Education's loyalty to contemporary school organization has provoked wholesale student underachievement and a tragic subculture of youngsters at risk. This book proposes a model for school reform called Success Oriented Schools (SOS). Chapter 1 introduces the premise that schools will begin to educate all students when they strengthen wholesome…

A current educational trend involves looking for ways to make the most efficient use of the time students spend in school. As schools embrace curricular reform, those on the front lines are reevaluating traditional beliefs about how schools are structured. This book contains a collection of articles that present information necessary to making a…

This report contains the findings of the first year of a 2-year Hudson Institute study of U.S. charter schools, which focused on their startup problems, solutions to the problems, and the policy environments in which such schools are most likely to thrive or falter. Data during 1995-96 were derived from site visits to 35 charter schools, which…

This handbook describes the Edison Project, a private company that was formed in 1991 to establish partnerships with school districts across the United States. The Edison Project tailors Edison's school design to the local community's needs; upgrades school facilities and brings in sophisticated technology; takes responsibility for daily operation…

This paper argues that the "old paradigm" in education is a collection of assumptions, beliefs, and values that underlie the workings of present-day schools. The old paradigm is based on the notion of education as a meritocratic enterprise, institutional rationality, the positivist approach to truth, commitment to efficiency, and…

In 1973-74, the school board, faculty, and students in Buena Vista, Virginia, with the support of the Virginia State Board of Education, approved a single-track, four-quarter extended school schedule that provided year-round education at the high school level. This paper presents a review of the literature on year-round education and describes the…

Responding to the need for a comprehensive framework for monitoring and improving school effectiveness in local and international contexts, this paper presents the findings of a case study of one effective and one ineffective school. Data were derived from a survey of schools, document analysis, and field observations. The case schools are…

In 1991, the Minnesota Legislature enacted the first legislation in the nation to permit creation of legally and financially independent public schools called charter schools. In February 1996, the Minnesota State Board of Education authorized an 18-month evaluation of Minnesota's charter schools. An evaluation team from the University of…

As of 1996, charter schools were just emerging in the Northwest region of the United States. This publication presents the proceedings of a symposium held to review information about charter-school policy, operations, and outcomes. A cross-section of leaders in education, government, and community from the states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon,…

Italy's 1948 Constitution of the Republic reformed lower secondary education, making schooling compulsory for all citizens. This guide highlights the complex nature of the secondary education system in Italy. It provides information primarily about the upper secondary level of education, which consists of 3, 4, or 5 years of courses following the…

If they are to be effective, organizations must acquire and create new knowledge in order to achieve their goals. Service organizations, such as schools, must employ the concept of organizational learning. Organizational learning is an intentional process directed at improving organizational effectiveness. The process involves four…

Superintendents who aspire to lead rarely find clear explanations of what to expect from their constituents or about what they should do. This book presents findings of a study that explored superintendents' approaches to leadership, constituents' responses to their superintendents' initiatives, and the resulting changes in practice. The book is…

During the mid- to late-1990s, the declining economy in Nova Scotia led to a reduction in the number of school boards and the closure or amalgamation of smaller schools. This paper presents findings from the first phase of a longitudinal case study that explored the amalgamation of five elementary schools in Gold Cove, Nova Scotia. The study uses…

Educational administration has been shaped by the metaphor of organization. From organizational and management theory, and from economics, the parent of organizational theory, educational administration has borrowed definitions of quality, productivity, and efficiency; strategies to achieve them; and theories of human nature and motivation.…

This paper describes the Accelerated Schools Project, which was begun at Stanford University in 1986 to improve schools for children caught in at-risk situations. The first sections describe the present deficiencies of schools serving at-risk students and the limitations of general reform proposals for educating at-risk youth. The Accelerated…