This article introduces a new theoretical framework comprised of three principles for teaching, learning, and researching gender in a way that celebrates gender diversity and centers transgender experiences and knowledge. The first principle describes how gender operates on multiple levels including individual, institutional, and socio-cultural.…

The purpose of the state education agency (SEA) is to focus the entire education system on helping students become capable in college and career in an increasingly complex world. One of the most vexing problems facing SEAs today is how to meet increasing demands for performance while adjusting to significant resource reductions. Meeting that…

This article uses an institutional framework to analyze the political context of the next reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The authors analyze three relevant factors in the institutional environment: the role of traditional party politics, including theories of divided versus unified party government; the entrance of…

Could the establishment of extensive teacher-evaluation practices prove counterproductive if effective school climates are not created and maintained? This paper attempts to answer this general question by investigating two more specific questions: (1) Is there an inherent conflict between the activities associated with teacher evaluation and…

This publication introduces and presents an Effective Schools Checklist that can serve as a broad guide for administrators comparing their schools to the profile of an effective school. The categories assessed are school climate, institutional organization, the curriculum, instruction, training and development, and evaluation and assessment. (PGD)

Students learn much that is not publicly set forth in official school philosophy or in course syllabi. This learning, which includes information, beliefs, and ways of behaving, can be attributed to the implicit curricula of schooling. Discussed are the messages imparted by the classroom and school environment. (RM)

This paper summarizes research on ways to measure a school's instructional climate. Four areas of inquiry revolve around accomplishment, recognition, power, and affiliation. Because a school's instructional climate has a significant impact on student learning, the study of instructional climate is important. Three sets of conditions to examine…

By using the curriculum, teaching methods, student evaluation processes, human relations skills, and classroom management techniques in addition to verbal praise and token rewards as sources of reinforcement for student behavior and learning in the individual classroom, principals and teachers can enhance the school's educational environment. (PGD)

Explores the emergence of systems of public education in the United States and Canada and outlines the specific responsibilities of education at various periods. Topics include: student and teacher characteristics, the relationship of schools to social reform, educational equality, industrialization, and social mobility. (Author/DB)

The despair and uncertainty apparent in some parts of the current educational environment is likely to give rise to an increase in the occurrence of unhealthy institutional defense mechanisms. Explores the implications of such development for school counselors, and argues that they may have to assume the role of organizational consultant and…

Research indicates that the characteristics of schools can affect student performance. School improvement reforms depend on the involvement of individual teachers and administrators, but research also suggests that individuals are more likely to commit themselves to change when a positive, supportive change environment pervades the entire…

Models of organizational structures developed through the study of commercial organizations are not necessarily applicable to educational organizations. Technical organizations such as factories act to regulate the flow of their processes and products and, thus, to buffer them from external forces. Institutional organizations such as schools or…

Illustrates fundamental principles of introducing change in educational institutions. Describes the strategies by which a low-status member of an organization can create a climate conducive to the implementation of changes consistent with their agenda. Suggests that this role of catalyst is quite different from that of the conventional change…

Findings of a study that examined parent and student perceptions of school learning environments are presented in this document. The data are from the 1993 National Household Education Survey (NHES:93), a national survey conducted by Westat for the National Center for Education Statistics. This report is based on data from telephone interviews…

Findings from a study to examine the relationship between school climate factors and student achievement in the Austin Independent School District are presented in this executive summary. Factor and regression analyses were used to analyze data from a survey of all public school professionals in the district. Findings suggested that differences in…