Examines a 1994 college desegregation case involving possible merger of Mississippi University for Women, a historically white institution, and Mississippi Valley State University, a historically black institution. Following the wishes of trustees, and supported by alumni, the president of the former institution engaged in an unorthodox litigation…

Backers of Western Governors University hope it will revolutionize the ways colleges compete for students, professors teach, and education is measured, and believe the virtual university can help contain the costs of educating growing numbers of students in the 16 participating states. However, the administration faces challenges in areas of…

A distinctive Canadian school of thought on educational change is inclined to synthesize diverse bodies of work and integrate nonrational and emotional dimensions with rational and technically effective ones in a socially critical way. Highlights the Canadian perspective through discussions about complex systems, contexts of change, critical…

Describes the policy context and current status of the State Systems Change Initiative on Transition for Youth with Disabilities. This federal initiative has helped states to improve school-to-work transition services under one-time five-year grants undertaken as cooperative efforts between state education and vocational rehabilitation (or other)…

Reluctance of college faculty to teach critical thinking may be due to many factors. Proactive strategies for reducing resistance include creating a positive context for change, communicating expertness and credibility, creating a sense of safety and trust, countering sources of student resistance, and creating high hopes and expectations for…

Compares and contrasts the primary outcomes and methods used to evaluate curricular changes at eight medical schools participating in a large-scale medical curriculum development project. Describes how the evaluative data, both quantitative and qualitative, were collected, and how evaluation drove curricular change. Although the evaluations were…

Presents guidelines to help children's librarians develop libraries that will meet the future needs of children. Highlights include developing leaders; winning allies; improving public relations efforts; policy formation; organizational change; changing library education; doing research; and the need for evaluation. (LRW)

The trend toward outside contracting of college and university services is examined, and issues involved in the decision to do so are discussed. The experience of one university in outsourcing its printing services shop is offered as illustration of how this approach can resolve several administrative issues: cost, quality and extent of services,…

In addition to conventional methods of easing leadership transition in student activities organizations (orderly transfer of significant organizational knowledge, minimizing confusion, sense of completion for outgoing leaders, identification of potential leaders, careful nominee selection), retreats are recommended as a means of creating shared…

Discusses new approaches in assessment development and describes two examples of English-as-a-Second-Language assessment recently developed in Australia. The article places these approaches within the context of state responses to linguistic and cultural diversity and demonstrates the implications of the differences between them. (85 references)…

Focuses on the implementation and development of a pioneering action research project in a Sino-British English program. The article describes the project's goal to introduce the notion of action research into China, to encourage reflective teaching and classroom research among trainee teachers, and to bridge the theories studied with classroom…

Addresses moral and ethical dilemmas related to parent involvement in schools. Suggests that school administrators can build effective partnerships by fostering trust and mutual respect between teachers and parents; reeducating parents, teachers, and administrators about their roles in educating children; and ensuring that partnerships are based…

Reports the essential findings of one phase of the assessment studies conducted during the California New Teacher Project, suggesting some implications from that study for the impending reform efforts. The paper concludes that California lacks a coherent, rigorous system of assessments guided by a clearly defined set of performance expectations.…

Examines how the instructional conversation can be an effective method to raise the low academic achievement of various Native American students. Considers cultural differences in conversational styles, the relative emphasis on verbal or visual symbolic thinking in schools, student motivation, and the social organization of classrooms and schools.…

Society must reconceptualize the public school as any nonprofit entity willing to be accountable for educating our children. The new system should emphasize common standards and school choice. Charter experiments in Moses Lake, Washington; Milwaukee; and Harlem demonstrate the power of choice and transformational leadership. (Contains 11…