Over the past four decades, the concept of leadership has become increasingly more complex and elaborate. Considerable debate has emerged over the most suitable model for educational leadership. Dominating the literature are two conceptual models: instructional leadership and transformational leadership. This paper will review the conceptual and…

In this article, the authors feature the Success for All Middle School Model, which was designed to help middle grades educators implement the most important elements of "Turning Points" and to add well-structured curricula, instructional methods, and professional development for teachers to help students reach their full potential. The program is…

This paper examines the impact of vouchers in general and voucher design in particular on public school performance. It argues that all voucher programs are not created equal. There are often fundamental differences in voucher designs that affect public school incentives differently and induce different responses from them. It analyzes two voucher…

In this second volume of "The Soul of Educational Leadership" series, editors Paul D. Houston, Alan M. Blankstein, and Robert W. Cole offer creative perspectives on the challenges of reframing leadership practice. Presenting key strategies from leadership experts such as Thomas Sergiovanni and Dennis Sparks, this compact resource combines…

This paper questions whether genuine adoption of the inclusive education philosophy can occur within a school setting before it has been tested by the involvement of the whole school in school reform. It sees inclusion as one component of overall school restructuring. Experiences at three schools are compared. At the first school inclusive…

In 1991, the California Center for School Restructuring (CCSR) was charged with assisting approximately 144 schools that were funded by California's SB 1274 restructuring legislation. This study investigated the work of the CCSR, not to evaluate the organization, but to tell the story of CCSR and its attempts to encourage and enable schools to…

This paper provides data on the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program in the mid-continent region. Started in 1998 and part of the Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning and Model Developers Plan, the CSRD program aims to increase student achievement by assisting schools across the country to implement successful,…

This guide is designed to help educators make good decisions about comprehensive school reform (CSR). Since CSR takes different forms in different schools, the booklet should help schools craft a unique plan that builds on unique strengths. It emphasizes the importance of choosing carefully one or more research-based CSR models to serve as the…

This book is part of a series of case studies that demonstrate better ways to educate Ohio's students. The case study is part of the Transforming Learning Communities (TLC) Project, designed to support significant school-reform efforts among Ohio's elementary, middle, and high schools. This report describes the implementation of an innovative…

Like most other reform models, Hawkins's social reconstructive wedge model of curricular reform does not include the multiethnic and multicultural realities at the core of social reconstruction today. Our social order is crumbling around us, but we have no models dedicated to building a unified society for all our citizens. (MLH)

To address the social challenges facing schools, administrators must revitalize the work culture. Borrowing from successful business practices, the School Management Institute has implemented a 25-day Managing Productive Schools leadership training program in Florida, Minnesota, and Virginia. The program is based on the cultural conditions,…

Examines local management of British schools in term of organizational form theory. The 1988 Education Reform Act was designed to change the local education authority from a unitary to a multidivisional (M-form) structure, though the LEA's regulatory role was left undeveloped. Without a quality assurance function, decentralized management…

Comprehensive school-reform models like the Accelerated Schools Project stress professional development and give educators specific, research-based strategies to address essential requirements for enhancing academic achievement. The federal Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration initiative provides necessary funding. Information sources and…

Examines school reform efforts through a "reculturing," rather than a restructuring, lens, based on a sample of schools engaged with five reform models (Accelerated Schools, Coalition of Essential Schools, Comer's School Development Program, Effective Schools, and Success for All). A newly developed instrument enhances understanding of…

Advocates of charter schools claim that the degree of autonomy that legislatures grant charter schools plays a large role in the success of these schools. This report describes an analysis of how legislation in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas is transforming the concept of charter schools into an education-reform opportunity for…