This volume contains six essays on higher education which provide lessons and successful techniques for meeting the challenges of the future. The first essay, "Academic Renewal at Michigan" (James Duderstadt), describes the modern research university as a complex corporate conglomerate in danger of diluting its core business. The…

The Chicago (Illinois) School Reform Act of 1988 set in motion a chain of reform efforts that have been the subject of considerable study. The plan emphasizes returning control of the schools to parents and the community through school-based management and local school councils. This book reports on studies of the implementation of the reform…

In February 1993 the Buffalo Financial Plan Commission was asked to conduct a financial and management assessment of the Buffalo (New York) public schools. The effort involved the work of 115 volunteers from 75 businesses and community organizations in the Buffalo area. Thirty-four recommendations were produced, which were expected to yield annual…

Opposition to outcome-based education (OBE) has become a rallying cry for a number of organized groups that oppose state-education reform initiatives around the country. Such opposition has arisen recently in Kentucky among groups that object to many components of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA). This paper explores the…

The RE:Learning movement is an attempt to alter the education system from the bottom up, encouraging schools to simplify their structures and focus on students' intellectual growth. RE:Learning is based on the principles of Theodore Sizer which address the simplicity and universality of a school's goals; the personalization of teaching and…

This paper addresses the role of successful teachers of students of color within a restructuring educational environment. It describes three successful teachers of African-American students in two restructuring schools, discusses ways in which their practices and outlooks supported the success of otherwise low-achieving students, and describes how…

Significant change in curriculum also affects other facets of schooling, including teaching, learning, and the school culture. The Curriculum Reform Project explored the nature of various curricular reforms, the barriers to reform, and the means by which selected schools met challenges and achieved positive change. The 4-year research project…

More than one-fifth of American school-age children and youth come from language-minority families--homes in which languages other than English are spoken. This volume, the first in a series of three, presents findings of a study that examined exemplary school-reform efforts involving the education of limited-English-proficient (LEP) students. The…

In the wake of the educational reform efforts of the 1980s, researchers sought to identify the characteristics of effective schools. This book describes the reform efforts of the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda (Ken-Ton) Union Free School District, which is located outside Buffalo, New York. Data were obtained from observations; document analysis; and…

This study sought to determine whether students in a graduate level class that focused on a school restructuring model were able to understand and practice its philosophy. The course focused on innovative school changes and teaching practices used in the Accelerated Schools Project (ASP). The course syllabus required students to examine the…

This collection of articles focuses on the practice and policy of staff development in terms of recent developments in teacher learning. Following an introduction by the editors, the book is divided into five parts. Part 1: New Perspectives on Practice contains three chapters: (1) "Reconceptualizing Teaching: Moving toward the Creation of…

The Blue Ribbon Commission on Diversity and Equity, appointed by the Superintendent of the Saint Paul (Minnesota) Public Schools, reviewed the policies and practices of the city's public schools, focusing on the low achievement of students of color. The Commission presented its report in May 1994, and this report is the Superintendent's response.…

This document presents arguments to counter nine criticisms, or "lies," most frequently leveled at school choice. The criticisms include the following: (1) the undermining America argument: Choice will destroy the American public school tradition; (2) the creaming argument: Choice will leave the poor behind in the worst schools; (3) the…

An analysis of a number of university-school collaborative efforts in the United States and Canada to establish professional development schools, and of action research efforts in the United Kingdom, has shown that the partnership efforts studied devote significantly less attention to ideas about the nature of learning, teaching, schools, and…

A desire to raise student achievement levels is leading many educators and parents to work for restructuring and reforming U.S. schools. One of the many areas in which this effort is proving to be complex is the question of changing college admission criteria to respond to the changes in curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment that are occurring at…