Some organizations are having difficulty with the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach. Problems appear to come from reliance on prepackaged TQM programs, large-scale, diffuse implementation, mass training programs, measurement paralysis, overemphasis on tools, process selection, outmoded reward structures, and simplistic views of change and…

Recounts how a fifth-grade class applied the extended case study strategy to study a regional environmental issue, the Timber Wolf Recovery Plan. Students wrote essays; identified involved players' positions, beliefs, and values; conducted a survey of local residents' beliefs and attitudes; and devised a plan of action. (MDH)

Explores teaching African-American history as a form of African-American cultural empowerment, laying out arguments supporting this position and an alternative view. A case study of a school system shows how empowerment aspects of African-American history compete against other aspects of classroom practice as it examines how empowering…

This study examined three districts that redesigned teaching, two with career ladders and one with shared governance. The reforms, both professional and bureaucratic, had important consequences for the process and outcomes of the redesign of teaching. Discrete organizational and political factors were identified. (TJH)

Examines students' (25 low achieving fourth graders) understanding of conceptual features of decimals. Assessment results indicated that students' thinking was influenced by the types of concrete materials used to represent decimals; that low achievers' understanding of some important properties of decimals increased; and that understanding grew…

Danish educational planning has become characterized by strategic development aimed at satisfying pragmatic market demands. This emerging instrumentalism is edging out the principles of democracy and equality in education, with serious consequences for the continued development of the society as a whole, and must be monitored carefully. (MSE)

Describes a bibliographic instruction project at the University of Central Florida that addressed the information needs of upper-division and graduate business students in case study classes. Cooperative arrangements between a database vendor (Predicasts), librarians, and the management faculty are described and the objectives of the project are…

Describes a program in second-grade Dutch mathematics classes that emphasizes mental addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers up to 100. Deals with a strategy of counting by 10s from any number. (Contains 56 references.) (RLB)

Examined three teaching evaluation questionnaires from two foreign universities to determine the universality of staff teaching performance criteria. Concluded that questionnaires be designed in accordance with specific course objectives and that standard deviations of the questionnaire scores rather than average scores may be more informative…

Explains how teachers applied the case method approach in a college pedagogy class, describing the case and context, noting how problem solving evolved within student groups and presenting results from follow-up surveys. Numbers of students in class and time devoted to problem solving were critical to the approach. (SM)

Uses case studies on promoting interaction skills for integrating young children with special needs in nursery schools to examine the link between research methodology and promotion of educational quality. Asserts that the research process can influence interaction strategies and promote effective, reflective practice. Notes that teams need…

This study used qualitative methods, including observation, unstructured interviews, and questionnaires, for analyzing the vocational English-language-instruction needs of hotel maids. Methods and sources (maids, supervisor, executive housekeeper, human resources staff) were triangulated to determine reliability. An unbalanced distribution of…

The provost of Towson University, a Maryland state university, analyzes why his institution employs part-time faculty, discusses problems and solutions, and makes recommendations for longer-term policy development to assure quality education. It is argued that part-time faculty are critical to university operations, providing an economic base that…

Rural graduate students in early intervention used case-study and ethnographic methods to record family-focused field experiences, thereby developing an understanding of family perspectives and personal theories about early intervention in rural settings. These personnel preparation processes help students engage in a lifelong process of…

Describes a procedure that sensitizes counselors to cultural data in assessment and case conceptualization. The Multicultural Assessment Procedure (MAP) entails identifying cultural data through multiple methods of data collection, interpreting cultural data to formulate a working hypothesis, incorporating cultural data with other relevant…