This booklet describes 12 Blue Ribbon secondary schools chosen during the 1991 federal recognition program. Representing a cross-section of America, these schools are characterized by a clear vision; empowered, hard-working teachers; a school environment that supports learning; use of local resources; and programs other than classroom learning.…

This document presents findings from phase 1 of the Victorian Quality Schools Project. This phase, the first of a 3-year longitudinal study, sought to identify characteristics of effective schools and develop a model of teacher and school effectiveness. Data were derived from four instruments--parent questionnaires, teacher questionnaires, student…

This book describes the premises and practices of how schools become democratic, moral, and purposeful. The introduction describes the need for schools to reclarify their enduring purpose in a democratic society and provides an overview of the status of public education as quite different from most commission reports and media stories. Part 1…

Determining the limits of accountability and how schools should be assessed is one of the most difficult problems in education. The state of Texas has attempted accountability by rewarding some schools and punishing others without justification. The school superintendents of Bexar County (Texas) and the Center for Educational Leadership at Trinity…

Conceptual problems in the school-effectiveness literature are examined in this paper, with a focus on the development of two models for school effectiveness. Four necessary components of an effective-schools model include the nature and extent of the educational goals, techniques for recognition, methods for measuring school effectiveness, and…

The total quality management (TQM) concepts of W. Edwards Deming were used at Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka, Alaska. The school is an alternative school with about 210 students and 13 teachers. The students are a mix of native Alaskans and immigrants from other states. TQM was introduced into the school by a teacher. Students used TQM to…

School restructuring continues to be a common approach to improving education. Despite restructuring's continued and growing support, there is little research to support its effectiveness. The theoretical contrast exposed in school restructuring is between bureaucratic and organic organizational forms. A study assessed the effect of restructuring…

Perceived educational strengths and weaknesses of Appalachian schools are examined as indicators of school effectiveness in this study, which is based on the formula that the expectations people have of schools minus the perceptions of how those expectations are met equals a dissonance factor. The School Effectiveness Inventory (SEI), which…

The first-year results of a Tennessee partnership to support a data-based school improvement effort, the Positive Attitudes in Tennessee Schools Project (PATS), are summarized in this report. The partnership consists of school-site leadership teams, state department of education personnel, and university faculty. Methodology involved two…

Outcomes of the District Wide School Improvement Program (DWIP), a plan to improve Native education in Saskatchewan, are described in this paper. Initiated by the Prince Albert Tribal Council (PATC) and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB), the school improvement model is a community-based developmental model designed to sensitize schools to their…

Overviews of 10 major restructuring initiatives in the United States are provided in this publication. The programs share a questioning attitude, vision-based goals, a focus on hands-on learning, an assumption of all children's learning potential, new approaches to thinking and problem-solving, and new participant roles. Each program is described…

The first 3 years of a 4-year project to plan and implement school change using a school improvement strategy in five low income, rural, resource-bound school sites are described in this report. One school from each of the following states--Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana--participated in the project. Extreme diversity…

Based on data gatered from interviews, observations, and document reviews during a 3-year qualitative examination of curriculum change projects in 14 elementary, junior, and senior high schools, this paper argues that the spread of new classroom practices within a school beyond a core committee of planners is determined by the orgaanizational…

Conducted in two phases, this study compared students' affective characteristics (locus of control, academic motivation, and self concept) at schools that were identified as either more effective or less effective. In phase one, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders from seven Title I schools in a New England city (n=1,373) were tested on ability and…

Ways in which elementary school students value, adapt, and modify the curriculum are revealed by reporting statements of children in grades 2 through 4 in a midwestern parochial school. Over 250 hours of observation as well as interviews with students, teachers, parents, and the principal formed the basis of research. Data were assembled through…