A study created a typology of 271 adult literacy programs nationwide describing their distribution along two dimensions: (1) relevance of materials to learner needs and sociocultural context (life-contextual/decontextual), and (2) extent of learner control of decisions about program activities (dialogic/monologic). A questionnaire elicited…

This book contains 17 papers, chosen from those presented within the last 2 years at the annual National Conference on Creating the Quality School, hosted by the Center for the Study of Small/Rural Schools at the University of Oklahoma. The papers are grouped into three sections: leadership for school improvement; classroom practices for school…

This book is intended to guide library administrators--directors and departmental managers in public, school, and academic libraries--through the many complex decisions inherent in managing public Internet access. The handbook systematically deals with each possible element of an Internet policy. It identifies the options available at each…

This study focused on innercity elementary school staff perceptions of the process they engaged in, which emerged from the principal's initiative to move the school culture in a more collaborative direction and thus further develop pedagogical practice and student social and academic growth. Research in this case study involved observations and…

Although empowerment is a necessary change in improving education, the typical school system is not organized or governed in a way that encourages significant change. Educational systems need to be restructured to achieve decentralization in order for organizations to be ready for changes like empowerment. The current structure encourages…

The MiraCosta College Academic Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Collegial Governance drafted this statement in order to provide a description of the college's governance structure, to address the added responsibilities for faculty as set forth by California's Assembly Bill (AB) 1725, and to make recommendations for the improvement of governance at the…

This book describes the 14-year evolution of a public alternative inner-city high school, New Haven's (Connecticut) High School in the Community (HSC), which lives the empowerment ideology and is dedicated to developing a caring and humanized approach to education. Students are encouraged to participate in shaping many aspects of their education,…

A study was done of the degree to which a program of comprehensive training in shared decision-making was implemented in Chicago (Illinois) Public Schools. Focus was on reliably measuring the implementation of shared decision-making processes and principles and identifying factors that might promote the adoption of this model at the local level.…

This paper examines Margaret Haley's speech to the 1904 National Education Association (NEA) annual meeting on her views about teacher unions. Haley viewed organized labor as public school's partner in democratizing United States society. The first section outlined her political views on the relationship between democracy and education, noting…

A democratic model of educational evaluation and some policy recommendations to develop culturally appropriate evaluation are presented. The traditional hard science paradigm in research must be replaced with evaluation designed to feed back to communities of varying cultural backgrounds. The most fundamental assumption of the new model is…

This paper examines how selected characteristics of a program and attributes of key actors affected a particular collaborative effort to increase the supply of secondary math and science teachers. A funded grant created the need for collaborative linkage between schools and a university which had no prior experience with joint efforts. Elements of…

This paper contrasts three distinct theoretical positions about the importance of empowerment for instruction and achievement. The "teacher professionalism" view maintains that empowerment enhances instruction and learning, the "bureaucratic centralization" approach argues that empowerment impedes effective teaching and…

Since 1988, teacher surveys and interviews have been conducted in the 24 professional development schools (PDS) in Jefferson County (Kentucky) Public Schools to document teachers' attitudes toward efficacy and empowerment and toward their schools' learning climate. The 1990-1991 survey results show that teachers seem to have positive opinions of…

A frequent criticism of education in the United States today is that teachers are not challenging and teaching students to think beyond the simple task of recalling information. In response to this criticism, during the school year of 1986-1987, the Delaware Department of Public Instruction and local school districts provided a staff development…

There is concern that laypersons participating in environmental or natural resource decision making cannot or do not engage the scientific and technical information sufficiently to integrate that information into the decisions and reach a highquality, science-based decision. This study examined how thirteen citizens participating in two Superfund…