A systemic approach to education reform emerged in the 1990s as one way of addressing policy fragmentation. This volume presents findings of a study that sought to: expand knowledge of state approaches to systemic education reform; examine district, school, and teacher responses to state reform policies in a small number of reforming schools and…

This book and video are based on a symposium of leaders in the fields of gifted education and middle-level education, which was held to identify and explore areas of agreement in often contrasting philosophies. Emphasis is on identifying areas of agreement between the fields, areas of tension, and promising directions that could engage educators…

A survey investigated the attitudes and experiences that distinguish the low-income high school students who decide to attend college from those who do not. Data were gathered in a telephone survey of 900 seniors in the class of 1995 who took the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT); the primary sample was 300 of those students who reported family…

This paper presents case studies of four middle school preservice teachers' experiences with multicultural education during their approximately 16-week student teaching practicum in the southeastern United States. Student teachers were male and female, aged 21 to 42 years; one was African-American and three were European-American. The study was…

This book offers support for middle school teachers and suggestions on how they can help their students be more successful, both in the classroom and in life. Thirteen chapters cover being a teacher, the classroom, students and the challenges they face, communication, teaching, testing, working with parents, staff relations and job stress, public…

The relationship between school characteristics and labor market outcomes was examined through a literature review and an econometric analysis of the effects of various characteristics of the schooling experience on students' labor market performance after high school. Data from the National Center on Education Statistics' longitudinal survey of…

The Lee College (Baytown, Texas) Rural Health Occupations Model Project was designed to provide health occupations education tailored to disadvantaged, disabled, and/or limited-English-proficient high school students and adults and thereby alleviate the shortage of nurses and health care technicians in two rural Texas counties. A tech prep program…

For each of two years, 50 Hispanic and Black eighth graders were selected for a field-based, environmental science summer program designed to nurture math and science talent and encourage bright, minority youth to persist in school. Students were selected on the basis of participation in an outreach program, essays, grades, recommendations, and an…

The adoption and impact of curriculum innovation are most commonly researched in terms of roles that teachers and school administrators are expected to play. A study in New Zealand focused on the responses of students. This integrated studies project developed alternative approaches to the traditional junior secondary school curriculum. It…

ASETS (Achieving Sex Equity Through Students) is a peer leadership program designed to prepare Michigan high school students to develop and present sex-equitable career-related programs to middle school students. The emphasis is on career decision making based upon career interests rather than gender. This handbook is a guide for a 2-day workshop…

The National Workplace Literacy Program was very effective for a number of reasons: (1) grants are awarded for 3 years, enabling companies to plan, implement, and evaluate their efforts; (2) the program demanded a partnership of businesses, government, an educational provider, and students/employees; and (3) an educational consortium was…

This paper examines the interests, perceptions, and participation of 16 African American girls in a program designed to improve girls' persistence in science, mathematics, and technology (SMT). The girls are among 33 African American and 73 total original participants in "Rural and Urban Images: Voices of Girls in Science, Mathematics, and…

Building effective school-to-work systems requires evaluation, usually incorporating both process and outcome evaluations. Increasingly, school-to-work systems are conducting self-evaluations or hiring evaluation teams to determine how effectively the system is designed and implemented and whether it is achieving its purposes for students and the…

In an attempt to teach empathy and language awareness to her middle school students when a limited-English-proficient student entered her class, a teacher conducted an experiment in which she began each class in French. Student bewilderment became appreciation, and a class discussion of foreign language learning ensued. The students unanimously…

This instructor guide contains 20 laboratory activities for grades 9-10 Agricultural Science I-II classes. The activities are cross-referenced to Missouri Core Competencies and Key Skills. The activities are organized into the following areas: introductory (microscope use); animal nutrition (absorption of nutrients, bacteria and disease, enzyme…