A central premise supporting educational decentralization is that community members best understand local conditions and are best placed to make local educational decisions. A survey of 643 educators, parents, and community leaders in 18 rural Ghana communities found that all groups lacked well-formulated attitudes about school practices and…

Findings from a study of teachers' views of the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) in England and Wales as a mechanism for improving secondary schools. Examines how teachers perceive the inspection process, whether Ofsted's process generates changes, and whether Ofsted's priorities agree with the school's. (Contains 44 references.) (WFA)

Analyzes self-reports and site visitor reports of 300 of the nationally recognized "Blue Ribbon" elementary schools representing 1985-86, 1987-88, 1989-90, and 1991-92 recognition years. Finds that more schools were using literature-based instruction, grouping flexibly, using computer-assisted instruction, providing in-class remedial…

Criticizes England's School Improvement Ideology (SCIMPI) campaign. It argues that SCIMPI underplays the basics of school improvement, ignores school practices that damage racial relations, place more emphasis on individual schools rather than the school system, and has clandestinely embedded within it destructive improvement practices that can…

Explores how knowledge of assessment results can be developed in public schools, identifies what types of data and information are useful in school improvement, and develops a framework for effective evaluation and decision making for lasting reform. Constructing knowledge for improvement depends on clear policy expectations and aims, high-quality…

Examines the loss of confidence in the educational system in juxtaposition with recent indicators showing growing confidence in the value of public schools. Explores ways of reconciling the conflicting evidence and argues the need for more sophisticated definition of public confidence in education. (GR)

Investigates whether significant differences exist between effective and ineffective urban schools based on students' classroom behavior and students' motivation and perceptions of their classroom learning environment. Comparisons between eight urban elementary schools serving predominantly African American students are presented that show…

Reports on interviews with six headteachers of Roman Catholic primary schools on the composition and responsibilities of their senior management teams. Findings explore the reasons for the schools' success and, in particular, the centrality of the Catholic faith and the practice of the senior management teams. (Contains 23 references.) (MLF)

A case study of an organization development intervention in a large New York State school district describes to staff developers the complex process of discovering and responding to organizational needs. The discussion focuses on understanding the problem; frameworks for diagnosis and intervention; and implementing the intervention strategy.…

Summarizes unstructured interviews with Alberta (Canada) administrators, teachers, and parents about their perceptions of effectiveness in elementary schools and principals. Describes school effectiveness criteria: specific goals, good staff attitudes and school climate, appropriate organizational structure, good communication among staff,…

Student performance will continue to drop as long as traditional school management telegraphs the message that low-quality work is acceptable. Nothing of high quality, including school work, can be measured by standardized machine-scored tests. By using control theory, both student and teacher workers can be more effectively managed without…

In describing several pitfalls associated with research on school and teacher effectiveness, the following aspects of effectiveness research are considered: correlation-causation relationship, controlling for background factors, statistical and practical significance, instrumentation problems, regression effects, measurement of change, nonlinear…

Argues that high student aspirations are part of a positive school climate and an important component of school effectiveness strategies. Outlines research needed to clarify these relationships and to examine the impact of teacher and staff behavior on student aspirations. (SV)

Suggests that whether U.S. education is a catastrophe depends not on whether students can answer questions on the Standard Achievement Tests (SAT) but on their ability to survive in the modern world. Stresses that the challenge to the social studies is to teach students to integrate their learning not to play the testmakers game. (NL)

Reports on Japanese science education from observations made of one school and one teacher. Compares the school to an American suburban "prep" high school with well-disciplined students. States that the reason students learn is because the Japanese consider education to be extremely important. (RT)