This report, one of a series on block grant implementation, describes the efforts 13 states have made to involve the public in their block grant decisions, and the reaction of various state-level interest groups to those efforts. These public input opportunities were established in response to federal requirements, but also on account of the…

This guide is intended to assist teachers and vocational administrators in getting parents, students, and members of the community at large to participate in the process of planning and developing a high-quality home and family life education program. The first section discusses the importance of teamwork among parents, students, school, and…

A comprehensive survey was conducted seeking the opinions of 40,000 secondary school teachers on the impact of school reform proposals. Over 13,500 teachers returned questionnaires, for a response rate of 33.9%. In this report an evaluation is presented of the school renewal movement drawn from the perspective of the teacher. The survey included…

Research findings relating to the impact of student financial aid policies and practices on women are reviewed. Emphasis is placed on the importance of student aid for improving economic opportunity and security for women. The primary focus is on institutional practices and student aid programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education…

Previous management research supports the view that comprehensive planning and participative decision-making are important factors in reducing community opposition to educational policies. To investigate the possibility that neither of these strategies necessarily has this effect, a survey was undertaken of 53 school districts that had experienced…

Collaborative research can contribute to teachers' personal growth and professional development as well as to the coordination of instructional approaches and goals throughout the school. Collaborative research in teaching can be defined as research conducted inside the classroom by two or more individuals with different role orientations and…

Capital improvements programming is one financial managment technique for providing public services within the constraints of limited financial resources--a particular problem for communities experiencing rapid population growth. Long-range planning and improvement of public facilities for water supply, sewage treatment, parks and recreation,…

Based on interviews with students and staff and several months of observing life and work in the school, this report examines Colorado's Mountain Open High School, where the program is based on the notion that secondary education should be the rite of passage from adolescence to mature adulthood. Chapter One introduces the people and facilities of…

Difficulties experienced by Wilkes College (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) as a result of declining enrollments and shifts in student majors, and the resolution of differences between the administration and the faculty, are described in an essay. Related revision of institutional mission and peer-evaluation procedures are also discussed in an article…

Differences of perspective exist between the school and the university in terms of all the elements of the teacher training program. From the public school point of view, the teacher training institution makes the decisions about student teaching, and the public schools carry them out. The university viewpoint is often that public school personnel…

Decentralized decision-making is an important characteristic of effective schools. Effective decentralization requires that teachers, parents, students, and the community be involved, despite the various problems they face. The creation of school improvement councils is one step towards implementing the massive structural change needed to improve…

The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) Professional Development Study investigated how adult education teachers changed after participating in one of three different models of professional development (multisession workshop, mentor teacher group, or practitioner research group), all on the same topic of learner…

The research methodology of this study included both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Samples consisted of school counselors from 66 Victorian, 33 ACT, and 71 NSW schools in Australia. Findings show that building genuine partnerships between school and external communities requires lots of effort, commitment, and time. Effectiveness of a…

The traditional economic development strategy of the South--concentrating on low-skill, low-wage labor--no longer works; the region cannot compete with other areas of the world that offer low-cost, high-skill labor. The challenges facing rural and central-city communities in the South are immense, and only a comprehensive approach to economic…

Critical pedagogy brings a new sociopolitical view of linguistics and language teaching that is beginning to influence the teaching of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) field. This paper aims to do two things: first, to convey an understanding of what these new views are, why and where they originated, whose voices are important, what…