A rapidly-implemented, comprehensive reform of postcompulsory secondary education in Norway is chronicled and discussed. The changes included new curriculum design and content, instructional materials and methods, comprehensive inservice teacher training, and extensive planning and development. Considerations in the approach taken to change are…

Implementation and results of government-mandated "results-oriented planning" in Norwegian universities are analyzed using two approaches: the first looks at the effects of the initiative, and the second views the management reforms as cosmetic. It is found that while academic staff are involved in the new planning system, little effect…

Describes the fruitful and sometimes challenging collaborations within a small K-8 school district transforming its literacy practices, from the points of view of a fifth-grade teacher and a fourth-grade teacher in two different schools. Discusses the resulting development of literature-based and integrated units in their classrooms. (SR)

Details two of the many staff-community collaborations that supported the reading and writing growth of children in a small K-8 school district transforming its literacy practices. Describes the publishing center at Bee Meadow Elementary School, and a district-wide, week-long celebration of writing. (SR)

This article argues that female African American faculty members need to develop alliances with white administrators to transform policies and practices to assist them in becoming successful and productive professors at predominantly white research universities. Strategies for white administrators and powerful white faculty and African American…

One school system's efforts to improve the quality of its early childhood programs included making early childhood education the top priority; exposing principals to developmentally appropriate practices; creating early childhood collaboratives; training teachers; upgrading classrooms; establishing demonstration centers; providing support for…

Describes community experiential education programs that empower local citizens to work with city planners in deciding the future direction of their urban neighborhoods. Questions whether such programs are true catalysts for social change when participants return to their home environments without a support system that values or utilizes learned…

A graduate student in environmental education reflects on her experiences traveling throughout the United States on a converted school bus with 20 other people in an effort to gain insight into social issues and problems. This experience helped her realize how listening to others, respecting their opinions, and discovering common goals promotes…

A response is presented to the "Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Canadian University Education" (Smith Commission Report) and to the reactions it has elicited. Proposed methods of reform are seen as similar to those already implemented, and suggests that changes in the university infrastructure to support good teaching and research…

Abstinence education is receiving increased attention as a way of preventing both teen pregnancy and risky sexual behavior. Effective sex education programs provide basic information about the risks of unprotected intercourse and also address the social influences on sexual behavior. Sidebars contain student comments. (MLF)

Examines poverty rates among families with children in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Compares the United States' rates to each of these countries to highlight the role of sickness insurance, child allowances, child support, income-tested social assistance, unemployment…

This paper presents educational collaboration as a structured process and interactive relationship among individuals that focuses on multiple outcomes in a school's organizational structures. The paper describes characteristics of a collaborative school and the professional behaviors that support collaboration; outlines strategies that facilitate…

A strategy is presented for helping to reorient students returning to the regular class from pull-out special services. A planning sheet is provided to help teachers correlate environmental characteristics with problem student characteristics and then select specific strategies. A table lists reentry problems and suggested strategies. (DB)

Discusses strategic choices facing the Open University (United Kingdom) and other distance education institutions with the availability of electronic data processing and an increasingly competitive environment in traditional higher education institutions. Topics addressed include distance education and industrial production; production in the Open…

The information division at Cornell University (New York) information resources division has determined that its traditional program development method is inadequate to meet the demographic, fiscal, and technological demands of the 1990s. It is changing its systems analysis and design procedures to deliver applications better, faster, and with…