Although first-wave reform efforts focused on centralization, higher standards, expanded testing, and teacher shortcomings, second-wave efforts stressed decentralization, teacher empowerment, school-based management, and choice. A third wave recommends systemic restructuring reforms. This article examines evolving new images of schooling, school…

Argues that U.S. students are not being educated to succeed in a world dominated by the globalization of the economics, politics, and cultures of developed and developing countries. Suggests what educators can do to remedy this situation based on observations of Swedish school system. Suggestions include restructuring education, empowering…

The attitudes of six principals serving in shared decision-making (SDM) high schools toward SDM were studied. Although three supported SDM as a vehicle for improving education, the others supported it for its own sake, to democratize schools. Problems in instituting the reforms in these schools are discussed. (SLD)

Explores how nine U.S. schools participating in a project to create empowered schools defined empowerment, structured the change process, and transformed school culture. Participating schools fell into three categories (the opportunity school, the shifter school, and the no-go school) regarding their success in changing school culture, creation of…

According to survey answers from 63 of 263 colleges, Masters of Business Administration programs are rapidly restructuring in response to criticisms. Changes include greater emphasis on qualitative subjects; greater shift toward application over theory; and new coursework requirements that reflect the current business environment, such as…

Describes a multiyear formative evaluation of six Florida schools involved in the Shared Decision Making and Restructuring Project, highlighting one school's successful efforts. Ethnographic and interview data were used to examine work histories, verify achievements, and identify stumbling blocks. The successful school had a well-defined core…

St. Louis Public Schools established 15 community education centers to provide comprehensive educational services, changing the way administrators and staff operate. The program had to overcome resistance to change, ensure that mission and purpose were understood by all, recognize that change and trust take time, and deal with differences that may…

An interview with the director of the recently established International Center on Outcome-Based Restructuring explains that outcome-based education focuses on defining, pursuing, and ensuring success with the same high-level outcomes for all students. (MLF)

Provides an overview of the New American Schools Development (NASDC) competition, a celebrated national contest to reward design teams for imagining and building radically better schools. Reviews 11 winning projects and 14 interesting ones that did not appeal to private-sector judges. Having run out of steam, the NASDC seems content as funding…

Shows how a former high school principal (with no doctorate, central office experience, or big-city political savvy) pulled the Cincinnati (Ohio) schools out of a $76 million debt and implemented reforms recommended by the Buenger Commission. The new superintendent slashed central office positions, reorganized 86 schools into 9 minidistricts, and…

Summarizes findings of a five-year study of eight schools participating in the Coalition of Essential Schools/Education of the States Re:Learning project. Most schools appeared to lack consensus about the need for fundamental changes in school structure or teaching practices; changes began slowly, with individual or small-group efforts that…

Differentiates among renewal, reform, and restructuring activities and intentions in education, highlighting conceptualizations that stress fundamental change. Defines "restructuring" as activities that change fundamental assumptions, practices, and relationships, both within the organization and between the organization and the outside world, in…

Community education must address issues that affect a variety of cultures at different levels. Public school desegregation processes offer opportunities for restructuring schools to be more responsive to community needs, for enhancing race relations, and for improving the economic viability of a community. (JOW)

Missing in curriculum revision/school restructuring links is a curriculum paradigm that incorporates reflective intelligence while promoting social and utilitarian responsibilities. The "social-reconstructive wedge" model described in this article addresses this paradoxical issue by treating the school system as a social system where constituents…

In a study using qualitative methodology, the views of school restructuring held by school principals are explored. Participants were 15 principals from public schools in New York, Illinois, and Tennessee. In-depth interviews sought the perceptions of the principals on conceptions of restructuring, the potential impact of restructuring, and…