The Chicago (Illinois) public school system has been undergoing a major restructuring that has shifted responsibility for running the schools to local school councils. The nine articles of this issue bring together opinions and research of a diverse group of authors with multiple perspectives on the effort. (SLD)

Examines discourses of childhood from press reports, parliamentary debates, and government-sponsored reports concerning the Travelling People, an indigenous ethnic minority in Ireland. Found that discourses are located within a changing Irish political economic and shifting Traveller-related policy. A case study reveals how discourses of childhood…

Reports findings of a British study of information technology-assisted teaching and learning (ITATL) in six higher education institutions, focusing on five major themes: emerging educational markets for information technology use; implications for networking; contexts of educational and communications-technology use; learning benefits; and issues…

Argues that gendered identities are in context more fluid and shifting than depicted in feminist leadership texts, drawing on a small case study of female (British) headteachers. Femininities are varied and shaped by the roles women undertake, the leadership context, and the amount of power women have access to. (Contains 65 references.) (MLH)

The case study method (employing direct observation and interviews) has become the primary means of investigating how secondary school and undergraduate students locate and use information in the library. This article examines and illustrates the shift from survey to case study with examples from dissertations and field studies of secondary school…

Reviews two long-term case studies examining the art produced by two artistically gifted Down Syndrome patients. Their work shows a unique personal style characterized by flat, nonperspective compositions, canonical and mixed profile shapes, and symmetry. Both artists depict androgynous persons in their untutored drawings. Includes drawing samples…

Describes a state university/public school system/state department of education partnership that created an alternative certification program for qualified post-baccalaureate minority candidates interested in teaching elementary students. Program evaluations indicate that the program is effectively meeting the need to reduce the disparity between…

In an urban elementary school, teachers trained in the Comer school development approach attempted to reform school discipline practices and plan conflict resolution efforts for students. Time constraints and teachers' aversion to coping with conflicting views inhibited the open democratic discussion needed as a foundation of change and limited…

Four case studies illustrate three approaches to Aboriginal postsecondary education in Canada: the add-on approach, the partnership approach, and the First Nations control approach. Overcoming challenges related to access, completion rates, Indian control, and cultural relevance relies in large part on the political will of Canadian governing…

An ethnographic study in two California school districts examines how court cases, federal and state legislation, local and state school board decisions, election results, and national reports interacted to constrain students' confidence to function at a particular level in English and the learning opportunities that a bilingual teacher could…

Reports on the similarities and differences between educational use and business use of technology-based distance learning. Topics discussed include organizational infrastructure; cost effectiveness; program assessment models; higher education institutions providing distance learning to businesses; faculty and management acceptance; policy…

Ways in which urban schools respond to and are affected by the urban environment are explored through a case study analysis of a middle school in Oakland (California). As the only public agency charged with serving all young people, the urban school can play a leading role in urban revitalization. (SLD)

Three faculty workload planning methods in United Kingdom universities are compared, focusing on workload planning principles, computerized decision support, institutional contexts, political dimensions, and management of change. One is based on contact hours; the second on actual hours; and the third on translating supervision, teaching,…

Describes positive results coming from Trinity University's active support of educational reform efforts at Hawthorne Elementary School (Houston, Texas). Trinity's teacher education agenda focused on preparing teachers for the real world of the elementary school and pursuing a teacher-selected school reform project. (GR)

Provides an evaluator's view of the quantitative effects of the Core Knowledge Sequence, a content-based K-6 curriculum model, and other reforms at Hawthorne Elementary School (Houston, Texas). Pretest and posttest results show increased academic performance in reading, writing, and mathematics, based on Texas Assessment of Academic Skills…