Modesto (California) City Schools discovered common-ground thinking during a crisis over a safe-schools policy. Instead of shunning controversy, schools should face issues, invite all stakeholders, get training, formulate and approve policy, and train staff and the community to understand common-ground (religious neutrality) thinking. (MLH)

This paper comments on three preceding papers in the same publication on the general topic of self-determination for adults with severe disabilities. The author presents his own simpler definitions of self-determination and draws on his own experience of disability to assess the other articles. Specific suggestions and general needs for policy…

Gives some examples of the discourses of change that are found among teachers as they talk about their literacy instruction and compares them with the discourses of change that are found among policy makers, drawn from published policy documents. Discusses how educators might use this information in considering school change. (SG)

Presents the results of a study of differences in secondary school effectiveness among six regions (Lancashire, London, Jersey, Scotland, the Netherlands, and England as a whole). Findings define four dimensions of secondary school effectiveness: different outcomes, pupil groups, pupil cohorts, and curriculum stages. Draws implications for…

David Hume's monetary theory has been controversial since its formulation. Lately, the focus has been on Hume's alleged misapplication of the quantity theory of money. While he appears to subscribe to a simple quantity theory with money neutrality, in a famously contested passage in the essay Of Money, he violates the neutrality condition by…

Work-related self-identities are central to middle leaders' work. Their development takes place in social, policy and personal contexts. At the core of middle leaders' work-related identities lie values that guide how they interact with colleagues, students and senior management staff when trying to shape and implement departmental and school…

Philanthropy plays a visible but little-studied role in education reform, making it easy to both overestimate and underestimate its significance. The emergence of "new" givers in the last few years, like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation, has shifted the landscape of school reform. This article, based…

Too often, bullying goes undetected as victims suffer silently. Most anti-bullying programs must be strengthened to reduce or eliminate the quiet, sneaky bullying falling under adults' radar. Thus, there is a need to create a safe environment for children both above and below that radar. In this article, the author discusses the importance of…

Describes the author's experiences in the evaluation training program at Northwestern University (1978-1980) in a postdoctoral fellowship in methodology and evaluation research. Also discusses the value of the friendships and professional relationships formed at that time. (SLD)

For the last several years, Auburn University has been at the center of controversy over its governance practices. In April 2001, soon after the board of trustees abruptly fired popular president William V. Muse, representatives of the University Senate, the Student Government Association, and the Alumni Association jointly filed a complaint with…

Evaluation inarguably takes place within social, cultural, historical, economic, and political contexts--the contexts defined by human existence and experience. These contexts envelope many dimensions. Race, ethnicity, language, gender, age, religion, and sexual orientation are among the commonly listed demographic attributes of contextual…

Purpose: To invoke Julian Le Grand's conceptual model of the interaction between human motivation and policy formulation in order to explain how motivational endogeneity in the university environment has distorted policy outcomes in the Australian higher education reform program. Design/methodology/approach: Le Grand contends that changes in the…

This paper examines the changing political salience of school sport and physical education (PE) over the last 15 years. A brief survey of the recent history of school sport and PE based on an analysis of a range of policy documents published by professional bodies and government departments and agencies is followed by a discussion of two…

If children are to thrive in school, it is essential that their teachers work closely with one another to create the best circumstances possible for learning. Setting up best practice guidelines for pull-out gifted programs makes sense, whether the program is for 2, 3, or 6 hours a week, or whether it is within the students' school or at a gifted…

Public policy questions such as public funding for Catholic schools, the extent of government involvement in private education, and church-state relations in general are not unique to the United States. This article discusses Catholic education in Scotland, with a view to explaining the ongoing need for cooperation and goodwill in church-state…