Decentralized decision-making is an important characteristic of effective schools. Effective decentralization requires that teachers, parents, students, and the community be involved, despite the various problems they face. The creation of school improvement councils is one step towards implementing the massive structural change needed to improve…

Individually and collectively, institutions of higher education possess considerable resources--human, fiscal, organizational, and intellectual--which are critical to addressing significant social issues. Additionally, these institutions are physically rooted in their communities. Therefore, investing in the betterment of their immediate…

This book presents service-learning research that focuses on units of analysis ranging from the individual student to the community partnership. It contains the following chapters/articles: "Enhancing Theory-Based Research on Service-Learning" (Robert G. Bringle); "The Missing Link: Exploring the Content of Learning in Service-Learning" (Deborah…

This document is part of a series designed to provide guidance for communities and caregivers interested in building exemplary systems of care and to give systems builders the latest available information about how best to help and serve and support children who live with serious emotional disturbances at home and in their communities. The…

This guide/toolkit is designed as a resource aid for those in schools and communities who are concerned about sustaining valuable initiatives and innovations. The focus is on sustaining valued functions and collaborations. A particular emphasis is on efforts designed to enhance how schools address barriers to learning and teaching. The material is…

In many communities there is a need to reconnect schools to community entities, including businesses. This fastback is designed to act as a guide to partnership-program development. It begins with a brief history of partnerships, tracks the development of partnership programs, outlines key roles, and identifies the indicators of…

Since the early 1950s, several programs have enticed thousands of rural Mexicans to migrate to California and the Northwest to be agricultural workers. The resultant demographic and cultural impacts have been immense. Hood River County (Oregon) schools are over 30 percent Hispanic. There is much ignorance and prejudice regarding the Hispanic…

This study explored the role of the resource network coordinator in contemporary university-school-community agency partnerships. The study involved nine inter-organizational partnerships linked through a nationally administered multiyear grant program. Partnerships were based on holistic concepts of children's conditions and provided integrated…

This booklet is a brief collection of pointers for technology educators on how to establish productive partnerships with companies, parents, community groups, and other educators to help fund the growth of expanding technology education programs. Following sections on success stories, how partners help your program, and how your partners benefit,…

During the fiscal year that ended June 30, 1913, the field force of the Alaska school service consisted of 5 superintendents, 109 teachers, 11 physicians (1 of whom also filled another position), 9 nurses, and 3 hospital attendants. Seventy-seven schools were maintained, with an enrollment of 3,563, and an average attendance of 1.797. This…

Articulates an expanded vision of citizenship education that incorporates two powerful reform movements: character education and community service. Addresses the reservations teachers have about initiating these programs and provides suggestions for organization and administration. Includes a list of student-designed citizenship education…

Offers some examples of integrating character education into curriculum and instruction through service learning and provides a rationale for incorporating service learning throughout the grades. Briefly summarizes educational research supporting service learning and identifies five critical elements of service learning projects. Provides a list…

Details a series of service learning projects conducted by a California middle school social studies class. Creative, inexpensive, and substantive, the projects included writing to Manuel Noreiga in prison, creating a feed-the-homeless garden, and translating city documents into other languages. (MJP)

Reviews psychological and educational research on prejudice and intergroup relations to produce suggestions and guidelines for improving the combined educational goals of service learning and multicultural education. Recommends starting early, emphasizing critical thinking, connecting activities to appropriate stages of cognitive development, and…

Provides a brief history of character education and categorizes current efforts. Recommends combining civic participation programs with character education in an attempt to provide consistency, depth, and support. Notes that civic participation programs teach a recognized set of values, use interactive teaching strategies, and promote critical…