This study used interviews, home visits, observations of parent meetings, and informal discussions to examine parental involvement at a Texas elementary school with a high concentration of Mexican American families. In 1997-98, the school's Parent Involvement Cadre (1995-1997) was replaced with a new system of subject-related and support…

The focus of this study is the effects of a School Improvement Plan (SIP) on an urban elementary school. The school's regular education teachers were required to participate in one of five committees designed to prepare the SIP, which specified goals for improvement and the strategies for reaching them. Classroom observations were used by the…

This microethnographic study examined the perspectives of paraprofessionals assisting students with disabilities in inclusive educational settings. Extensive open-ended individual interviews were conducted with 10 educational technicians from 10 different schools in Maine. Demographic data on paraprofessionals in Maine were also analyzed. The…

School board members' perceptions of the socialization process involved in the learning and development of their roles are described in this report. Methodology involved indepth interviews with 28 school board members from two rural and three suburban public school districts in Pennsylvania and New York, document analysis, and observation.…

This paper describes research needs in light of changes taking place in school-based practice in both general and special education. The tenets of educational reform and societal concerns fueling demands for reform are identified. The context in which changes in educational practices are occurring is described, focusing on evolving relationships…

Educational policy analysts have recognized the need for an educational policy that combines the merits of "top-down" mandates with "bottom-up" teacher discretion. This paper describes the Reading Recovery program as an example of an educational program that balances top-down direction and bottom-up discretion by: (1) providing an overall…

This newsletter issue provides rehabilitation professionals with various information pieces concerning consumer leadership in supported employment of people with disabilities. First, a chart lists five questions concerning self advocacy and supported employment, and provides consumer responses to the questions. A second item describes…

Unions and employers currently operate in an environment that does not support investment in skill development. However, competitiveness demands that both work and the way workers are educated and trained be radically restructured. In high-performance workplaces, participatory labor-management approaches to job-linked basic skills development are…

This practical guide to the process of planning educational programs for adults explains the key challenges of planning in the real world of conflicting interests and power relations. Part 1 draws attention to the importance of program planning practice in adult education (Chapter 1) and offers a model of what adult educators actually do when…

In September 1991, Red River Community College (RRCC) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, decided to embrace the concepts of Total Quality Management (TQM) to provide an operational philosophy, enhance program curricula, and establish business opportunities. RRCC adapted W. Edward Deming's manufacturing philosophy to create its own approach, which focused on:…

This book was designed as a resource to help school principals and other school leaders become more effective on the job. The seven steps to effective instructional leadership outlined in the volume have been validated by research and can be adapted to a variety of teaching environments--rural, urban, high school, middle, or elementary school.…

This book provides useful guidelines for implementing collaborative decision making in the public educational system. The prologue presents the historical background of educational reform in the United States and offers a rationale for radical school reform at the individual school level. The nine chapters that follow are divided into three parts.…

School improvement cannot be negotiated. In many educational circles, negotiation carries a negative connotation that creates a perception of adversaries, causing trust levels between participants to decline. Decisions made in an atmosphere of adversarial relationships between teacher unions and school boards are not always the productive…

The position of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and National Education Association (NEA) on issues of shared decision making and administration in the public schools is examined in this report. Methodology involved telephone interviews with one AFT and one NEA representative on the following issues: decision making and forms of control;…

This study was conducted in Dade County, Florida, school district that has been involved in the restructuring movement since 1987. In the mid-1980's the district piloted a school-based-management program, aimed, in part at increasing teachers' decisional participation. The sample was chosen from 14 elementary and 2 senior high pilot schools and 14…