School-to-work initiatives are becoming increasingly common as more states and the federal government launch programs to remedy the awkward transition of youth from high school into careers and to reform public education, especially for at-risk youth. The school-to-work programs that have been established across the country do not follow any one…

Gaining access to current and high-quality curriculum resource materials has become more difficult due to escalation in the prices of textbooks and in rigid interpretations of copyright laws which limit photocopying. Internet Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and files may offer a partial solution. Originally developed for the benefit of Usenet…

This bibliography is a listing of resources which provide information about the involvement of parents and guardians in the process of the education of their children. The items listed are housed in the Library, Instructional Resources Unit, Manitoba Education and Training section of the provincial government. The bibliography is divided into two…

Providing inservice education for rural special education personnel is often a problem. Educational technology offers inservice and preservice education at rural sites and brings the "rural context" to university classrooms. This paper presents three models that employ technology to prepare personnel to serve rural children with…

Teaching multiform foreign languages in a multicultural "United Europe" cannot distinguish between instruction of culture and instruction of speech. The terms interculture and intercultural are used to refer to European culture instead of a particular national culture. This paper asks the following fundamental questions: (1) "What…

A study examined evidence that first graders are able to analyze and respond to picture books. The study resulted from the collaboration of an eighth-grade class and a first-grade class. The eighth graders were given the task of writing, illustrating, and reading a picture book for the first graders. The first-grade class was randomly divided into…

There has been a rapid growth in the events industry in Victoria and Australia over the past five years with an increase in large scale events--resulting in substantive economic impact. The growth in events in Australia is projected to continue to beyond 2001. The Department of Management at Victoria University of Technology (VU) received a…

Some of the reasons efforts are being made to reform education are discussed, and how these reforms are likely to affect U.S. schools is explored. Data collected annually by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) indicate that almost all states have some form of assessment that is administered to all students at one or more grade…

This book discusses organizational, management and professional dimensions of change as credit-based systems are introduced in higher education institutions in the United Kingdom. Credit-based systems are taken to mean the flexible academic structures based around the parallel but interrelated concepts of credit and modularity. They are being…

A project is an in-depth study of a particular topic that one or more children undertake, and consists of exploring the topic or theme such as "building a house" over a period of days or weeks. This book introduces the project approach and suggests applications and examples of this approach in action. Chapters are: (1) "Profile of…

What does a student achieve and learn by the time he or she graduates from high school? How are various schools educating and evaluating students in their final year of school? Interdisciplinary senior courses at Phillips Exeter Academy encourage students to exercise their analytical, interpretative, and decision-making skills; to define their own…

This document describes the accomplishments of the Iowa Distance Education Alliance (IDEA). The Iowa Distance Education Alliance (IDEA) is a partnership involving educational institutions across Iowa that received funding from the federal Star Schools Program to demonstrate the use of the Iowa Communication Network's (ICN) fiber optic technology…