Teachers in 12 Kentucky schools were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward school based decision making (SBDM). The 228 subjects included teachers at SBDM schools as well as non-SBDM schools. A Likert scale survey instrument, designed to solicit information specific to the adopted Kentucky SBDM legislation, was administered to teachers in…

Sorting practices in the public schools place students, especially those from poor and minority families, at risk. The "talent-development" model is based on the assumption that all students, with adequate support, can learn. This report describes outcomes of the first Talent Development High School, which was established in September 1995 at…

This paper offers a brief overview of the Australian education system and compares it with the United States system of education. The Australian economy presents no threat to U.S. hegemony, but its education system presents an interesting contrast. The paper describes the following features of the Australian education system: governance; school…

This paper examines the relationship between a school's grade configuration and student performance in Louisiana. Student performance was measured by academic achievement (standardized test scores) and student persistence (attendance, suspensions, expulsions, and dropouts). Elementary schools, middle schools, secondary schools, and combination…

The management principles set forth in this handbook encourage broad public and employee involvement. The first of three sections, "Management in Education," looks at the current state of the art, the potential benefits of sound management, and what school boards can do to encourage development of a true management process for their districts. The…

This monograph on higher education in the German Federal Republic aims to describe the contemporary scene through a detailed look at structure, finance, research, studies and teaching, students, faculty, and international relations. Organized into nine chapters, the first, "Historical Development and Current Responsibilities," describes…

Nationally many middle-level schools are changing from a traditional junior high school structure (grades 7-9) to middle schools (grades 6-8). A case study examined the impact of middle school organizational changes that occurred as a large North Carolina school system converted from junior high schools to middle schools on science teachers and…

From 1880 through the mid-1920s, reformers labored to make a "New South" through the agency of public education. During those years, North Carolina led the way in building thousands of new schoolhouses, professionalizing teacher training, and developing an elaborate educational bureaucracy. Southern educational reform turned on the…

The role that achievement testing plays in the educational system of Trinidad and Tobago and results from the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) tests administered in 1989 are discussed (for these tests, students generally sit for five to eight examinations on subjects they have taken throughout their secondary schooling). The educational system…

This study investigated the relationship between teachers' perceived levels of empowerment in middle level education interdisciplinary teams and departmentally organized programs. Further, it attempted to determine whether significant differences existed in teachers' perceptions of each of six identified subscales of empowerment (decision-making,…

This publication replaces the "Guidelines for Middle Schools in Virginia," which were published in 1978-79. The document describes desirable educational practices for early adolescents. It applies to grades 6, 7, and 8 in all Virginia schools, and contains 22 specific recommendations for implementation. Sections describe the…

A profile of leadership behaviors that describes principals who successfully improve schools has emerged from effective schools literature and research of the corporate world. Instructional leadership involves four technical tasks that comprise a leadership profile: curriculum development, teaching supervision, staff development, and teacher…

This paper sets forth a definition and operational description of a developmental program that should be of use as a guide, especially to Virginia's teachers and administrators. Also included in the paper are kindergarten curriculum objectives in the areas of language arts, mathematics, science, art, social studies, family life, health, mental…

The first in a series of four technical reports, this study describes the structure of Oregon's educational system, focusing on the state government's role in education, on the components of public education, and on private educational institutions. The overview of the state government's administrative channels highlights the system of elected…

The effects of a statewide testing policy on school district organizational structure are described in this report. A year-long ethnographic case study identified the following dysfunctional results of school reform based on external regulation: ambivalent local educator attitudes; the promotion of a professional teaching dilemma; negative…