A poorly managed alternative high school was turned around when a new, safety-minded administration envisioned and developed a set of values. The new learning-community contract requires students to treat other people respectfully, appreciate diversity, pursue their education diligently, obey school rules, and conduct themselves honorably. (MLH)

Focuses on Open and Distance Learning (ODL) as an educational technology-based environment that creates new communities, or ODL cultures. Examines whether there is a problem with ODL in Europe, while analyzing the cultural and institutional conditions in structural terms. Considers the influence of culture on ODL and vice versa, using the…

Offers a short history of the modern alternative-education movement. Outlines two social ends sought through public-education policy. Discusses four criteria regarding the role of alternative education in shaping an equitable youth policy for public schools. (SR)

Reviews current issues that affect the education of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Discusses best-practice methods by educators; student placement, including increased reliance on alternative schools and other nontraditional settings; and job expectations and working conditions of teachers who work with troubled students.…

Highlights potential changes in information production, use and exchange that will occur as the 21st century approaches. Focuses on knowledge management and knowledge-based organizations. Contends that we are moving from an Age of Information into the Age of the Mind, which will be characterized by new ways of interacting with information and…

Discusses the educational theory underlying Steiner's Waldorf Kindergartens. Examines the influence of other theorists such as Montessori, Piaget, Buber, Hahn and Dewey on Steiner's educational ideas. Explores the need for kindergartens to nurture children's Emotional Intelligence and Motional Intelligence in addition to their Intelligence…

Examines the concept of charter schools, their appeal to reformers, and the resistance to their implementation. The paper describes seven key components essential to creating charter schools, presenting examples that illustrate their impact on potential charter schools. Forces impeding the long-term success of the charter-school movement are…

Summarizes a study that elicited students' responses regarding their perceptions of success in 21 alternative-learning-environment (ALE) programs throughout Arkansas. Students overwhelmingly favored ALE over regular program characteristics regarding teachers, class size, student/teacher relationships, expectations, atmosphere, courses, building,…

Presents results from the Hudson Institute's Charter Schools in Action, a two-year research project that evaluated the creation, operation, and impact of charter schools. The paper discusses the charter notion and examines accomplishments achieved and dilemmas confronted by various charter schools. The study concludes that charter schools are a…

Reports on the establishment of a charter school in Michigan that serves home-schooling families and stresses a creationist curriculum. Describes the legal action taken against public funding of the charter school. (DDR)

Examines past and current research in key areas concerning the use of distance education. They include: distance versus traditional education; why students are successful; importance of interaction; important cost to benefit factors; and use of distance education to effectively bridge cultural boundaries. Discusses how these findings can be…

A sample model of how courses are adapted for distance learning at Toronto's Ryerson Polytechnic University shows how this institution has addressed students' support needs by providing a cohesive and unified support infrastructure. Ultimately, a high degree of collaboration between university and college departments is essential for creating…

Development of information and communication technologies has greatly expanded the number of institutions offering programs on a regional or global basis. Looks at problems that distance education institutions have faced, and continue to face, in terms of delivery of materials, student access to technology, structures, and maintenance of…

Reviews an autobiographical account of Fred Keller's experiences, documenting how traditional methods of instruction failed him both as a student and as a teacher, and how this failure motivated his quest for alternative methods of instruction culminating in the development of a personalized system of instruction. (KS)

Argues that a doctoral policy document, presenting the studied advocacy of a reflective scholar/practitioner for a specific educational policy issue, is a better alternative for educational doctorate programs than the traditional dissertation. Policy advocacy is supported as a conceptual extension of the reform climate in educational…