Describing implementation procedures for an open educational approach in a rural English middle school (Necton Middle School located 25 miles outside Norwich, England), this paper presents the philosophies of the school's Head Mistress as she reflects upon the first year of operation. Emphasizing community involvement and sensitivity to the human…

On July 1, 1974, Camden County College was awarded a grant by the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education for the purpose of developing an individualized instruction system for implementation across Camden County College. This system would allow students to proceed at their own rate through courses of study and eventually entire…

As part of a study of selected developing colleges and universities funded under the Advanced Institutional Development Program, this report reviews Valencia Community College (VCC) in Orlando, Florida, according to its state-of-development, structural history, administrative structure, and management system and effectiveness. Within this…

The admission that no one best method exists for educating all children was the beginning of the alternative school movement. Alternative education, in whatever form it assumes, must allow for real parent/student choice through the creation of a number of educational options. These optional public schools take many forms and may be classified…

The aim of this document is to provide an alternative for those teacher educators who are committed to the development of professional competence in teaching but who find the present Competency/Performance Based Teacher Education (C/PBTE) approach to be unsatisfactory in certain significant respects. It is proposed to replace the popularized…

Research has shown that between 20 to 40% of secondary school students feel they are wasting their time in school. A good proportion drop out; others stay on only because they have no better alternative. To determine whether the Greater Victoria (Canada) School District was meeting the needs of its students, 450 students in grades 7, 10 and 12…

Some research has theorized that the student role is a central part of adolescence, and that failure in this role threatens adolescents' self-esteem. Derogative self-esteem may provoke delinquency as a defensive response. To test this theory a longitudinal study was designed to compare the effectiveness of three alternative school programs that…

The Learning House Tutorial Center in The Dalles (Oregon) was begun in 1975 as an alternative program for students who had dropped out of the regular educational programs in The Dalles School District and neighboring Chenowith School District. Now serving over 75 students in a downtown location, the center's year-round program includes a summer…

Trade and industrial (T & I) instructors desiring professional development and credentialization through a university have numerous problems in validating and receiving credit for their technical competencies obtained through prior experiences and noncollegiate training. In the past, teachers have either acquired specialization competency based on…

The evolution and role of the community college and three community college prototypes are considered, with emphasis directed to the contract community college. It is suggested that through their open door philosophy, community colleges respond to the public demand for access to postsecondary education and accommodate the lifelong learning needs…

A study was conducted at John Abbott College in Quebec to determine the frequency and intensity of life-change events that had occurred in women's lives in the two-year period prior to college entry and their impact on the women's participation in the college. It was hoped that such information could be used to design intervention strategies at…

Originating in the Rand Corporation's evaluation of the voucher demonstration project in the Alum Rock Union School District (California), this study of family choice in schooling focuses on these questions: Are parents motivated and competent to make intelligent choices among competing educational alternatives? What kinds of schools do parents…

A compilation of data-based literature from 1950 through 1980 on the characteristics and needs of non-traditional students is presented. Non-traditional students are defined as those older than 18-22 years of age/or individuals who, because of special characteristics and needs, have rarely in the past pursued degrees in higher education. The first…

Commentary and advice in four legal areas are offered in this newsletter on educational law. First, the document outlines preventive legal review for public educators in four basic steps, including anticipation of legal challenges, evaluation of the challenges' legal merits, consideration of the policy issues raised by potential challenges, and…

In this booklet, the use of Academic Interest Centers (AIC) in Chicago public schools is described. An AIC is defined as an educational option program which: (1) concentrates a unique combination of resources for academic improvement in one location; (2) serves children of various racial/ethnic backgrounds in a way that advances their academic…