The phenomenon of social skills is explored in the context of school superintendency, and findings of a study designed to assess social communications skills of 236 practicing superintendents are reported. Reasons for the discrepancy between the high skills expected and the low to average skills actually found are discussed. (SLD)

Reviews the school restructuring movement and its progress at San Diego City Schools, highlighting changing roles and shifting relationships therein. San Diego's early restructuring activities stressed bottom-up reforms requiring extensive administrative support. Although 20% of (innovative) principals experienced little role change, many others…

Asserts that an essential element in the school improvement process is the creation of a professional staff-development program. Outlines recent literature that offer guidelines for implementing these programs, and addresses program and participant evaluation. Contains 19 references. (VWC)

A growing number of researchers are questioning the usefulness of reform strategies that do not provide teachers with specific information about how to implement changes. The replication of successful programs depends on giving teachers the tools they need to carry out reforms by explaining them in detail. (SLD)

The superintendent, a central-office supervisor, the principal, and an external consultant began discussions to address the specific needs of an elementary school in Scottsboro, Alabama. The process involved completing a pre-assessment and feasibility study, developing and introducing a staff-development change model, creating an action plan,…

As Dutch secondary agriculture schools are becoming more autonomous, environmental education can be a catalyst for development of participatory models of teaching and learning. The goals and process of environmental education are compatible with the new education policies. (SK)

A review of the literature indicates that school leaders who realize that conflict is not necessarily negative or positive can learn to manage conflict by understanding the steps of the conflict process from the antecedents to the outcomes. Successful conflict management can result in innovation and adaptation in the school. (SLD)

Discusses the consequences for school reform inherent in the relationships between schools and the institutional actors with whom they are linked in the restructuring efforts. The article describes the experiences of two elementary schools in a collaborative restructuring effort that raises questions about what is involved in building a school's…

Asserts that in order to transform colleges into learning organizations, the infrastructure of higher education must be analyzed. States that basic relationships must be redesigned--the pedagogical interaction between teacher and student, the tension between faculty and administration, the caste system relationship that has existed between faculty…

Examines the developments and direction of educational-system changes which have taken place in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia during the past decade. Comparisons are made between the four countries, focusing on the following areas: school reforms, change of the structure, and non-public schools. (JPB)

Examines the impact of educational reforms on horizontal equity and funding neutrality across school districts in Alberta, Canada. Analysis highlights both the intended and unintended consequences associated with the changes. For example, the changes appear to have increased the percentage of total funding being spent on classroom instruction.…

Analyzed information from 14 charter-granting agencies (CGAs) to understand the challenges they have faced in their roles as charter school gatekeepers. CGAs use diverse strategies to meet their responsibilities, but in many cases the processes by which charter schools will be held accountable have not been well-developed. (SLD)

Describes town of Burnt Island, Newfoundland, including its need for imaginative survival; explores the nature of imaginative thought, including benefits to the individual and to society; describes threats to imaginative teaching within town's restructured school; describes characteristics common to the work of Greenfield, Greene, and Habermas…

Illustrates some of the practices and dispositions to watch for when negotiating relationships and reforms in schools. Notes that the intervention described in the program was not sufficient in length or strength to change the long-held attitudes of the teachers. (SG)

In 1998, the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered schools in 30 urban school districts to adopt comprehensive school reform (CSR) models as a part of the long-running Abbott v. Burke school finance case. Five years later, the Court would relax that mandate, resulting in a major education policy shift as the New Jersey Department of Education formally…