This paper describes an elementary school's attempts to give its students a "moral education." The school's program emphasized participation and discussion while stressing rules and principles of cooperation, trust, community, autonomy, and self-reliance. School personnel initiated a more democratic environment by moving the locus of…

New Jersey's Higher Education Restructuring Act of 1994 expands and codifies certain authorities of trustee boards, creates a statewide coordinating board called the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, and creates the Presidents' Council which consists of the presidents of the 46 institutions of higher education which receive state funding.…

Until recently, corporations of all kinds, including educational institutions, were hierarchical structures. Today, the most successful private sector corporations are flexible collectives of teams and production units. To achieve this success, covenantal relationships, based on a shared commitment to ideas, values, goals, and management processes…

This document contains findings of a survey that examined the opinions of Georgia citizens on their state's public education system. Data collection, based on The Harwood Group Policy Dialogues approach to public issues research, included: (1) discussions with four focus groups of approximately 12 participants each; (2) a statewide telephone…

A systematic overview of major changes in Wisconsin public school policy suggested by the State's Commission on Schools for the 21st Century is provided in this paper, which is organized around the major themes of the commission's final report. A reform strategy is outlined to meet educational objectives in the following areas: outcome-oriented…

It is possible to give a concrete meaning to the usually vague concept of decentralization by examining four core components. First, at the crux of decentralization is a downward shift in decision-making power. Administrative decentralization entails shifts internal to the institution. Political decentralization shifts authority to external forces…

This report describes the Career Ladder Program at Ganado Unified School District 20, which serves approximately 2,000 students in grades K-12 in the Navajo Nation in rural northeastern Arizona. A committee of teachers and principals developed a model that influenced the evolution of the district and school system from conventional management to a…

University and school-based members of the League of Professional Schools, a collaborative formed to support school renewal, engage in disciplined inquiry on the effects of this school/university collaborative on life in member schools. Essentially, the League conducts action research on action research. The League and its definition of schoolwide…

This paper presents findings from one in a series of four case studies on leadership in schools dedicated to educational reform. It describes the process undertaken by staff at Cross Keys Middle School in Flourissant, Missouri, to develop a school mission related to the national middle schools movement. Changes made in the school's program,…

This report outlines issues related to special education and changes in its role brought about by the restructuring of schools. Discussions of proposed policy options accompany the descriptions of each issue. The issues are in addition to those described in an earlier University of Maryland issues and policy options paper. The first issue is…

This document for school-council members in Kentucky provides guidelines for school-based decision making (SBDM). In 1990, the Kentucky State legislature passed the Education Reform Act (KERA), which mandated SBDM in Kentucky schools and recommended the formation of school councils composed of the principal, three teachers, and two parents. The…

This selection of readings in the field of educational reform presents 46 articles, mostly from the news media, and 2 cartoons related to improvement of the educational system. It opens with "Network Notes," brief reports and reviews about events and recent publications of interest to those concerned with educational reform. The first…

This book examines recent school reforms in England and Wales, the U.S.A., Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. It suggests that, at the same time as appearing to devolve power to individual schools and parents, governments have actually been increasing their own capacity to "steer" the system at a distance. Section 1 sets the scene by outlining and…

Many countries around the world are engaged in large-scale, government-mandated education reform. To explicate the working of these reforms, a study of government-mandated reform in New Zealand, England, Canada, and the United States is described. The paper reports on some of the main issues that are emerging, including the finding that current…

This paper claims that broad educational policies and the"one best model" approach are not conducive to rural school improvement. It examines the problems with state policies and offers some solutions. Teacher certification has become increasingly narrow. Certification should allow for more generalist certifications, easier access to obtaining…