"New Things Considered" reports on emerging trends and issues in education to policymakers and participants in SEDL-SCAN, an emerging issues tracking system being pilot tested by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory's Policy Information Service and the State of New Mexico. This issue presents brief summaries of the thinking…

The first paper in this issue, "Towards a Re-examination of Learning and Teaching at Charles Sturt University" (Perry Share, Mark Farrell, Erica Smith, Jenni Brackenreg, Lesley Ballantyne, Lisa Fawkes, Michelle Dean, Mark McFadden, and Judith Parker) is a major discussion paper by a Working Party of Academic Senate at Charles Sturt…

In 1984, the Swedish National Board of Education inaugurated a major research program on decentralized school administration. The research undertaken at the University of Lund focused upon regional and local school administration: county education committee, local education authority, local education office, and head teachers. Results are…

The extent of change caused by Teacher Corps research adaptation projects is examined. A report is given of the research addressing the relative impact of these projects on practitioners, teacher educators, and students. Excerpts are presented from papers on student achievement, teacher evaluation, and the impact of Teacher Corps research on…

Some schools struggle to implement comprehensive school reform, whereas others succeed. The difference usually is that the successful schools use a combination of effective change strategies. This issue lists six strategies for change that can nearly guarantee success: (1) developing an atmosphere and context conducive to change; (2) developing…

Teacher Corps research adaptation projects were linked together as an experiment to determine the processes and problems of applying validated research to the needs of public schools and teacher training institutions. Various papers report the degree of change on populations and institutions caused by the projects. Section one addresses the…

Six topics relative to staff development are discussed. The first chapter discusses staff and organization development in a 1981 perspective. Both staff and organization development are necessary for planned change and school improvement. Both are important processes in personal and professional growth. The second chapter views staff development…

In 1992 the Texas Education Agency selected 83 schools to participate in its Partnership Schools Initiative (PSI), which had the goals of improving outcomes for students and closing the performance gaps among various student groups. The schools were allowed flexibility in the process used to achieve these goals. One of the partnership schools,…

Authentic performance assessments--when used simultaneously with matching curricular practices--are a promising development for practitioners and students alike. A major benefit for practitioners appears to be the opportunity to redefine the curriculum and guide instruction. Benefits for students include the opportunity to engage in authentic work…

This publication's theme, "Institutional Change," is broadly examined in fourteen articles that range from research and opinion to allegory and satire. A student teacher, a dean, and a state education director are among the authors. Articles concern: 1) key elements of change; 2) relationships between local, county, state, and federal educational…

The report provides a survey of staff development (SD) managers in 505 English, Welsh, and Scottish further education colleges (227 responses). The objective was to determine how much SD has changed and matured since incorporation, and how much it has created benchmarks. Findings indicated that few staff developers had a relevant SD qualification.…

The articles in this issue reflect the theme effecting change in reading programs. Titles and authors of the articles include the following: (1) "Commentary: Becoming a Nation of Readers--the Undergraduate's View" (Michael P. French); (2) "Implementing a Reading Curriculum for the 80s and 90s" (Doris M. Cook); (3) "Strategic Teaching/Strategic…

Building community collaboration and commitment for educating students in urban districts was the theme of the January 29-31, 1992, meeting of the Urban Superintendents' Network. Presentations and discussions focused on the political nature of education, Chapter 1 legislation, the use of educational technology, and educational standards and…

Dropout prevention is emerging as the most important new issue in education. Broad demographic trends predict a continuing growth in the population of at-risk youth, those most likely to drop out of school. The overall goal of any dropout prevention activity is to reduce the number of at-risk students. This issue is devoted to what research and…

These two theme issues of "Impact" discuss inclusive education for children with disabilities at the preschool to first grade level and at the kindergarten to grade 12 level respectively. The articles present different ways that families and professionals include children with and without disabilities in educational and child care settings, with…