The authors believe that the problems of our school systems are essentially problems of involvement and curriculum development. In this book, written for students in curriculum classes and for teachers and administrators involved in curriculum development, the authors set forth and substantiate their belief in a humanistic approach to curriculum…

Education, by any definition, is an intensely political matter. Key issues in educational planning that are closely related to premises and controversies fundamentally political in nature--e.g., resource allocation and utilization, international dependencies, bureaucracies--are discussed. (RM)

Designed to guide and structure the needs assessment of Pennsylvania children with special health care needs, this document describes six specific steps in planning and conducting a needs assessment. The steps include: (1) stating the goals of the needs assessment, including fulfilling legislative mandates, identifying geographical areas that have…

Suggests that cost-benefit analysis can be a helpful tool for assessing difficult and complex problems in child care facilities. Defines cost-benefit analysis as an approach to determine the most economical way to manage a program, describes how to analyze costs and benefits through hypothetical scenarios, and discusses some of the problems…

The role of Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council, an independent statutory body, in distribution of funds for research projects, programs, units, and major institutes. The agency's evaluation system, resource allocation practices, and training and career support system are described briefly. (MSE)

Explores the question of whether schools are making a good investment in the establishment of Web sites from an educational management point of view. Approaches the question from the perspective of welfare economics and argues in favor of using scarce educational resources to build school Web sites because of connections between constructivist…

Most research on the association between school resources and student outcomes has concentrated on finances as measured in dollars. This study takes a fresh look at the issue by focusing on the allocation of real resources, defined as the personnel and materiel used to increase student learning, which are more relevant measures of a school's…

Throughout its history, the property tax has remained a reliable source of revenue for operating schools and providing other local government services. However, differences in property wealth of school districts have created disparities in dollars available to fund educational programs. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the…

This report presents the results of a study of the condition of higher education facilities in the United States and offers recommendations to improve the deteriorating state of such facilities. The 1995 survey examined statistical, financial, and operational data gathered through mailed questionnaires returned by 400 institutions. The results…

This annotated directory provides practitioners and service providers with references to existing programs, tools, and resources that school improvement teams may use to design and implement projects. The directory draws on a variety of products developed or used by state departments of education, school districts, regional educational…

A computer application at Eastern Montana College provides individual and grouped instructional faculty load data. The mainframe-generated reports support department heads and administrators in decision-making concerning staffing, merit awards, equity, accountability, planning, and productivity. The reports are best suited to colleges that…

One of the working papers in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness, this document presents information on a review of the management efficiency of the state's three universities and the board office and of the funding and allocation system for the state universities. The most…

The budget decision making process at Stanford University, California, from 1970 through 1979 was evaluated in relation to the allocation of general funds to 38 academic departments. Using Simon's theory of bounded rationality and an organizational level of analysis, the Stanford decision process was tested for its rationality through…

Financial strategies, plans to increase return--and risk--up to the point (but not beyond) where the protection of core activities may begin to break down, are addressed. The stages for developing a financial strategy are: (1) formulate and examine academic program, research, and marketing strategies; (2) define core activities necessary to…

A study was conducted to find out how teacher educators would resolve difficulties arising from the introduction of new goals for teacher education programs. Judgments of 6 panels of 12 teacher educators were recorded and pooled during a simulated planning exercise. Participants were asked to design a process to achieve a specific goal within a…