This sourcebook synthesizes findings from studies on school improvement programs. The prefatory overview emphasizes key themes and issues addressed in the seven papers that comprise the body of the document, discusses the role of staff development, and examines the process of translating research into policy. The papers summarize the findings of…

Presents a critical rejoinder to Stedman's article that dismisses the validity of school effectiveness guidelines. Stedman has misused school effectiveness research findings, for the data actually support these characteristics. Stedman's generalized alternatives lack adequate supportive evidence. (CJH)

Reviews recent studies of school reform and finds no common answer for how schools should implement change. Looks at a study of three improving school districts, another study of 15 elementary and middle school principals, and the theories of three prominent leaders in instructional practices. (MD)

Informal survey of 59 principals and senior administrators revealed differences in their perceptions of seven issues: (1) impact of information technologies on staff effectiveness; (2) communicating educational needs to technologists; (3) resistance to change; (4) impact on jobs; (5) awareness of costs; (6) discomfort in implementation; and (7)…

This study of school characteristics associated with four cognitive achievement measures for students during the last two years of high school found that gains were greater in those schools where a large percentage of students were enrolled in the academic curriculum and in the schools which offered a large number of additional courses beyond the…

Summarizes Louisiana's mandated school improvement program, discusses results, and describes how districts create effective or ineffective schools. Principals in ineffective schools defined their roles as limited, passive, and bureaucratic; principals in effective schools held multiple schooling goals and regarded the achievement process as…

Investigates the nature of administrative control in 12 instructionally effective school districts in California. Nine control functions are assumed to affect student outcomes by influencing curriculum and instruction. Findings from interviews with superintendents revealed more district-level control of principal behavior and site activity than…

There has been a decrease in "sex difference" studies in anthropology, education, feminist studies, psychology, and sociology since the mid-1970s but an increase in research on how gender relationships are created, maintained, and transformed through education. Social interactionism and sociocultural reproduction have become increasingly…

Identifies noninstructional conditions leading to semiliterate high school graduates, including the inaccessibility of books, lack of time to read, lack of readers as role models, and barriers within the curriculum and school structure. Argues that educational reforms emphasizing only instruction are unlikely to change these conditions. (DMM)

Describes the For Character Program that identifies and honors public and private schools in which students demonstrate high levels of positive conduct and academic effort. Outlines several school and classroom management principles that stress both character development and academic quality and resemble effective school characteristics. (MLH)

Increasingly, researchers are acknowledging the importance of administrators in the school improvement process. The results of one research conference that focused on the high school are reported. (CJH)

Interviews with outstanding principals identify the characteristics and skill areas of outstanding administrators. Exceptional administrators are knowledgeable in all areas related to the educational process. (MD)

The Mentor School System (Ohio) recreated the role of department coordinator in all its secondary schools to develop a cadre of instructional leaders to break down the barriers between administrators and the classroom. (MD)

At Gainfield Elementary School, Southbury, Connecticut the principal emphasizes professional development for the entire teaching staff. Teachers have ownership of the curriculum and the teaching process. Imaginative programs welcome preschoolers prior to kindergarten and prepare fifth graders for their move to junior high school. (MT)

This article cautions that prescriptive announcements for school improvement currently in vogue are not all clearly justified by research on school effectiveness. An overview of the strong principal factor is used as an example. (MT)