Four influential studies on school effectiveness reported by Brookover and Lezotte (1979), Edmonds and Frederiksen (1979), Phi Delta Kappa (1980), and Rutter and others (1979) are limited in their usefulness as recipes for creating effective schools by the following four issues: (1) The four studies differ in their definition of what…

This report describes a model for equitable schooling as it regards quality schooling experiences and equality of access for all. According to the model, equitable schooling opportunity is provided when two major dimensions of schooling are present: (1) equality of effectiveness, defined on the dimensions of school effectiveness and instructional…

In this monograph, 13 authors offer their perspectives on the essential components of good schools. One interesting commonality is the tension expressed between institutional structure and personal values. Another issue that surfaces centers on the rising expectations of society for school achievement and the need for making learning more student…

This paper reacts to public criticism by reassessing the role of Australian public school education. It recounts the philosophical traditions that have separated instruction and teaching professionals from the realities of the present economy. The paper concludes by suggesting that not only is public input into curricular reform needed, but that…

The superintendent of Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Community School District discusses school improvement in light of several basic assumptions. The superintendent of schools can be the most influential person in the district. A handful of management techniques or processes can influence teaching and learning. Keeping highly effective schools is an…

Chapter 7 of a revised volume on school leadership, this chapter advocates the use of participative decision-making (PDM) at the school site level, outlines implementation guidelines, and describes the experiences of some schools with PDM systems. A cornerstone of a reform movement to make organizational operations more democratic and less…

The focus of this document is on the reemergence of the principal as the school's instructional leader as attributable to effective schools research. The document presents a framework that conceptualizes instructional leadership as a two-dimensional construct comprised of leadership functions and leadership processes. The leadership functions…

Two major groups of researchers focus on identifying schools that have been unusually effective in terms of their students' achievement: (1) "effective schools" researchers; and (2) those charged with the responsibility of identifying schools for special recognition. However, all legitimate attemps to operationalize school effectiveness…

Prepared for discussion at a retreat of the board of trustees of Florida Community College at Jacksonville (FCCJ), this packet of materials identifies 31 indicators of institutional performance and assesses FCCJ in terms of those indicators for which data were available. First, the packet presents a flow chart which illustrates the model used by…

This paper describes and justifies The Schools Reaching Out Project on the basis of research proving that urban families and communities that build stronger connections to the schools are linked to healthy child development, the academic and social success of children in school, better teaching, cost savings and improved educational services and…

The Milpitas Unified School District's efforts to utilize information on school effectiveness and improvement research are reported. The first section gives a historical perspective on the district's activities in the area of implementing the school effectiveness research. This is followed by a discussion of the assessment and planning process…

Students enrolled in cooperative occupational education (COE) should achieve optimal development. To ensure this, instructors should use criteria from the psychology of education. They must strive to see that learning opportunities for COE students are meaningful; interesting; centered upon providing for individual differences; balanced among…

Focusing upon the importance of the overall school climate, and viewing school improvement from a cultural perspective, this document presents a report on the first year of a study of culture and cultural processes involved in improving the effectiveness of high schools. The first section discusses the year's three major activities undertaken to…

This manual provides suggestions for implementing a school improvement process using selected program and content areas from the Michigan State Board of Education-approved K-12 Program Standards of Quality. The suggestions were made by school district staffs that took part in the field test of the document during the 1983-84 school year. The first…

This paper hypothesizes that both the structure and function of school systems are influenced by the following environmental factors: the institutional division of labor, the degree of homogeneity, the degree of stability, the degree of competition, and the amount and source of funding. Support for the hypotheses relies on open systems theory and…