This book will help create a culture of literacy at schools, from the classroom, to the lunchroom, to the hallways-a culture that encompasses students, teachers, administrators, families, and communities. This comprehensive and practical book includes: (1) Month-by-month plans for the entire school year; (2) How to build a faculty vision of…

The current focus on school leader preparation reflects the importance societies around the world are placing upon the goal of improving their educational systems. The investment of substantial new resources into leadership preparation and development activities is based upon "the belief that school leaders make a difference" in both the…

The purpose of this paper is to establish the position of the Michigan State Board of Education regarding the humanities through a definition and an explanation of the purposes of the humanities within the schools. The humanities are most clearly identified with philosophy, ethics, comparative religion, history and criticism of the arts. In the…

This manual is addressed to principals and program managers within the Seattle Public Schools. It presents a planning process model and includes blank forms on which principals are instructed to inform the directors of their school-based plans for improved school effectiveness. The introduction describes Project ACCESS (A Community Cooperating for…

This paper was written in response to the Idaho Teacher Excellence Program (part of the Idaho School Improvement Act of 1984) to assist districts in developing teacher appraisal programs. Central to effective teacher appraisal systems is a clearly defined purpose, i.e., the improvement of instruction. The system used should distinguish between…

Focusing on the school district's written expectations for students, this document examines curriculum improvement in four sections, each accompanied by a list of related references. The first section explores the organizational and substantive planning needed to structure any curriculum improvement project effectively and includes information on…

Argues for an increased emphasis on global education in the elementary school curriculum. Contends that cooperative learning and decision-making skills are essential strategies for effective international education. Provides suggestions for development and implementation. (CFR)

Describes a five-year curriculum assessment and development program in a Pennsylvania school district. Uses the metaphor of a baseball game to describe the project's chronology and activities. Includes a year-by-year project synopsis and evaluative comments about group dynamics and related issues. (CFR)

Reports on a study of the geographic content in 44 secondary school U.S. and European Advanced Placement history lessons. States that 75% of 550 references to geographic content were categorized as "passing references," not "substantive references." Concludes that core geographic concepts that enable students to understand and…

Instructional leadership is the principal's role in providing direction, resources, and support to teachers and students for the improvement of teaching and learning in the school. This handbook reviews factors affecting that role in four broad domains: keeping informed about trends, planning for instructional improvement, implementing…

Instructional leadership studies are plentiful but have many shortcomings, including lack of definition of key variables, problems of causality, overrepresentation of exemplary schools, and lack of validity and reliability in research design and implementation. Definitions of "leadership" and "instruction" are needed. There is…

This is one of three publications prepared by the Ohio State Board of Education to assist schools in implementing a competency based education program, as required by the 1983 revised minimum standards for elementary and secondary schools. The aim of this publication is to clarify the requirements of the minimum standards regarding (1) the…

Describes interactive educational technology and discusses its use in the classroom. Asserts that research about the effectiveness of interactive technology ignores links to curriculum goals and educational objectives. Asserts that a human tutor may still be needed to extend the thinking of a group. (CFR)

Contends that curriculum theorists often distinguish between the formal or official curriculum from the actual or hidden curriculum. Argues that the hidden curriculum always has a normative, or moral, component and that educators have a responsibility to make the hidden curriculum as explicit as possible. (CFR)

The instructional management system of Glendale (Arizona) Union High School District is described. Efforts in this area are coordinated through six interrelated components: (1) a well-defined curriculum, with extensive review and community survey of learner priorities; (2) program improvement plans based on the Theory Z concept, in which the…