Visits to 146 schools in the winter of 1978-79 and interviews with teachers, administrators, and others involved with the implementation of 61 different instructional innovations revealed stability and durability in these innovations and fidelity to the original innovation. The innovations are those associated with federally funded projects…

Two complementary strategies intended to achieve a strengthening of the American educational system within the next 5 years and a transformation of that system within 10 years are presented in this report. The shorter, 5-year strategy targets conventional schools and is intended to help raise student achievement and professional competence. The…

The tenth and final volume of this study provides a short, crisp summary of its findings for educators at all levels. Important considerations are suggested for federal and state policymakers as they support schools in their change efforts, and for school people who are committed to making effective and long-lasting improvements in their…

A study of the effect of implementing educational innovations in local schools across the country explored several factors affecting successful improvement. This paper provides a general overview of the interrelation among these factors, with illustrative diagrams. Particular attention is paid to innovations requiring major changes in teacher…

This paper summarizes some of the main conclusions of the Study of Dissemination Efforts Supporting School Improvement, specifically those regarding the process of innovation implementation. The focus is on the contributions of potential assisters to various implementation outcomes, from which implications for policy and practice are derived. The…

The effective implementation of school redesign, based on a social systems approach, is discussed in this paper. A basic assumption is that the interdependence of system elements has implications for a complex change process. Seven barriers to redesign and five critical issues for successful redesign strategy are presented. Seven linear steps for…

This paper, presented at the 1984 regional workshop of the Appalachia Educational Laboratory, draws upon recent research to list and debunk the following 10 "myths" about school improvement: (1) that change can be initiated simply by clarifying goals and designating staff (change actually requires three gradual steps--initiation, implementation,…

The ninth volume of this 10-volume report summarizes and synthesizes the outcome of the study, describing the design, sample, analysis procedures, and findings from the examination of federal and state dissemination strategies and from the survey and field studies of local sites. The examinations of the federal and state components result in one…

Presents findings from studies that provide guidelines to policymakers and administrators on a range of issues related to school improvement. The first set of issues deals with deciding upon the nature of the desired changes. The second set deals with planning how to proceed. One hundred twenty-eight footnotes are appended. (IW)