Outcome-based education (OBE) and authentic assessment have the potential to greatly improve teacher and counselor preparation programs in rural higher education institutions, but require paradigm shifts, especially at the faculty and administration level, for successful implementation. Characteristics and advantages of OBE and authentic…

Describes recent state initiatives to improve child care for Mississippi children. Efforts include development of a child care director's credential, on-site training through staff at mobile training vans, initiatives to heighten consumer awareness and help parents make informed choices, voter education projects, and free yearly conferences for…

A study investigated organizational change at five community colleges, each having a relatively new president. Data were gathered from institutional documents, state agency documents, and interviews with faculty, administrators, and support staff at each institution. Results indicate that perceptions of leadership succession, the particular…

Identifies four climate conditions that influenced a rural community college's ability to respond to and recognize information relating to changes in learner needs: (1) organizational structure; (2) empowerment; (3) interdependence/communication; and (4) shared vision. Asserts that these four variables help college leaders initiate organizational…

Investigated classroom management techniques of K-12 teachers whose classrooms included children with Down Syndrome. Teachers, all selected by parents as successful, reported that praise was the best motivator for the Down Syndrome children, and the most effective learning methods were individual and small-group instruction, hands-on activities,…

A 4-year study of 9 Ontario secondary schools examined their capacity for change. Change capacity consisted of liberation from structures that inhibit innovation, honoring cognitive dissonance, and forging new relationships. Imposing new organizational structures was less likely to perpetuate change capacity than was a commitment improvement…

Teachers in developing nations have low levels of education and lack access to professional development. An inservice teacher education program in Pakistan exposes teachers to current Western theories on teaching and learning to overcome the transmission style of teaching so widespread in the developing world. Graduates facilitate educational…

Discusses the productivity and work days of white collar workers. Topics include productivity improvement; task analysis; the amount of time spent reading, and how to reduce it by improving writing skills; time spent in meetings; empowered time management; and sustaining a climate for change. (LRW)

Investigated the effect of a three-semester diversity cohort experience for college of education, arts and sciences, and K-12 educators. Survey results described three change/diversity-training factors: readiness for change, community building, and utilization of adult-learning principles. Results highlighted the possibility of delivering an…

Attitudes towards "setting," a form of student grouping by ability, were studied in four Scottish primary schools. A slight majority of students and a slight minority of teachers preferred set classes. Positive aspects of sets included smaller classes and independent learning in lower-ability sets, and positive class atmospheres.…

Higher education seems to be traveling along four change paths, each of which represents a way for the outreach function to add value to institutional capacity and identity. Theses paths are identified and compared with regard to specific outcome sought, primary means used, resource allocations, and (4) changes made in the faculty reward system.…

As distance learning brings changes to traditional higher-education institutions and creates new educational providers, the college or university governing board must reexamine issues of institutional purpose, quality, and finance. Outlines questions for boards to ask, and cites a study of current institutional response to trends in distance…

The traditional dichotomy in higher education between the world of knowledge and that of pedagogy also defines the role of the field of teacher education. Recent initiatives to improve undergraduate teaching have ignored potential contributions of teacher preparation programs and education departments to campuswide discussions of learning, leaving…

Describes an ongoing reengineering project at Yuan Ze University (Taiwan) that has brought about significant change by providing integrated information services to the campus community. Discusses the change process, obstacles encountered, and strategies used to overcome them. Obstacles to the change process were not predominantly technological,…

Examined whether preschool quality could be enhanced through competence development in teaching staff simultaneous to organizational changes and financial cutbacks. Tested a model for competence development with an intervention group that took part in a competence development program. Found that the development work led to a higher quality in…