This booklet presents the concept of school effectiveness, the factors associated with effectiveness, and supporting research. Six factors of school effectiveness are discussed: (1) strong instructional leadership by the principal; (2) clear instructional focus; (3) high expectations and standards; (4) safe and orderly climate; (5) frequent…

Noting that school activities, in general, are judged by the extent to which they achieve their academically defined goals, this paper contends that schools serve another purpose, a social one. Arguing that schools should help children learn social responsibility and prosocial behavior and attitudes, the paper provides a rationale for, and a…

Educators must become aware of the need for helping students overcome excessive television viewing and develop selective, purposeful television-viewing habits. This study provides information to help educators select and implement educational programs with these aims. Brief annotations of 77 research articles are organized under the following…

This book is concerned with the problem of student stress and the possibility that children and adolescents will internalize ineffective coping strategies used by adult models available to them. The introductory chapter explains a need for an educational plan to promote ways of controlling stress; recommends a systematic approach to managing…

It has been predicted that, due primarily to parental divorce or separation, almost one-half of all children born in 1980 will live a considerable time with only one parent before they reach the age of 18. A qualitative research study was conducted which asked 41 middle school children for their perceptions on the effects of divorce on school…

Findings regarding the functions of schooling from the perspectives of teachers, parents and students in the elementary and secondary schools that participated in "A Study of Schooling" are presented. These functions were classified into four major categories: social, intellectual, personal, and vocational development. Study participants were…

In New York City ghetto schools eighty-five percent of the students are reading below grade level. This points to failure, not of the students but of the school system. In District One, although seventy-three percent of the children are Puerto Rican and eight percent are Chinese, only six of the district's nearly 900 teachers are bilingual. If…

The Rotterdam City Council's Project "Education and Social Environment" was established to improve the educational environment for disadvantaged children in two workinq class neighborhoods in Rotterdam, Netherlands. First, the problems of educationally disadvantaged children are discussed. Next, the planning, organizational, and…

A three-part study of social studies curricula in four Wisconsin high schools revealed how teachers use the ways they present course content to maintain discipline and control in the classroom. Called "defensive teaching" by the author, the methods involve simplifying the content and reducing demands made on students. The three parts of…

For several years the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been actively involved in educational and training affairs. Small businesses must overcome some inertia to become again interested in educational reform and training. The conflict that will occur between them and community-based groups that have been filling the void will only help the educational…

In this essay teachers, school curriculum and their relationship to the society they serve and the community in which they function are discussed. Since educational institutions serve a regulatory function, what goes on in schools mirrors the interests of the status quo in the society. Therefore the question facing educators and community people…

Quality Education plays a key role in altering the oppressive conditions that affect blacks. The education of black people must, if it is to be education, promote the power, privilege and prestige of black people. Factors critical to the education of black children are testing; the curriculum, in particular the teaching of reading; teacher…

Author's summary of his book, "Schools Without Failure, released January 1969, Harper & Row.

Address to the annual conference of the National Association of Independent Schools, February 28, 1969.