Over 100 interviews with teachers and administrators provide the base for this analysis of teacher empowerment in several highly decentralized school districts. Examined are (1) how teachers respond to opportunities for influence; (2) how such opportunities affect teaching; and (3) how opportunities affect teachers' work lives and sense of…

This article provides an overview of several major themes in the reform movement and how changes brought about by school restructuring affect practicing teachers. Topics include teacher empowerment, site-based management, knowledge-work enterprise, school-university collaboration, professional development schools, whole-language instruction, and…

A longitudinal study of 101 college students investigated the ways in which their college and postcollege experiences fostered development of complexity in their assumptions about knowledge, by emphasizing independent functioning, collaboration, direct involvement in learning, and subjective decisionmaking. Results suggest these experiences be…

Maintains that, although courts have ruled that poor people accused of crimes must be provided legal services, most court cases involve civil law. Presents a secondary school lesson in which students review 11 mock civil court cases and decide whether or not free legal counsel should be provided. (CFR)

Discusses policy principles that information provider companies agree upon, including the public's right of access to information; equality of access; diverse information sources; monopoly control of public information; fees for access; and public participation in decisions about access. Funding for the depository library system and new federal…

Whether family processes that predict positive and negative developmental outcomes are the same in intact families and remarried families was studied through surveys administered to 758 10th graders from families with stepfathers. In this sample, family dissolution and reconstitution does not affect parenting styles with regard to permissiveness…

Significant differences between education in the Australian states and in the territories make meaningful generalizations difficult. Common national trends include curriculum development that focuses on basics and the government's desire for community involvement in school decision making. Other issues include students' cultural and linguistic…

Cross-national differences in political, legislative, administrative, regulatory, and judicial systems that may present obstacles to reaching international agreements are discussed. These differences are identified from research comparing the regulation of chemical hazards in Europe and the United States. Implications for the problem of global…

Discusses staffing needs and plans that need to be considered by library administrators. Topics addressed include the supervisory process, including patron needs assessment; the staffing process, including a staffing control system; staffing studies that establish a base for decision making; staffing standards; staffing problems; scheduling; and…

Describes a case study of 12 elementary schools (emphasizing 2 schools) affected by the Chicago School Reform Act, focusing on local contexts and features of school communities that advance or impede change. Results demonstrate the importance of neighborhood contexts and school leadership and the complexities of applying technical expertise. (SLD)

Discusses the nature of job satisfaction, its relationship to performance, and associated organizational factors, such as commitment, in research libraries. Symptoms of job dissatisfaction are outlined, and a framework for improving job satisfaction provides suggestions in the areas of hiring, professional development, job design, empowerment, and…

Argues that high-stakes primary grade testing increases pressure on low-achieving schools to improve test performance and increases chances that low achieving children will be retained in grade or classified as handicapped. It is suggested that current practices be modified to eliminate motives to engage in such placement practices. (SLD)

Summarizes a five-month study of a British secondary school governing body to determine whether the 1986 and 1988 education acts' goals were being achieved. One significant research issue was the emerging lay-professional relationship. At present, the school governing body is not fully exercising its powers but is responding to an externally…

Describes a long-term, critically oriented teacher-researcher group, noting troublesome issues and the group's attempts to expand teacher-researcher collaboration into daily education settings. The article includes personal narratives by the members, which stress the importance of a self-reflexive stance for collaborative research to accommodate…

Describes on-campus College/Career Resource Centers (CCRCs) designed to help students in the Lexington Two school district in West Columbia, South Carolina, identify the higher educational institution of their choice and to search for the funds to afford that opportunity. Presents graphic picture of success story of parents and students working…