Restructuring of small school districts calls for power changes, including relationships: (1) between the community and the school; (2) among teachers, administrators, and students in the school; and (3) between teachers and students in the classroom. A trip to 25 small town school districts in 21 states revealed few instances of democracy, and…

The Teachers Network created The Teachers Voice Initiative to bring teachers together and empower them to create their vision of the future of education. This book presents the perspectives of participating teachers, who report on their experiences as agents of change and designers of curriculum. Papers include: "Teacher Leadership for Creating…

Social, cultural, political, and organizational characteristics of urban schools that make them difficult settings for teachers are discussed. It is suggested that, while an emphasis on professional community would be beneficial for all students, it is particularly pressing for urban schools where other resources for school reform are limited.…

This book provides insights into how one state department of education perceived its role in the interpretation and implementation of educational reform legislation. It is based on the experiences of a former state department of education employee and her coworker, who were hired to administer three new programs to increase teacher retention--a…

This videotape and viewing guide present an emerging learner-centered paradigm of teaching and learning and contrast this new paradigm with traditional concepts. An associated guide describes the elementary school in the videotape, noting the full inclusion of 50 students identified as disabled, the team approach in which teachers are renamed…

Based on a 1994 symposium and intended to be used with a video, this monograph attempts to bring together the perspectives of gifted education and school reform. Individual chapters address the following topics: (1) changes in gifted education, changes in general education, the need to find a balance, a history of tensions, and remaining tensions;…

This resource book was compiled for the United States Department of Education's Goals 2000 Orientation Conference. Sections present information about the numerous components of successful comprehensive reforms based on high standards, such as the National Education Goals, systemic education reform, standards, student assessment, professional…

Educational reform efforts toward school restructuring are examined for their impact on the education of gifted and talented students. Considered first are implications of societal changes including changing demographics (e.g., increasing student diversity), changes in family structure and in interactions between school and family, and changes in…

The public schools have just been restructured based on insufficient information or ignored research. Now, with new education bills and laws, another restructuring is beginning. More thought should be put into the purpose of education in order to handle the crucial issues for such restructuring. For example, certification requirements for…

This paper describes an elementary school's attempts to give its students a "moral education." The school's program emphasized participation and discussion while stressing rules and principles of cooperation, trust, community, autonomy, and self-reliance. School personnel initiated a more democratic environment by moving the locus of…

New Jersey's Higher Education Restructuring Act of 1994 expands and codifies certain authorities of trustee boards, creates a statewide coordinating board called the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, and creates the Presidents' Council which consists of the presidents of the 46 institutions of higher education which receive state funding.…

Until recently, corporations of all kinds, including educational institutions, were hierarchical structures. Today, the most successful private sector corporations are flexible collectives of teams and production units. To achieve this success, covenantal relationships, based on a shared commitment to ideas, values, goals, and management processes…

This document contains findings of a survey that examined the opinions of Georgia citizens on their state's public education system. Data collection, based on The Harwood Group Policy Dialogues approach to public issues research, included: (1) discussions with four focus groups of approximately 12 participants each; (2) a statewide telephone…

A systematic overview of major changes in Wisconsin public school policy suggested by the State's Commission on Schools for the 21st Century is provided in this paper, which is organized around the major themes of the commission's final report. A reform strategy is outlined to meet educational objectives in the following areas: outcome-oriented…

It is possible to give a concrete meaning to the usually vague concept of decentralization by examining four core components. First, at the crux of decentralization is a downward shift in decision-making power. Administrative decentralization entails shifts internal to the institution. Political decentralization shifts authority to external forces…