Statements, prepared statements, letters, and supplemental materials from a hearing to review proposed legislation for a national educational demonstration agreement for school restructuring are presented. The agreement gives schools greater flexibility in spending federal funds and more control over their educational programs. Topics of concern…

The processes by which school leaders can institutionalize staff and organizational development, with a focus on initiating school restructuring through team development, are described. Three features are necessary for implementing school restructuring through team development: a deliberate plan for staff involvement, a positive work environment,…

This annual report of the Carnegie Foundation sets forth the goals the foundation has established for the improvement of education: (1) an urgent call to national action in school reform; (2) a commitment to the disadvantaged; (3) a crusade to strengthen teaching; (4) state standards, with leadership at the local school; (5) a quality curriculum;…

The Center for Excellence in Education at Northern Arizona University has learned a great deal from the past 5 years of research and evaluation of 15 pilot-test school districts, as they endeavor to restructure and make positive changes. The purpose of the reform movement is to provide adequate incentives for recruitment, retention, and motivation…

A systems design framework for the transformation of education is presented in this paper. A systems approach views education as a system of interdependent problems and the design process as one of four parts of organizational inquiry. A framework for educational design is presented, which is composed of three dimensions--focus for change, scope…

Recent educational reform efforts have sought to restructure schools, changing the character of school culture and creating a need for a nontraditional approach to inservice teacher education. Inservice projects have been implemented which attempt to prepare practicing teachers for restructured schools and as participants in the restructuring…

This evaluation of the first-year elementary school implementation of Boston's pilot "controlled choice" student assignment plan found that very little had been accomplished in planning for school improvement and that future desegregation compliance hinges on key decisions about secondary and bilingual education, and the empowerment of…

The University Council for Educational Administration's (UCEA) response to the National Policy Board's agenda is reviewed in this address. Recommendations for action include: reassessment of the organizational mission; initiation of assertive interaction with critics; and collaboration among all professional groups. Examples of the UCEA's actions…

An analysis of the relationship between teachers' work culture and the school's social context is the purpose of this study, with a focus on teachers' shared psychological work orientations as components of a teacher culture. The methodology relates high school teachers' attitudes in two high schools to different social contexts with the cultural…

A framework for the professional certification and preparation of principals is developed in this report. Contents include discussions of the context of school leadership, implications for school leaders, expanded leadership roles, suggestions for preparation programs, and principals' domains. Based on the premise that principal preparation…

Persuaded that quality teaching is the most important way to raise student achievement, the new leadership of the San Diego, California schools initiated a focused set of instructional reforms to "jolt" the system from bottom to top beginning in 1998. Interviews of educators at all levels of the system, district-wide surveys of…

This issue of CPRE Policy Briefs looks at findings from the Consortium for Policy Research in Education's (CPRE) study of how central office and school staff in three urban districts made decisions about instructional improvement strategies, and how much weight they gave to evidence. The three districts, in three different states, had enrollments…

"R&D Alert" covers issues affecting schools in the Western Regional Educational Laboratory's four-state region--Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah--and throughout the United States. WestEd researchers and assistance providers have been focused on secondary education for many years. This issue of "R&D Alert" goes beyond describing the problem…

This monograph offers a realistic look at current trends in student achievement in science education, the participation of underrepresented populations, and the many factors that serve to sustain them. In addition, it offers new insights and concrete suggestions for change based on the analysis of recent reports and promising field-based studies.…

The Constituency Building Study created a forum for seven grantees and 14 local colleagues to share and reflect on their work. The study proceeded through a series of conversations among the participants and researchers. These conversations explored participants' views of their work; their goals, strategies, and challenges; and their achievements.…