The Eastern Michigan University (EMU) Collaborative School Improvement Program was established in 1978 within the College of Education's Office of Collaborative Education. The program assists local district personnel with school improvement and staff development activities through training teachers, administrators, board members, and other staff…

In order for children to have access to quality educational experiences, all members of the school community must participate in school restructuring (parents, advocates, educators, community leaders, and policymakers). Researchers and teacher training institutions also play a vital role. This book provides easy access to information of particular…

This six-part guide offers practical advice for the establishment and management of a family-support program, including discussions about typical problems and the ways practitioners have chosen to resolve them. This volume, Part 1, defines collaboration and draws distinctions among different collaborative stages. Topics explored include…

This seven-chapter report explores in depth how issues relating to race, language, and culture can be incorporated into every stage of a reform process targeting supports to disadvantaged children and families. The report draws on 1993 research involving a survey of 98 collaborative programs in California, site visits to seven collaborative…

Raising productivity (producing more graduates per professor at acceptable quality level) is presented as one approach to dealing with American universities' fiscal crisis. Faculty can increase classroom productivity in a way that protects and even strengthens genuine research. This approach uses the publishing industry model in funding university…

A study examined ways of reducing the costs of technical and vocational education in developing countries. The major study activities were as follows: an extensive literature search; interviews with individuals experienced in designing and delivering vocational programs for developing countries; field investigations in Thailand and Nigeria; and an…

Efforts at Portland State University (PSU) in Oregon illustrate how an institution can clarify its own purposes, evaluate how the environment supports its academic mission, and effectively institute changes that will bring faculty activities and institutional purposes into a more harmonious alignment. In 1990 PSU began a strategic planning process…

This final report presents the results of an 18-month Connecticut symposia project to confront the difficult issues facing special education and to meet those challenges through a collaborative systemic change process. The project goal, objectives, and implementation procedures are specified, and background information on five targeted topics is…

Focusing on the implementation of leadership diversity efforts at 10 two-year colleges, this collection of reports represents results of an 18-month leadership diversity project coordinated by Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Nebraska, during 1991 and 1992. The following 12 articles are included: (1) "Keeping Diversity on the Front…

A study investigated factors supporting innovation in American Indian education by comparing data from two separate studies. One was a followup study of 25 Indian educators' implementation of cooperative learning and whole language techniques, which sought to identify: (1) the impact of the innovations on student achievement; and (2) factors that…

This report proposes reform recommendations in the Federal Student Loan Program that are intended to reduce government (and taxpayer) costs, allow for the incorporation of the National Service Initiative, and provide more flexible repayment terms for borrowers. The proposal provides for an evaluation period for direct government lending, the…

Rising competition in world and domestic markets for the past 2 decades has necessitated that U.S. companies undergo significant transformations to improve their performance with respect to a wide array of efficiency and quality indicators. Research on the transformations recently undertaken by some U.S. companies to boost performance revealed two…

This paper examines strategies for state and local leaders to finance supports and services for young children and their families in the wake of welfare reform. It focuses on strategies for revenue reform and for creating public/private partnerships to provide decision makers with current and relevant information on a variety of effective tools…

This action research project evaluated a program to reduce inappropriate behavior and maximize prosocial skills. The program involved development and implementation of cooperative learning, weekly prosocial lessons, a conflict resolution program, and a community service project. The target population consisted of 240 seventh and eighth grade…

This paper compares the two educational sectors in Romania K-12 schools and higher education seeking to understand why reform in the K-12 educational system has failed while higher education reform has been more rapid and effective. The analysis uses concepts from U.S. organizational theory, such as school climate, school culture, and permanently…