This guide offers an objective framework for deciding whether self-operation or contract management (also known as privatization or "outsourcing") will best serve the goals and objectives of an individual institution of higher education. The guide is organized into four chapters. Chapter 1 briefly outlines the evolution of contract…

Elementary school principals are in a key position to prevent school violence. This document reviews five publications that feature strategies administrators and teachers can use to create a safe school. In "Creating Safe Environments for Learning in North Carolina's Public Schools," Tanya M. Suarez reviews the literature on school safety and…

In this paper the archeology of social justice is described as discourses of practices concerning Swedish ways of dealing with gender equality in compulsory school. The paper begins with some recent developments in Sweden that are important for the theme; it continues with the rhetoric in some relevant acts, government bills, and national…

This paper reports on a longitudinal study of the structural effects of grade retention on dropout rate and percent of graduates qualified. The study drew on computer simulation to explore the effects of retention and how this practice affects dropout rate, the percent of graduates who meet required standards, and enrollment itself. The computer…

This Massachusetts Senate committee study examined the current policies and procedures used by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMA) to monitor, manage, and report on the activities of its faculty, in particular its faculty workload. The study had originally intended to analyze faculty workload in terms of instruction (teaching),…

This white paper describes the extent of drinking on college campuses; the health, social, academic, and economic costs thereof; means of education and intervention available to schools; and the relationship of many university policies and practices to this problem. The paper is organized into two major sections. The first describes the nature of…

In response to the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986 a national study of alcohol use on college campuses was undertaken from 1989 to 1991. The study used the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey which was administered to students at 56 four-year institutions and 22 two-year institutions for a total student count of 56,361. For a longitudinal…

This book offers practical suggestions to college faculty for making the sabbatical experience more productive, satisfying, enriching, and enjoyable. Part 1 serves as an introduction, examining the origins and definitions of sabbatical leave and common institutional practices in regard to granting sabbaticals. Part 2 looks at the five stages of…

This practicum paper describes a method for developing and implementing a student-discipline plan in a small, rural high school in north central Florida. The combined middle- and high-school is the poorest in the county. When corporal punishment was banned in the county and no alternatives were implemented, the number of suspensions increased. An…

Eastern Washington University (EWU) designed a plan to resist faculty salary compression. Salary compression occurs when cost of living increases fail to keep pace with salaries in the external market thus, when new faculty are hired at or near market rates, they will often have salaries higher than senior faculty with equivalent academic…

The purpose of this report is to explore the structuring of academic departments within contemporary comprehensive high schools. It begins with an argument for research on the organization of schools that takes account of the fact that high schools are fundamentally different structures from their elementary school counterparts and that…

In recent years, provincial laws in Alberta, Canada, have required children of certain ages to attend school. A legal issue related to attendance that is seldom addressed in provincial legislation is the definition of nonattendance. Many jurisdictions in the United States offer statutory definitions of truancy that range from 3 to 10 days' absence…

Children with behavior disorders are difficult to educate, but exclusion from school is legally questionable, educationally irresponsible, and socially self-defeating. (Author/DW)

Teacher's perceptions of their experiences in teaching small classes or with a full-time teacher's aide are discussed in this report. The study reported was part of Tennessee's Project STAR: a 4-year, longitudinal demonstration policy study. Analyses were conducted on interviews with 86 teachers of small second grade classes, 54 teachers of second…

The significance of student activities in student development is taken for granted even though activities represent the core of institutional efforts to foster student development. In many ways, student activities may be the most critical link with the educational mission of the institution. Attention must be paid to the quality of opportunities…