Parent participation in elementary school classrooms provides teachers with a valuable and varied resource, but also requires deeper teacher involvement in students' private lives and skill in managing time. The growth of a parent participation program in Salt Lake City, Utah, proves such programs can succeed. (PGD)

Describes a technique for student evaluation of teacher performance, utilizing the involvement approach. Students evaluate the teacher midterm. The evaluations are then made available to a committee of volunteers drawn from the class. The committee identifies problem areas of instruction and recommends changes. (RM)

School improvement efforts involving implementation of new practices need support at two levels: assistance focused on the content, and assistance focused on the context. Assisters should include central office staff, principals, teachers, and external assisters. (MD)

In a study of innovation implementation in Scotland, researchers found that it occurred idiosyncratically. They concluded that changes in working patterns in schools are essential. Discussing these findings, this author concludes that changes will occur because of teacher initiatives, not external innovations. (MD)

Described is a method of lecturing in which the lecture period is divided into a number of segments. Only some segments involve the lecturer talking. In others students discuss topics or complete exercises. An example of such a lecture on aspects of Christaller's central place theory is described. (Author/RM)

Social studies educators are encouraged to investigate propositions that have been extracted from anthropological literature in order to determine their value in shedding new light on learning and teaching. For example, anthropologists believe that learning and teaching are processes associated with cultural transmission and that social…

The organization and procedures of universities make it tempting to try to avoid contemporary challenges to graduate education. Much of the malaise in current graduate education results from a focus on the decline in resources, in the availability of conventional careers for graduates, and in the availability of talented students. (Author/MLW)

The power and authority of the graduate school can affect the quality of graduate programs in schools of education and the freedom to innovate them. Schools of education are creating programs in nontraditional areas, establishing relationships with other departments, and recruiting and supporting students outside school-related areas. (Author/MLW)

Achieving flexibility without losing student accountability is a challenge that faces every school. With a fluid block schedule, as described here, accountability is maintained without inhibiting flexibility. An additional advantage is that three levels of schedule decision making take some of the pressure off the principal. (Editor)

Evidence is offered about the effectiveness of old as well as new approaches to instruction, plus a preview of likely approaches in the future. It is noted that institutions are adopting new approaches to instruction on an unprecedented scale. (Editor/LBH)

Reports on Cuyohoga Community College's Emergency Medical Technician program which trains ambulance drivers and other emergency medical personnel and which has helped to make Cleveland's emergency medical service into a national model. (DC)

Discusses the PLATO computer educational network, examples of various computer simulation modules, and educational benefits and problems of teaching by computer. (MLH)

Presented is the argument that educational innovation can be overdone, and that increased teacher efficiency does not necessarily relate to improved quality of teaching. (SL)

IGE is considered one of the better conceived and more promising of current approaches to the improvement of schools and enhancement of education. (MM)

The author, one of the originators and developers of the clinical supervision process, offered a cogent rationale for clinical supervision. He defined clinical supervision and discussed the psychological-sociological basis for its practice. (Editor)