Recent trends in curriculum development in Irish post-primary schools are traced according to two models: the classic-centrist and the romantic-decentralist. The classic model, initiated by agencies external to the school, views curriculum development as a science and focuses on accountability and competency-based teaching and testing. The…

An educational reform effort to implement a comprehensive school act in British Columbia (Canada) is analyzed with a focus on some sociotechnical and political aspects. An overview of the content, background, and implementation of the reform effort is followed by identification of seven contradictions inherent in the plan. Contradictions are as…

Because public school districts have highly permeable organizational boundaries, analyses of their structures and processes should include consideration of external as well as internal factors. Such analyses have become feasible with the application of general systems theory, which views organizations as functioning units that have continuous…

The Whatcom Community College District (WCCD) was created by the Washington State legislature in 1967. With no money available to construct a traditional campus and no evidence that there was a sufficient number of potential students in any case, a non-traditional institution was designed, operating out of rented and borrowed classrooms throughout…

This collection of short articles addresses several issues. The first article briefly discusses the growing lack of confidence in schools, with a glance at the role of the mass media. The second article, an interview on the same topic, looks at the state's loss of credibility regarding education and other areas in the United States and other…

In 1981 a study was conducted at the San Diego Community College District to: (1) identify the types and quantity of internal reprographic services currently being provided in the District; (2) identify the types of services for which the District was contracting with outside printers; (3) provide an inventory of reprographic equipment in the…

Discussed are the procedures implemented in the Orleans Parish Schools in response to the Louisiana state-mandated promotional testing program (Act 750, 1979), and concerns regarding its value. Recent findings raise fundamental questions about whether an exclusively skills-focused curriculum in the early years provides the needed grounding in…

The predicted declines in higher education enrollment coupled with continuing increases in costs have caused administrators to rethink the tradeoffs resulting from interinstitutional cooperation and competition. In considering alternate courses, five basic questions are addressed: (1) To what extent do institutions nationally engage in cooperative…

Based on a three-part study conducted by the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD), this report presents recommendations for the cost-effective utilization of audio-visual (AV) equipment. The report first details the study's methodology, which involved a survey of the AV management practices at 10 California community colleges, an…

The development and use of library statistics in the Soviet Union and systems of reporting are discussed in this speech by E.A. Fenelonov, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic, and are compared with statistical development in the United States by Vernon E. Palmour of King Research, Inc. Fenelonov emphasizes the use…

PART OF A LONG-TERM STUDY OF CITY-COUNTY FISCAL RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN MONROE COUNTY, THIS REPORT IS CONCERNED SOLELY WITH PUBLIC POLICY, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND STRUCTURAL ADEQUACY. THE MAJOR OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY WAS TO DEFINE THE AREAS OF FINANCIAL NEED AND TO RELATE THESE TO THE OVER-ALL OBJECTIVES OF THE LIBRARY…

This paper discusses the allocation of policy influences at the national, state, and local levels of government. A theory of what causes a change from a decentralized to a more centralized system is developed and whether and how such a theory of change is related to a theory of the origins of a federal system is explored. The author presents…

A study was undertaken in the Spring of 1974 to evaluate the effectiveness of the administrative structure of the instructional program of East Los Angeles College (ELAC) and to make recommendations for change. Since ELAC was founded 29 years ago each new discipline has been established as a separate department; at the time of the study 27 such…

This study discusses innovation in the inservice education and training of teachers (INSET) in Australia. Section I discusses the background of the structure of the Australian school system, the role INSET plays in the educational system, national, state, and local policy and structuring, and various other aspects of Australian education. Section…

An assessment of the present status of the small high school in Alberta, Canada, a prediction of the probable future of rural high schools of various sizes, and the generation of recommendations for the improvement of the educational opportunities provided by necessarily existent small high schools were the objectives of this investigation. The…