The central issue in educational reform should be how to confront educational inequalities, but the conservative movement has tried to transform the issue from one of inequality to one of "choice." The choice being promoted by conservative forces comes at the expense of community in that it seeks to set up schools that respond to the…

This research brief examines trends at the federal and state levels in educational reform and implications for reform for students with disabilities. After briefly reviewing the historical background of standards-based school reform, the brief stresses the importance of a three-pronged reform strategy, involving: (1) a unifying vision and goals,…

This report presents an examination of the use of a participative model in the strategic planning process at a publicly-supported, comprehensive institution in the middle Atlantic region of the United States. Specific attention is given to the process of developing the vision statement, an undertaking of approximately 15 months preceding Board of…

This annotated bibliography lists approximately 650 resources on theory, research, and effective practices for the inclusion of all learners, including those with severe and multiple disabilities, into general education classrooms and other integrated learning environments. The bibliography is organized into eight topics: (1) rationale for…

Two years prior to a 1995 comprehensive evaluation visit by the North Central Association, Iowa's Hawkeye Community College initiated a self-study process and began developing a strategic plan to effect a transition from a technical institution to a comprehensive community college. Staff involvement and open communication were identified as…

Most of the industrialized world retains an obsolete, tracked, multitiered public education system that prepares some children for university and others for blue-collar jobs. This educational design neglects changes in technology, family structure, and community life, and its bureaucratized management values uniformity and process over initiative…

This book re-examines the reflective, controversial voice of John Dewey. Educators and policymakers must take into account various social, political, economic, philosophical, and professional considerations that influence both formal and informal education. Following the introduction by Harvey Neufeldt called "School Reform in Dewey's…

The Rural School Consortium for Educational Leadership and Reform was formed by four rural Indiana school districts in 1991 to coordinate resources for providing staff development that would support reform and restructuring efforts. In the first consortium-sponsored activity, teachers, administrators, support staff, board members, and parents…

There is growing evidence that establishing school-university partnerships for the purpose of restructuring schools has impacts on teacher education, the elementary and secondary curriculum, and the knowledge base that undergirds the profession. In 1988 the National Education Association (NEA) created the Teacher Education Initiative (TEI) to…

Society's concepts of children, schools, and communities are undergoing significant changes. These changes are reflected prominently in federal and state policy initiatives. Substantive, rather than political, indispensability, may require careful rethinking of school psychology's fundamental identity, training, and practice to match these…

The African proverb, it takes a village to raise a child, seems increasingly fitting as problems and complexities of modern life impact the ability to provide healthy settings for the growth and development of children and youth. Psychology has a powerful contribution to make to the creation of "villages" which support and facilitate…

This newsletter on educational innovation contains a reflection on educators' time limitations, a personal examination of the "teacher as coach" analogy, and several brief descriptions of programs in school renewal, innovation, and teacher education around the nation. Shari Castle and Gary D. Watts argue, in "Temporal Tensions: The Tyranny of…

The New Jersey Department of Education asked Research for Better Schools, Inc., to design and conduct a data-collection process that would generate information about the programs and practices in the school districts participating in the state's Operation School Renewal (OSR) in 1986-87. The primary purpose was to provide descriptive program data…

This book suggests the adoption of a critical pragmatic approach to the problems of educational change. It offers a set of criticisms by which theories and reform proposals may be judged and tested, and proposes the reconstruction of schools in place of school restructuring. A primary question to be asked is, "How shall social institutions be…

Hodgson Vocational Technical High School, New Castle County (Delaware), has recently converted from being a shared-time vocational center to being a full-time academic-vocational-technical school. As part of its restructuring, the school instituted a Senior Project, a three-part authentic assessment that combines a research paper, a shop product,…