The papers in this volume, commissioned by RMC Research Corporation for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, were adapted to reflect the input of participants at a national conference in Washington, DC in June 1992 on middle grades parent and community involvement. Part I reviews the literature in five chapters that focus on the…

This document reports on a study of a model full-service community school and explains the kind of services provided, staffing considerations, ways of involving community partners, governance arrangements, and parent involvement. It considers the barriers to creating this kind of school and explores ways to fund programs. The narrative offers a…

Many schools and states have moved in recent years to more "authentic" ways of assessing student learning. However, most assessments are essentially summative, one-shot measurement of outcomes. This book is based on the work of Designing Schools for Enhanced Learning, a group of schools and educators that have worked with the Regional…

In 1989, Chicago (Illinois) Public Schools began an experiment with the radical decentralization of power and authority. This book tells the story of what happened in Chicago's elementary schools in the first four years of this reform. Implicit in the reform was the theory that expanded local democratic participation would stimulate organizational…

The central thesis of this book is that the developmental conception of democracy provides the theoretical foundation for an alternative model of school governance devoted not to efficient integration of students into a hierarchical labor force, but to development as unique human beings. This will necessitate an organizational structure that…

This book examines the nature of comprehensive, large scale historical and social changes that contextualize educational reform, and it amplifies the meaning of lessons learned by those who have assisted in change efforts. It also examines how the rhetoric of educational change may fall short of the reality, as translated to processes and…

This analysis considers the urban and educational crises in modern Britain, outlining and explaining the problems and suggesting interrelated solutions. Included is an indepth analysis of the social, economic, and educational revitalization of one inner-city community in Birmingham (England). The first six chapters of this book discuss "The…

This book discusses the inclusion of children with disabilities in general education settings and provides accounts of successful inclusive school communities. A prologue by Michael S. Berres is titled "All Children, All Schools." Chapter 1, "Is It Inclusion Yet? Bursting the Bubbles" (Dianne L. Ferguson), reviews the status of…