A principal-agent framework is used to examine potential gains in educational performance and potential threats to public accountability that school-based decision-making proposals pose. Analysis underscores the need to tailor the design of decentralized decision making to the sources of poor educational performance and threats to school…

The effects of a summer program on self-concept scores of 139 gifted students in grades 4 to 8 were examined. Results indicated that regular and special program students did not differ significantly in self-concept; existing gender differences in self-concept were attenuated upon program completion; and self-concept was unrelated to grade.…

Reviews "War against the School's Academic Child Abuse," by Siegfried Engelmann, which criticizes the government, textbook publishers, colleges of education, professional organizations, and businesses for playing politics and not acknowledging what schools need to change to benefit students. Relates Engelmann's experience in promoting…

Fifty-four county mental health authorities in Michigan were surveyed before and after implementation of new policies and funding for support services for disabled individuals and families. Case management assessment, respite care, in-home services, and advisory committees showed significant increases in availability. Length of time that families…

Two years into her first superintendency, Detroit Superintendent Deborah McGriff has advanced an ambitious and controversial urban school reform package. The public school choice plan has been expanded, and 21 schools have adopted school-based-management plans despite union opposition. This fall, the district will abolish the general education…

The organizational model used in American schools must be scrutinized to determine its effectiveness in the face of the changing demographics of American schools. Transforming the schools depends on social and attitudinal changes that incorporate political changes directed at social problems. (SLD)

Content analysis of 56 reports on tropical conservation education programs published between 1975 and 1990 revealed that fewer than half of the programs were successful in achieving their objectives. Use of either formative or long-term evaluations in the program design was correlated with significantly higher rates of program success, as was…

Recounts the complications that arose when the author's teacher research began to focus on issues of institutional racism within the school in which she worked. Discusses the politics of studying one's own site, and the dilemmas and risks in that process. Explores the issues involved in teacher research that is oriented toward school change and…

Digitized information technology will transform education as the printing press transformed European culture. It can help educators achieve current goals more efficiently, and achieve new goals. It provides greater flexibility in pedagogy and greater access to educational resources. Equal access by all classes must be ensured, and teachers must…

Focuses on the influence of language on economic, social, and political change in postrevolutionary Cuba. One of Cuba's primary postrevolutionary objectives was the eradication of illiteracy. Linguistic policies with respect to both Spanish and foreign languages were seen as a means to build human value and to establish a strong base for future…

Discusses changes in academic libraries, especially reference services, in light of the needs of increasingly diverse ethnic and minority users who have traditionally been underserved and underrepresented. Library collections, budget priorities, recruitment and training of librarians and staff, campus support services, and the use of technology…

The founder of "New Moon," a magazine dedicated to empowering girls and edited by girls aged 8-14, discusses girls' truths, how the magazine is run, sexual orientation, the media and women's need for change, strong female role models, assumptions about beauty and gender roles, and the role of schools in gender-role socialization.…

This study investigated how middle school teachers used an electronic performance support system (EPSS) and whether the use affected their work performance and attitudes toward computer technology. Discusses changes in task performance, change agents, collaborative design, technology support, training, computer accessibility, and implications for…

Discusses the stress factors involved in moving overseas to teach, or in returning home after an overseas assignment. Includes warning signs of relocation stress, such as becoming fearful of new situations, being reluctant to talk about the move, and finding excessive fault with new people or places. (Contains 15 references.) (NB)

In 1956-57 John Metcalfe was seconded from the Public Library of New South Wales to the University of Sydney to report on the needs of the University Library. This is a forgotten chapter in that Library's history, and a hitherto unexamined aspect of Metcalfe's career. Metcalfe was apparently manoeuvering to leave the Public Library, and expected…