Discussion of technical/vocational education in Portugal looks at the system's recent history, characteristics, and the influences of class stratification and industrial demand. Recommendations include reform in college/university admissions policy, universal exposure to technical/vocational education, specialized training for economic…

Analysis of recent vocational education reforms in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech and Slovak republics looks at the nature of modernization efforts and structural changes, and the role of foreign assistance and international cooperation. Current initiatives are seen as an attempt to catch up with the Western world of the 1970s. (MSE)

Reviews the emerging second wave of research generated by many different countries and relates findings about good school characteristics to broader managerial issues concerned with the actual implementation of effective schools research. School improvement programs should be school-based and "whole school"-oriented and dependent on outside…

Discusses the effects of rapid development and deployment of information processing technology and the aging of the workforce on library technical services. Problems that can result are considered, and ergonomic solutions, training, change management, and the avoidance of stereotypes are advocated. (Contains nine references.) (EAM)

Systems thinking involves seeing relationships between the parts to the whole within the school improvement effort. After providing the key principles and examples of systems thinking, the article emphasizes the importance of staff development, highlighting experiences at a Wellesley (Massachusetts) middle school and an Alaskan high school. (SM)

Parents, community members, and school staff are involved in planning and staff development for systemic change in Columbus (Ohio) public schools. The model is site-based, data-driven, and school-specific. The article reviews effective schools features and program features, noting the success of the collaborative effort. (SM)

Describes the development of an alternative preservice teacher education program that helped students realize that children learn through constructing ideas about the world and themselves and demonstrated the belief that learning to teach is a process of constructing meaning. The program encouraged student teachers to explore their potential for…

Recent research shows that at-risk young people involved in well-planned and supervised peer-tutoring situations improve their grade point averages, literacy and study skills, reading comprehension, ability to identify long-range goals, and self-confidence. This article describes a high school peer-tutoring program applicable to middle school…

The Maryland Partnership for Teaching and Learning has brought together the state's education department, higher-education commission, and university system to ensure success for all students. This goal is achievable via high expectations, aligned standards and college admission requirements, modified college general education requirements, and…

To close the Anglo/ethnic minority achievement gap, 11 education and community leaders formed the El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence. Two goals were paramount: ensuring success among K-16 youngsters in area educational institutions and ensuring all high-school graduates' readiness for college. The program achieved impressive results.…

Faculty incentives are skewed away from the collegiate ideal, particularly at research universities. It is not inevitable that research-oriented faculty divorce themselves from students and campus life, but active participation requires changes in faculty culture, evaluation/reward structures, and types of conversation in which faculty engage on…

A discussion of the new scrutiny of faculty tenure by legislators and governing boards presents the views of four critics of traditional tenure. Topics addressed include problems associated with tenure, financial and educational perspectives on faculty productivity, possible alternatives to tenure, and implications for academic freedom.…

Although necessary for a diversified student body, minority teachers are underrepresented due to a lingering resistance to integration efforts, unappealing classroom conditions, salary issues, and culturally biased professional exams. Equitable placement procedures, incentives, competitive salaries, mentoring programs, subject-area recruitment,…

Summarizes the status of preservice special-education teachers' preparation for diversity based on a review of the special-education literature. Issues regarding the special-education literature base, special-education professional standards, and special-education organizational structures are addressed. Identified challenges include retooling…

Examines the changing environment for serving adult learners, with special attention to new modes of delivering instruction: distance education; use of information technology; emphasis on convenience; focus on special markets; and emergence of large-scale, profit-driven enterprises. Argues that, to develop an effective response, universities must…