An international workshop in which higher education professionals discussed ways to meet the needs of an increasingly nontraditional student population is summarized. Issues addressed included projected trends in student demography, implications for college and university management, alternative approaches for meeting student needs, and…

School reform efforts require teaching teamwork and goal setting to school personnel. Describes a number of strategies for managing organizational change with examples at specific schools. Lists Coalition of Essential Schools materials. (MLF)

Some organizations are having difficulty with the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach. Problems appear to come from reliance on prepackaged TQM programs, large-scale, diffuse implementation, mass training programs, measurement paralysis, overemphasis on tools, process selection, outmoded reward structures, and simplistic views of change and…

The trend toward increasing numbers of poorly prepared, high-risk college students requires a variety of strategies, including strengthened school-college collaboration and networking, taking a holistic approach to retention, attention to the effectiveness of traditional teaching methods, and hiring faculty committed to great teaching. (MSE)

Issues in the evolution of Brazil's higher education system are discussed, including growth during the 1970s in the private sector, the need to improve access to education for low-income groups, and the need for a system of loans and scholarships to compensate for inequities in elementary and secondary education. (Author/MSE)

Danish educational planning has become characterized by strategic development aimed at satisfying pragmatic market demands. This emerging instrumentalism is edging out the principles of democracy and equality in education, with serious consequences for the continued development of the society as a whole, and must be monitored carefully. (MSE)

Traces development since the 1950s of the tuition agreement approach, in which Canadian provincial school boards negotiate costs and conditions of First Nations schooling with (initially) the federal Indian agency or (now) First Nations bands themselves. Recommends strategies supporting Native control of tuition negotiations as a means of…

Examines distance teaching in Australian higher education, with particular reference to predictions made in the recent West Report ("Learning for Life"), arguing that discussion of technology and change in the universities must be framed in the context of the wider educational system, considering especially the government's construction…

Metropolitan universities are in the forefront of developing new administrative approaches to support and expand minority opportunities in higher education. Three design principles are at the heart of successful efforts to institutionalize diversity: strategic planning; the learning model; and integration across goals and functions. The experience…

A qualitative, longitudinal study of community colleges, including four Canadian institutions, sought to (1) identify and analyze actual institutional behaviors as they adjust to the demands of globalization, and (2) examine the evolving development of the community college as a social institution by focusing on the actions and conditions leading…

Describes and analyzes the perceptions and reactions of a well-qualified, positively oriented primary-school English teacher to Hong Kong's target-oriented curriculum (TOC) initiative, a major government-sponsored innovation. The analysis encompasses teacher attitudes, teacher training and support, teachers' understanding of an innovation, teacher…

A case study is presented on the effect of the Student Affairs National Agenda on student services at four community colleges. Interviews were conducted with presidents, chief academic officers, and chief student affairs officers. An analysis of micropolitical factors suggests a strategy for enhanced effectiveness of such efforts. (Author/EMK)

Argues that contemporary society is increasingly experiencing a loss of social capital. Maintains that this loss takes expression in the increasing tendency, as reflected in school reforms and restructuring, of regarding teachers' work in technical terms. Advocates regarding teaching as a social practice in which there is greater emphasis on…

Fear of censure and political pressures for standardization compel teachers to act in ways they know will not further their students' learning. Changing teachers requires more than offering them information about method, organization, and content. To change, teachers need to examine their own learning and discover what engages students in genuine…

Assessment can be viewed as innovation to be adopted by the people in an institution. It is up to leaders in higher-education institutions to identify early-adopter and majority groups of faculty in schools, colleges, and departments and work with them to adapt assessment to local conditions in a way that overcomes any perceived disadvantages.…