This position paper of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) addresses issues related to the discipline of students with severe behavior disorders or other disabilities. It specifically considers: (1) placement of disruptive and/or dangerous students; (2) cost issues of alternatives to suspension and expulsion; (3) legal parameters under the…

Just as a classroom where teacher and students are physically present develops into a community over the course of a semester, classes taught via the Internet become virtual learning communities, communities unbounded by physical space. This paper describes a course on information design that was implemented entirely via the Internet, including…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined an alternative learning program in a large urban school district in the midwestern United States. The goal of the project was to determine if the specific alternative learning program could have a positive effect on student motivation, goal orientation, self-efficacy, and self-esteem. Research…

This paper examines alternative certification programs in terms of entrance requirements, supervision and mentoring, and post-certification professional support. A good alternative program uses rigorous screening processes to ensure the selection of qualified teacher interns; provides high-quality preservice training in methodology, classroom…

Eight articles, published in various issues of "Education Week" starting in March 1994 and ending July 1995, track the work of eight educational reform design teams: (1) "Back to the Future" (Lynn Olson)--the virtues and values of the past in a modern context; (2) "A Welcome Change" (Ann Bradley)--instruction school…

This report presents tables and narrative that detail enrollment and persistence trends in postsecondary education participation of nontraditional students. The report uses data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Studies of 1986-87, 1989-90, and 1992-93; and from the second followup of the 1989-90 Beginning Postsecondary Students…

Research has documented that the self-esteem of girls plunges at adolescence. Whether this is true for girls educated outside the school system was studied through interviews with 20 homeschooled girls, a questionnaire completed by 20 more, and tape-recorded responses of 5 others. Subjects were asked to describe themselves and their interests,…

This paper discusses the Modern School Movement (MSM), founded in 1924 by French educator Celestin Freinet (1896-1966) and widely-known throughout Europe yet largely unknown to English-speaking educators. The paper focuses on the MSM as the largest student writing network ever to have employed educational technologies as a central aspect of its…

In spite of a widespread commitment to the comprehensive high school, the nation has long had specialty or theme schools and schools that target particular children. Magnet schools, alternative schools, and Catholic schools illustrate that the idea of specialized schools is not new. Recently, the concept has received a boost from a study by the…

A study was done to describe the development of seven alternative schools for youth who dropped out of high school or who were at risk of doing so on the model of a Brooklyn (New York) alternative school, High School Redirection. The replication demonstration took place in the 1988-89 and 1989-90 school years in Cincinnati (Ohio), Denver…

The services provided to various demographic groups under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) were reviewed to determine the extent to which disparities occur in the services provided to women and minorities, factors within the operation of local projects that contribute to such disparities, and efforts by states and the Department of Labor to…

President Bush's America 2000 strategy, like the Education Reform Act of 1988 adopted by Prime Minister Thatcher's government in the United Kingdom, seeks to make education accountable to the marketplace. Both programs promote school choice, site-based management, and national control of curriculum and assessment. British studies have shown that…

Issues in school choice as a method for achieving educational reform are discussed in this booklet. The first part provides a brief historical background of the school choice movement, including an analysis of the issues being debated over the marketplace theories and the general philosophy behind school choice. The second part highlights a few of…

This book is designed to show what type of alternative career education is available, where to get it, and how much is needed for the first job in a wide variety of careers. Part I tells about alternative education--how to evaluate it and how to pick the right career track. It describes the advantages and disadvantages of 11 basic sources of…

The second-year report of the National Study of Charter Schools updates information on charter schools presented in the first report of the study. The study is a 4-year research effort (September 1995 to September 1999) intended to document and analyze the charter-school movement. It was designed to provide information about what kind of charter…