State policymakers will want to make clear the intent of a policy on choice when they write their legislative bills. The purpose for the policy will help parents, students, educators, and the general public understand their action and the reasons for the action. This study discusses 11 issues included in legislative bills and gives a brief summary…

An educational planning model and instructional approach to prepare school administrators for the role of strategic planners are described. The model, ED QUEST, integrates future research techniques and divergent thinking modes into a participatory group process that provides visions of alternative futures. Primary activities in the process…

An alternative conceptualization of organizational power is proposed. Power as a "system of facilitation," in contrast to power as a "system of authority" is explored and related to educational administration practices. The educational trends of clinical supervision and individualized programming within special education are analyzed to illustrate…

A middle-grade restructuring effort implemented by the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District is described in this report. A literature review and interviews with four educators experienced in restructuring explore issues in middle-school transition at the school and district levels. Topics related to the implementation process include needs…

This paper contributes to an emerging body of literature on school districts as active partners in education reform. Using qualitative methods, it details the first three years of a major districtwide initiative in San Diego City Schools as reformers sought to orient central office bureaucracy around an instructional agenda. This paper both…

The literature on higher education policy and governance has increased since the late 1980s, possibly in response to campuses' questioning of their traditional missions and processes, and focuses on five main areas: financial issues; assessment; accreditation and standards, especially for new forms of teaching and learning; nondiscrimination…

Examines aspects of the structural and regulatory environment of schools to identify features associated with higher levels of engagement among at-risk eighth graders. Results from 6,488 at-risk students (about 33% were Hispanic American, 28% were African American, and 39% were white) support the importance of school characteristics in student…

Describes the lack of child-care systems as a deterrent in recruiting welfare recipients into the work program. Asserts that if community colleges could gain federal, state, and industrial support, they would be able to establish large and well-equipped child-care centers. (VWC)

Educators often ignore the political requirements of urban reform in their focus on the research and models that guide it. Conversely, political scientists frequently miss the differences among reforms in their focus on coalitions and resources. Integrating Clarence N. Stone's concept of "civic capacity" with an educator's view of reform…

This article presents findings from a 4-year study of 13 culturally and linguistically diverse elementary schools implementing comprehensive school reform (CSR) models. The study focused on: (a) the actions at the state and district levels that facilitated or inhibited reform implementation; (b) the adaptability of the various reforms in…

The federal requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) have placed a new focus on increasing graduation rates and reducing dropout rates. While the dropout problem has generated research and new programs over the last 30 years, the dropout rate has remained relatively unchanged. Students drop out of school for many reasons, and the…

The Chicago School Reform, adopted in December 1988, requires the school system to raise its student achievement levels to national norms in 5 years; to reallocate the system's resources away from the administration and toward schools, particularly those with high enrollments of economically disadvantaged students; and to establish Local School…

The U.S. public education system, encumbered by an organizational structure developed at the turn of the century, is in trouble. This document presents a culminating discussion of the need to restructure the educational system. A strategy is suggested for examining the paradigms that maintain our educational system. A set of questions is provided…

Annotations of ERIC literature on the learning environment are presented in this document. Materials were selected for inclusion from the ERIC catalogs Resources in Education (RIE) and Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE). The 10 publications are as follows: "School Is for Teachers: Enhancing the School Environment," by Buck Adams and…

Inclusion facilitators are educators who do more than teach children with disabilities--they advocate for change in schools and communities, sparking a passion for inclusion in teachers, administrators, and families and giving them the practical guidance they need to make it work. This is an essential new role in today's schools, and this guide…