Describes the conversion of graphic design studios at Virginia Commonwealth University from traditional to electronic environments. Interviews with undergraduates, graduate students, lab assistants, faculty, and administrators regarding the changing environment are summarized; and resulting conclusions and recommendations are presented. Examples…

Describes planning backwards, the Coalition of Essential Schools' educational policymaking strategy for high schools. The article discusses five possible dilemmas in planning backwards: outcomes or exhibitions, local or remote authority, rigid or flexible standards, apartness or authenticity in assessment, and curriculum scaffolds built of courses…

This article describes the University of Utah's approach to preparing teachers of students with disabilities for change in the schools. The discussion addresses coursework and field experiences which stress the process of change, through the examination of professional roles, socio-technical systems analysis, cultural perspectives, and ongoing…

Analyzes why the current complex of social institutions and systems does not effectively serve poor children, highlighting the lack of early or preventative help for families and inappropriate organizational structure. Offers a series of five principles for a new foundation based on prevention, comprehensiveness, continuity, and accountability.…

Portland State University (Oregon) has substantially changed its administrative organization through multiple, interrelated strategies: consolidation of units; streamlining of middle management; staff training and professional development; a quality initiative; campus technological conversion; and joint ventures with a sister institution. A clear…

A discussion of the implications of health care reform for academic health centers (a complex of institutions which educate health professionals) looks at problems in the current system, the role of academic health centers in the current system, financial pressures, revenue sources other than patient care, impact on health research, and human…

A discussion of recent changes in Israeli higher education looks at the system's structure, emergence of private law schools, the upgrading of some vocationally oriented postsecondary institutions to academic status, academic tracks of study within regional colleges, and possible future developments. Some comparisons are made with trends in other…

Significant increases in college faculty productivity will require fundamental restructuring of faculty members' work, which will meet with resistance. It will mean maximizing essential faculty-student interaction, integrating new technology fully into student learning processes, and enhancing learning through peer interaction. (MSE)

The role of increased teacher unionization during the current period of reform in Australian education is examined critically. It is argued that conventional industrial-style unionization is not supportive of educational values and that a more inclusive model of educational accountability is needed. (Author/MSE)

Recent trends in Finnish higher education are examined, from the formulation of national policy since the 1980s to recent experiments in financing and accountability, efforts at promoting efficiency, and the conflict between traditional academic collegiality and imposition of government decision making. (MSE)

Describes factors creating information gaps between different sectors of Nigerian society. These include illiteracy; ineffective government policy; inadequate funds, staff, and information resources; lack of coordination; and inefficient publishing. A National Commission on Information is proposed, and its function and organization are described.…

The International Federation for Information and Documentation (FID) is helping to establish an alliance of nongovernmental organizations representing librarians, archivists, information scientists, and the publishing and communications industries. Over 55 organizations are invited to sign a resolution (included in the article) that articulates a…

Describes the products and services available from the National Center to Improve Practice (NCIP), which exists to promote change within schools and local districts to increase the use of educational technology with students with disabilities. NCIP's awareness materials, telecommunications network, video conferences, technical assistance services…

Traces development and implementation of a 4-day school week at an Alberta junior high school that extended the school day 40 minutes, resulted in more classes taught in a shorter time period, and decreased student discipline problems. Describes parent and community reactions. Includes recommendations for planning educational change. (LP)

Challenging prevalent views of teachers as technicians, bureaucratic agents, and deskilled intellectuals, the article recommends restructuring teachers' roles by considering them public intellectuals, exploring pedagogical and curricular transformations and changes in workplace conditions that might empower individual teachers and emancipate…