Even as Goals 2000 (the latest manifestation of factory-model schooling) is being adopted nationwide, a smaller, but growing counter-movement aimed at decentralizing and democratizing public schools has emerged. Manifestations include magnet and charter schools and the new, smaller, autonomous institutions called in-district charter or pilot…

Describes research projects in four experimental schools in Osijek, Croatia, that were interrupted by war. Pilot projects featured lectureless classes, independent study, increases in learning activities, and alterations in school surroundings. In all the experimental schools, significant changes occurred, but academic achievement results were…

Responding to local businesses' negative comments about area graduates' capabilities, White Plains (New York) Public Schools initiated a pilot work-based-learning program that clearly specified connections between high-school and workplace learning. Five case studies illustrate program goals achieved via individualized apprenticeship plans…

A pilot project provided adopted persons, biological parents, and adoptive parents with supportive counseling through a mutual-aid adoption-triad group in search and reunion. Evaluation findings indicated that participants felt positively about the group experience. Findings suggest that this approach can serve as a model for postadoption search…

Discusses online text-based collaborative learning environments such as Multi-User Dimensions (MUDs) and Object-Oriented MUDs (MOOs) and describes a multimedia-enhanced, Web-based MOO (WOO) called SpaceALIVE! that was the subject of a pilot project with Singapore secondary school students. (Contains 15 references.) (LRW)

Describes a school in France, which is the only complex in Europe that attempts to create a synergy among the activities of leisure, work, technology, training, and education. Discusses the evolution of the project, the design and flexibility of teaching spaces, information technology and communications strategies, and the project's success. (RJM)

Explores the progress of Fenway Middle College High School, in its third year as a Boston pilot school (an in-district charter-school alternative). Significant areas of autonomy remain untested. Fenway learned the value of an experienced, caring, diverse faculty; networking and reorganization opportunities; and idealism to counter "bigger is…

Notes that multimedia computer programs may provide promising opportunities for the training of initial reading and spelling skills. Examines a recently-developed program's efficacy and impact on the motivation of the users. Finds that the amount of non-task directed behavior of those who had practiced with the computer significantly decreased…

A Tucson, Arizona elementary school is one of 45 development sites for the Toyota Families in Schools Program, which brings in parents to learn alongside their children and in their own classrooms for 4 hours daily. Parents also receive vocational instruction aligned with local job opportunities. (MLH)

Reports on a pilot project that is encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to view themselves as innovators and leaders in new information and communications technologies. Describes the aims, activities, and outcomes of the program, and closes with some comments on the new forms of social identity that emerged through literate…

Principals desiring to develop a school-uniform policy should involve parents, teachers, community leaders, and student representatives; beware restrictions on religious and political expression; provide flexibility and assistance for low-income families; implement a pilot program; align the policy with school-safety issues; and consider legal…

The University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics was selected as a pilot institution for implementing distance education in Slovenia. This article illustrates how the synergy of combining existing domestic resources and the local social/educational environment with outside expertise could bring about a self-sustainable distance education program…

Discussion of information available on the Internet focuses on two pilot studies that investigated how academic users perceive search engines and subject-oriented databases as sources of topical information. Highlights include information seeking behavior of academic users; undergraduate users; graduate users; faculty; and implications for…

Explores ways to translate the techniques for facilitating and monitoring student learning for classroombased delivery into an Internetbased environment for classes offered via the World Wide Web. Discusses available instructional tools on the Internet including email; developing learning outcomes; and results of a pilot project. (Author/LRW)

Evaluates a pilot study conducted at the University of Glamorgan that investigated whether group process support technology has the potential to improve the learning experience of students in seminar groups by increasing participation and focusing debate. Describes how the use of the technology was varied among groups and suggests further…