Reiterates the need for music educators to continually and consistently generate support for their program. Recommends maintaining active and valuable relationships with administrators and guidance counselors. Argues for the inclusion of nonperformance music courses in the curriculum. Includes a checklist of activities designed to create support.…

Argues that the centralized, bureaucratic model of education management has created more problems than solutions. Contrasts the current situation with an earlier model defined by local autonomy and personal commitment. Explores a broad set of issues and approaches designed to make arts education more autonomous and less divisive. (MJP)

Award-winning teachers from rural Oregon, Alaska, and Idaho discuss their innovative programs and the advantages of small-town life and small schools. Teachers, students, and community members know each other and participate in school activities, teachers have more flexibility and control over what they teach, bureaucracy is minimized, and…

Ethnographic study describes the professional development of seven unlicensed or nonqualified teachers involved in a community teacher education project in two informal settlement community schools near Johannesburg, South Africa. Data from observations and interviews highlight the teachers' initiative in pursuing their own professional…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the quality profession's fascination with various models to depict complex interactive systems. Building on these and the outcome of a four-year action research programme, it provides a model which has potential for use by other professions. It has been tailored here to suit training and learning systems.…

If one mantra dominates the field of workforce development, it is partnership and collaboration: the need to link disparate training providers and colleges, to better connect employers with training courses and to unite public and private sector funding. The need for partnership is clear, but all the rhetoric and legislative mandates supporting…

This book describes the process and results of a 5 year arts initiative, Artists in Minnesota Schools and Communities (AMSC). Based on the premise that rural communities hold an undervalued wealth of artistic and cultural resources rarely tapped by schools, the project piloted a variety of models for integrating art in the educational experiences…

This paper is of the opinion that multicultural education and citizenship education must resolve the tensions within as well as between them and work closer together, merge if possible, for the good of society. The paper contends this can be accomplished if both movements would commit to an overarching goal that clearly is to the benefit of all…

This study examined the educational practices of eight secondary schools in Victoria, Australia, that contributed to improved student retention rates and achievement levels. Schools were selected based on identification of graduates of La Trobe University who had completed their studies in a minimum amount of time. Interviews were conducted with…

Robert W. Coleman Elementary School in Baltimore (Maryland) is a school that is exemplary by virtue of its efforts to build on the strengths of students and the community. Although it is not yet a model of curriculum or instruction, it operates in an ethical and theoretical framework with much to say to the urban educator. The school, which serves…

The role of the classroom teacher in the success of parent and community involvement efforts in American public schools is this document's focus. Because schools need to discover new ways to foster parental and community involvement in education, this document outlines a new perspective concerning parental and community involvement that…

This document consists of the four issues of the "Journal of Educational Relations" published during 1995. The Journal's motto is "Promoting Student Achievement through Positive School-Home-Community Relationships." Articles in the first issue include: "Disarming Information: Ways to Counter Negative Critics" (Gerald Bracey); "Most Superintendents…

This compilation of 19 articles provides ideas and solutions for creating and improving family, community, and school partnerships. A broad variety of topics are covered including: (1) ideas for celebrating American Education Week; (2) 10 tips for family reading; (3) reading aloud to older children; (4) using take-home folders to inspire…

This ERIC digest presents a summary of discussions from urban educators who addressed the issue of school violence at a National Education Association meeting held May 19, 1994. These educators note that American society is steeped in violence, particularly in urban areas, where children experience frustration, helplessness, and anger, and where…

This illustrated book chronicles the history of the one-room school in the Midwest and its vital influence on American education from the pioneer era through consolidation after World War II. The Midwest's one-room schools were the most democratic in the nation. Located in small independent school districts, they were sustained with the barest of…