The 1989 Dutch Higher Education and Scientific Research Act contains a new set of rules for universities and technical institutes and also a new policy approach, characterized by a system rather than institutional orientation. Several problems are seen in this as yet underdeveloped strategy. (MSE)

Adapting faculty personnel policies through creation or revision of a faculty handbook may respond constructively to change or even serve as a catalyst for change that extends to programs, administrative organization, and the campus culture. Eight stages for policy revision are outlined. (Author/MSE)

Rita Kramer, author of "Ed School Follies," argues that education schools contribute to education's problems through poor teacher preparation and overemphasis helping students feel good about themselves. Rather than training teachers to help students master knowledge, she says, the schools are transformed into agents of social change.…

Examines the community of libraries and library schools for the probability of its long-term survival in its present form. Evolutionary rates are considered, essential functions now performed by the library community are described, and two new functions are recommended for future survival: (1) research leadership in information science, and (2)…

Local system for public school governance has changed little since early twentieth century, when conception of school boards as trusteeships and superintendents as chief managers changed school-operating boards into policy boards. Since the late 1960s, local boards have reverted to politicized boards, increasingly involved in district…

Implemented 6-week parent-child-school contract program with parents of 12 elementary school students and compared behavior of those 12 students to that of 12 matched controls. Written contracts prepared by parents and child stated target behaviors and predetermined reward or privilege. Rate of weekly goal completion for experimental students was…

A recent report by a national policy studies institute dedicated to Latino affairs proposes that the cycle of educational failure among Latinos can be broken with more active efforts to recruit, prepare, and retain Latino teachers. This is especially so, it is argued, because of growth of the Latino community. (MSE)

Student evaluation methods (pass-fail vs. traditional grading) for Britain's honors curriculum are discussed. The British educational tradition concerning the honors degree is outlined, and the rationale for grading is examined. It is recommended that pass-fail grading based on specified learning outcomes be adopted for educational and practical…

In 1988, Indiana adopted a system of performance-based accreditation for its public schools. This article summarizes a study to describe the program's planning and implementation processes, evaluate program effects, and determine whether relationships exist among successful school improvement and planning and three elements identified in the…

Describes trust level theory in relation to Foxfire practices and educational change. Proposes that, as individuals in an organization move up an environmental quality scale, the value and nature of their organizational relationships improve, and fear is displaced by trust. Discusses seven trusting processes and their commonalities with Foxfire…

After 18 years of using a traditional approach to teaching, a middle-school teacher turned her classroom into a shared learning experience by giving students the responsibility to make choices about their education. To reassure parents who were skeptical of the Foxfire approach, she continued to interject traditional learning activities. (LP)

The process of changing was assessed in four schools at the midpoint of a five-year essential schools restructuring effort in Illinois. Cross-case analysis results in identification of factors affecting the change process by examining benchmarks of substantial agreement, observable change, all-school participation, and systemic leadership. (SLD)

Assigned community college first-year students (n=1,089) to three groups that differed with the intensity of a learning style intervention. Follow-up during the next semester revealed that students in the highest intensity group achieved significantly higher grade-point averages and higher retention rates than those in the other groups. (Author/NB)

Addresses the problems of racism in schools and reviews the historical and contemporary context of the policies and programs to reduce it. Discusses obstacles and challenges to implementing effective antiracist policies and programs. Presents strategies that address these challenges from a systems and an ecological approach. (MKA)

Most school board members and superintendents want to leave a lasting legacy to their district. To do this, they need to acknowledge that large-scale change is complex and takes time and that the system will outlast them. Board members can give their communities the gifts of vision, process, and competence. (MLF)