The authors, representing the viewpoints of the academic and the practicing consultant, consider the integration of intervention theory and practice in public schools. The first part of the presentation discusses the intervention theory as a guide to the activities of the organizational change agent. The distinctive characteristics of the public…

This paper deals with an approach to school system change -- the establishment of a change agent team to plan for and manage specific changes and to facilitate and perpetuate an innovative climate. It presents case studies of change agent teams in three Wisconsin school systems. A model for change agent team planning and action -- problem…

This federal project to improve vocational education in the inner cities in the West, involving 10 inservice institutes with 720 vocational educators from 24 metropolitan areas, aims to formulate career education models which meet the training needs of disadvantaged youth and adults, to evaluate the applicability of vocational education…

A study examining various pertinent aspects of child day care is presented. Two questions are focused upon: (1) How does a community get group day care?, and (2) Once day care is obtained, how can the community regulate its quality? Also included in this study is an exploratory look at the clientele of day care centers--parents and their…

This preliminary report describes five social studies pilot programs in the counties of Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York, Pennsylvania. It is expected that these pilot endeavors will affect educators in the counties served by SPEEDIER as follows: 1) increase understanding of the newer content, ideas, and strategies in the pilot programs; 2)…

This survey updates a 1970 study by Paul S. Reigel and Robert L. Bender. Two hundred fifty members of the Association for the Study of Higher Education listed ten titles they considered to be basic or current reading within their designated area of specialization and five journals and periodicals they felt were the most useful and informative…

Through a longitudinal study of compensatory education programs conducted by the school district of River Rouge, Michigan, the question as to whether the application of an interorganizational change model produces significant improvements was tested. The compensatory education program, both before the interorganizational model and after it, was…

The research design (called a Model for Educational Improvement), which was employed to compare the process of community educational change in Wisconsin, England, and Taiwan, is described. It was designed to demonstrate the means by which the following can be compared across cultures: Comparative influence on educational matters that are assigned…

In this hearing on the District of Columbia's public school system (DCPS), the Honorable Tom Davis, chairman of the Committee on Government Reform, says in his opening statement that the District's improved health cannot be sustained without a better public school system, and that the lack of performance improvement threatens future growth and…

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funds a 5-year program supporting the start-up of new small high schools of no more than 400 students and the conversion of larger high schools into smaller, more personalized schools or learning communities. This report focuses on the program's first year and compares new small schools, large high schools…

The central need in education is to recognize that many of the gains in pupil achievement, as measured in test scores, may not be sustainable if educators continue to be fixated on short-term outcomes and plans. This paper addresses the key concerns of how educators sustain and develop schools through the deployment of effective planning…

Effective building leadership and time utilization are important to the success of implementing change. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe the experiences of an urban junior high school principal involved in a collaborative change effort. Specifically studied were the principal's actions, behavior, communication, and…

In this California state curriculum model for grade 5, "United States History and Geography: A New Nation," students study the historical developments leading to the discovery and colonization of North America by European countries and the ensuing interactions between Native Americans, Europeans, and enslaved Americans. The curriculum…

School counselors need new ideas to initiate change in school counseling programs. This book presents a collection of innovative paradigms and approaches. Part 1 presents articles on techniques and methods of counseling interventions: (1) Student Rights (C. C. Hogan); (2) At-Risk Students and Violence (L. Giusti); (3) Conflict Management (D. R.…

This study attempted to assess family empowerment with participants in Access Vermont, a multilevel crisis intervention project for children with emotional disturbances and their families. The study used the Family Empowerment Scale, a scale based on two dimensions of empowerment level (comprised of family, service system, and community/political)…