Reports a project that used simulated master schedules as an alternative to grade-level, subject-matter, classroom-group organization of instruction in small schools. Describes a multigrade, multicourse learning center approach that decouples the course = class equation and allows small schools to offer a stronger educational program. (SB)

This article presents a conceptual framework for examining the design and implementation of teacher evaluation processes in school organizations. Research on teaching, organizational behavior, and policy implementation suggests that different educational and organizational theories underlie various teacher evaluation models. (Author/BW)

To establish a context for envisioning the school counselor of 2021, it is first necessary to envision the public school of the future. In this chapter, a trend in which schools move away from large institutional educational structures, with an emphasis on redesigning them into small learning centers within the larger establishment is predicted.…

Grade-span configuration refers to the range of grades within a school. Grade span is an important issue to various factions in public education, including advocates of middle schools and rural educators concerned with the association between grade fragmentation and school consolidation. This digest focuses on research that has examined the…

Over the past 6 years, 28 states have authorized the creation of charter schools as an alternative form of public education. This policy brief examines the goals and implementation issues specifically related to teaching and learning. It presents findings of a study that explored how learning communities were created and sustained in 17 charter…

Intended to identify current and near future needs within the two-year mathematics community and inform the greater mathematics community of their special needs and problems, this publication presents the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges' (AMATYC's) guidelines for mathematics departments at two year colleges. Following…

Secondary school administrators must carefully consider the ramifications of a proposed alternative scheduling plan before proceeding with implementation. The first article in this newsletter presents findings from a study that compared data from two groups of schools (one group with a 4 X 4 block plan and the other with a trimester plan) to data…

For most of its history, Pennsylvania's public school system has consisted of three levels: the state level, the local school districts, and an intermediate level. In 1970, the intermediate level was reorganized into 29 intermediate units (IUs). In 1997 the state's General Assembly directed the Joint State Government Commission to study how the…

This paper is a preliminary examination of historical shifts in U.S. discourses of school architecture as they relate to curricular reforms and inventions on new pedagogical techniques. The paper begins by sketching the current parameters of discourses on school architecture and notes some of the key arguments of reform taken up by educators and…

This proceedings of an international conference examines the nature of school self-management around the world. The volume opens with the keynote address by, Tony Townsend, which provides an overview of school self-management, effective education, and the school-effectiveness movement. Some of the topics addressed include student achievement, the…

This manuscript in two parts is one of the larger ones of the National Survey of Secondary Education. Part I was prepared by A. K. Loomis and Edwin S. Lide. It deals with the program of studies in junior and senior high schools; the purpose, principally, is to trace the trends. For instance, the programs of studies in 60 junior high schools were…

The special functions of technical agriculture schools throughout the world are explored in relation to the economic development of countries as well as new advances in technology. Included in the discussion of organizational pattern of these schools are problems of professional staff, governing body, financial support, and farm facilities. (EA)

Author stressed that there is no blueprint for educational administration. Each administration should be custom made according to a board's unique needs. (Editor/RK)

Specific suggestions to educators who wish to transform their schools into social communities. Draws primarily on a previous work that broached the concept of a therapeutic community'' approach (See Kappan, May '72). Opts for taking seriously the school function as a social community and the changes in structure and attitudes required for…

Describes the establishment of two middle schools in Alachua County, Florida, and the processes involved thus far, as an abbreviated case study in middle school development. (Author)