This preliminary study developed and verified focus group questions to be used to investigate the impact of school restructuring on students with disabilities. Validated the appropriateness of case-study methodology as a model for studying the impact of restructuring and identified major issues and study questions accompanying restructuring. (RJM)

Discusses the use of a Multi-Attribute Consensus Building (MACB) technique to build consensus on a national model of educational outcomes and indicators. Describes the stages of consensus building and the tasks mandated in each stage, including the generation of input, the consensus conference, and the synthesis of consensus. (RJM)

Examines changes in parental participation over a 2-year period in 10 accelerated Louisiana schools. At first, parents were unwelcome in nine of these schools. The most fundamental factor was changing teacher and administrator attitudes toward parents of poor children, which fostered the emergence of a more meaningful parent role. (13 references)…

Massachusetts' School-to-Work Opportunities Act will force school districts to reevaluate their priorities and regard every community member as a student. Guidance counselors should become more career-focused and actively advise both college- and noncollege-bound students on coursework necessary to achieve academic and personal goals. (MLH)

Discusses school restructuring and how it can apply to music education. Includes changes in concepts of education, the movement toward accountability, and defining effective schools. Describes effective schools as those in which the basic skills of underserved students are at the same level as those of middle class students. (DK)

Discusses contemporary curriculum discourse, reflecting on the split between (1) academic curricularists whose work focuses on school practice and those whose work does not and (2) those who believe curriculum reform is possible without social reconstruction and those who do not. The role of corporate discourse is examined. (SM)

Academic standards are central to reinventing schools and transforming U.S. education. Higher standards are necessary to replace minimal standards implicit in most textbooks and tests. Standards communicate that all students can achieve at higher levels and that teachers are reclaiming the profession. Standards also inspire systemic reform, create…

Education research is seen as increasingly integral to education policy and practice, and must contribute to achieving national educational improvement objectives. Urges educational researchers to assume a leading role in restructuring American education in the 1990s by turning their attention to the following four priorities: (1) assessment; (2)…

Evaluating restructured education involves the following four roles or functions: (1) goal refinement; (2) documentation; (3) formative experimentation; and (4) impact assessment. Brief discussions of specific evaluation methods and design issues are provided. Formidable challenges involved in improving evaluation and, ultimately, education in…

Surveys school superintendents in Washington State for their views on interdistrict school choice and their perceptions of its advantages and disadvantages. Replies of 98 superintendents generally do not support interdistrict choice, although superintendents in districts with higher dropout rates tend to be more supportive. (SLD)

Discusses the role of the school media specialist in the budgeting aspects of site based management. The involvement of businesses in education is discussed, restructuring school systems through site-based management is described, and the economic recession and the resulting decline in money for education are considered. (19 references) (LRW)

According to Richard W. Riley, Secretary of Education, the federal government can be a partner to states and communities in improving education. Outlines the Goals 2000 plan to provide schools with greater flexibility in exchange for greater accountability for results. Federal priorities are to provide additional resources to high-poverty…

Principals and central-office administrators often spend little time interacting or discussing curriculum, instruction, and staff development. Leadership consciousness must be formed through links between schools and the central office. In a restructured setting, central-office leaders support the principal, provide technical assistance and…

Describes plans in The Netherlands to simultaneously restructure schools and curriculum, integrate information technology with the new curriculum, and redefine teacher support and inservice training. The PIT School Project is discussed, including evaluation; teacher networking is examined as a means of ongoing professional development; and PIT…

Reviews school effects literature concerning student dropouts and critically examines urban principals' viewpoints, focusing on definitions, current practices and proposed solutions, and context considerations. Principals blamed either the individual or the community context for student disengagement from school, relying on support services and…