In the UK Centres of Excellence were funded by the DfES to model high quality, multi-agency, early years services for young children and their families. They were precursors to Children's Centres to be established across the UK. Early Excellence Centres were evaluated at national and local levels. This article will draw on data from local…

Inviting policy development is an attempt to cordially summon those who are involved and affected by rules, codes, and procedures to understand and participate in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies. This paper first presents criteria for an invitational framework for policy development and then goes on to discuss the…

A unique choice to assume local control of schooling is now available to Canadian Indians. This description of the beginning of one such undertaking illustrates how the unanticipated emergence of pervasive role shock inhibits the expected positive results from autonomous local control of schooling. (Author)

Traces trends in Aboriginal education in Northwest Territories (Canada) since the early 1980s when the territorial department of education committed itself to locally controlled, culture-based education. Examines local accountability, culturally relevant curriculum, role of elders, native language instruction, Aboriginal teacher education, dropout…

This paper examines the Botswana government's objectives and implementation strategies in the development of community secondary schools. With a population of 1.5 million and an annual growth rate of 3.5 percent, Botswana is one of the fastest growing countries in the world. Recent dramatic economic growth, largely due to diamond revenues, has not…

In 1988 Norway House Indian Band in Manitoba, Canada, will assume control of education for its young people, a move which is supported by 80% of its adult members. With an immediate enrollment of 800 students and predicted growth in enrollments, the Band has the potential to develop a high quality educational program at reasonable cost. The Band…

Current and incipient problems in educational administration in England can be grouped into two areas: those resulting from reorganization and those arising from social and political factors. Many problems faced by educational administrators result from school reorganization that is a result of an increase in the number of comprehensive schools.…

Despite the proliferation of indigenous higher education programs and institutions in Australia, Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders are concerned about continuing forms of imposition and domination. The central challenge is to understand that continuing forms of colonialism are responsible for the insidious and embedded features of hegemonic…

This publication contains two papers on the implications of school decentralization for teacher education, student achievement, and democracy. The first paper, "Devolution in Education Systems: Implications for Teacher Professional Development and Pupil Performance" (Geoff Whitty), explores the way education reform movements for…

Describes the struggles and triumphs of a Maori community in the Bay of Islands (New Zealand) as it took local control of its rural school and made it fully bilingual. A series of government reforms have made the Maori people responsible for administering the school with insufficient funds while the government maintains power over the curriculum…

Participatory research began as a reaction to traditional social science research methodology, which tended to make persons into objects of study. It had its beginnings in Tanzania around 1970, when a group of farmers participated in research to assess and solve the problem of losses of grain harvests. The process grew out of the philosophy of…

This paper reports the results of a study of the implementation of multicultural education policy initiatives in Australia. An outline of the study's methods follows brief discussions of the emergence of multicultural education as a policy issue and the context of multicultural education in Australia. To assess the impact of multicultural…

Describes alternative educational innovations at all educational levels, developed by the Maori of New Zealand in response to the dual crises of educational underachievement and the loss of language, knowledge, and culture. Major intervention elements are validating cultural identity, incorporating culturally preferred pedagogy, mediating…

This paper describes the development of a research project in 1993 to address concerns and issues related to education of Aboriginal students in the Shoalhaven area of New South Wales, Australia. Specifically, the purpose of the project was to examine the relationships between Aboriginal communities, students, and their schools, and important…

This paper presents the major findings from a survey on parent participation in decision-making that was distributed to school administrators, trustees, and a random selection of teachers and parents at School District #68 in Nanaimo, British Columbia. The study was designed to explore means of facilitating partnership between parents and schools…