Installation of a success-based model of learning (that is, a mastery-learning-based system) will help superintendents make education effective and efficient. Such a system follows a number of concepts, including favorable learning conditions, teachers qualified in learning-centered practices, clear learning objectives, and alternative learning…

Financial strategies, plans to increase return--and risk--up to the point (but not beyond) where the protection of core activities may begin to break down, are addressed. The stages for developing a financial strategy are: (1) formulate and examine academic program, research, and marketing strategies; (2) define core activities necessary to…

In this occasional paper, seven persons--a further education (FE) officer, two principals, the head of a specialist youth training unit, a plumbing teacher, a head of division of alternative education, and a Further Education Staff College (Coombe Lodge) tutor--give their views of the changes in further education in England during the past decade.…

Addressing the problems of recruiting and retaining qualified teachers for small and rural schools, this digest outlines improvements that could be made by teacher education programs, state education agencies, school superintendents, and teachers themselves. Suggested guidelines for teacher education programs stress nontraditional approaches that…

Summary tables compare, item by item, the recommendations of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, the Twentieth Century Fund Task Force, and the Task Force on Education for Economic Growth. These recommendations propose reforms in most or all aspects of formal education, including curriculum, academic standards, instructional…

Enrollment management is discussed with focus on the expanding role of admissions professions and their increasing impact on institutional policymaking. Enrollment management influences the size, shape, and characteristics of a student body by directing student marketing and recruitment as well as pricing and financial aid. Attention is also…

Personal, job-related, and environmental factors that might account for academic mid-level administrators' general job satisfaction were studied with a sample of 260 administrators at a large research university. Attention was directed to: personal characteristics (sex, age, number of years employed at the university), perceived job…

Effective instructional management processes come in many guises, but all share four essential components: (1) a set of educational goals toward which progress can be measured; (2) a means of assessing students' instructional needs and determining placement and grouping; (3) an organizational structure and instructional delivery process capable of…

Historical developments and current trends affecting American higher education are discussed, along with government and college reactions to problems. A review of the literature covers: retrenchment, the federal role in the past, the role of the states, the private sector, population declines, inflation and unemployment, a loss of confidence in…

One of the most important correlates of an instructionally effective school is its climate. Effective schools have an atmosphere that denotes a safe and orderly environment, without being oppressive and where conditions exist that are conducive to learning. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development has identified a set of…

Superintendent preparation and training has remained substantially unaltered for a half century. State certification requirements drive the content and activities for preparation programs housed in higher education institutions. State agencies never participated in superintendent preparation beyond awarding certification to post master's educators…

This study investigated the ideal and actual criteria for selecting school superintendents as perceived by senior high school teachers and students, parents, administrators, and school board members. Its purpose was to determine if the ideal and actual criteria for selecting urban school superintendents would differ significantly as perceived (1)…

Research was undertaken to enhance the ability of superintendents in public school districts without vocational directors to administer vocational programs effectively. Two objectives were identified: To determine the tasks which must be performed and the administrative functions employed for their accomplishment, and to present alternative model…

This paper defines a conceptual model for institutional research in the community college and identifies sources of information, programs, and services that provide data necessary for implementation of the model. The model contains four specific subsystems: goal setting, program development, program review, and cost effectiveness. Each subsystem…

This compilation from a seminar to provide inservice education for large city directors of vocational education across the Nation contains the 21 position papers, working synthesis reports, and position statements presented in the following topic areas: (1) Vocational Education in the Large Cities: The Context; (2) The Role of the City Director in…