During the last two decades, there has been a great increase in the use of litigation by social reform groups. This activity has been stimulated by the hospitality of the courts to the demands of social reform groups and the availability of subsidized young, activist lawyers. The paper examines the uses of the legal system by social reform groups…

Something is wrong with the twelfth grade. Many principals, teachers, and students argue that the twelfth grade is unchallenging, irrelevant, and perhaps useless. Recent widespread unrest among students suggests the need to thoroughly re-evaluate the twelfth grade program in order to investigate the causes for the unrest and to suggest workable…

Self-conscious federal efforts to promote innovation in local educational practices have resulted in little consistent or identifiable improvement in student outcomes. Although such student outcomes may be disappointing, they do not accurately reflect the potential of innovative ideas because many innovations are not implemented according to plan.…

During the 1960's, the Chicano movement directed considerable attention, energy, and resources toward educational change. The predominant mood was optimism and anticipation of major institutional change; the predominant tactic used was militant confrontation. Countless confrontations occurred and numerous plans and strategies for educational…

This paper examines the characteristics of an educational innovation that affect its adoption by public schools. The particular innovation under discussion is Project Advance, a cooperative program between Syracuse University and various New York secondary schools that offers selected college-level courses for academically able seniors at…

This is the second of four appendixes to the Rand study "Federal Programs Supporting Education Change." This appendix deals primarily with Right-To-Read, a federally administered program that funds innovative reading projects in schools that have been nominated by their district. It also contains descriptions of some Elementary Secondary…

This appendix deals with career education projects funded under the Vocational Education Act, 1968 Amendments, Part D. Section 1 of the appendix describes the origins and the planning and management strategies that the United States Office of Education adopted for this program. Section 2 describes the role of state education agencies. Section 3…

This seminar was concerned with a critical examination of the total situation at all levels of education and with an exposition of the "ideal" role of education as an agent of change to achieve a desirable situation. The first of two papers examines some issues and suggested solutions within the learning society. The problem facing…

Program evaluators and program managers should examine appropriate dimensions of innovations when deciding to support, accept, or reject an educational innovation. Survey questionnaires were used with 76 teachers and administrators and 65 state supervisors and local project directors of exemplary programs to obtain a list of 38 "essential"…

In this monograph, the author claims there is a need for administrators who are responsive to legitimate demands for educational change. He reviews the shortcomings of contemporary American educational systems and traditional procedures for selecting and preparing administrators -- a group noted for its size and homogeneity. The author contends…

Six papers prepared within the Office of Career Education during the period 1975-76 are contained in this monograph. The papers are presented in their order of preparation, each intended to make some contribution to refinement of the career education concept. "Career Education: A Crusade for Change" discusses the need for, nature of, and…

The change rates of sizes of groups with different educational levels are determined by demographic processes (death rates, ages, migration) and by recruitments from learning institutions and losses caused by moves into higher educational groups. The interrelationship of reproduction of individuals with different training is determined by shifts…

The National Institute of Education's (NIE) Experimental Schools (ES) program is described in terms of development and evaluation in this report on the ES rural component. Specifically, this report details the following: (1) Objectives and Procedures (competition requirements involving school districts of 2,500 or less in population, a local plan,…

The paper investigates the relationships among indoctrination, education, believing, and action in order to inform students and teachers of methods of openly and collectively guarding against indoctrination in the American school system. Four conditions for distinguishing indoctrination from education are: (1) intent of the teacher; (2) truth or…

Reviews breakthrough studies in the development of higher mental processes. These studies include: (1) influences on talent development; (2) the relative effects of tutoring, mastery learning, and conventional group instruction on student achievement; (3) the importance of cognitive prerequisites; (4) textbook organization; and (5) methods of…