This paper describes a new and innovative approach to school improvement called Knowledge Work Supervision (KWS). KWS draws on individual and team-based knowledge work; uses school-community strategic planning methods; encourages participative work redesign; and redesigns knowledge work, social architecture, and environmental relationships. KWS…

This report presents eight different approaches adapted by schools to dramatically raise student achievement. The schools combine comprehensive, whole-school change with systems-level restructuring to help a large proportion of schools around the country achieve excellence. The eight programs include (1) ATLAS (Authentic Teaching, Learning, and…

Multiage/multiability grouping is when more than one grade level of students is grouped in a classroom. This report summarizes the research on multiage/multiability grouping in the primary grades. The paper, which is intended for use in Kentucky's educational system, focuses on quantitatively based comparative research syntheses. The text…

Findings from a study to determine the knowledge base among Kentucky superintendents about site-based management (SBM) are presented in this paper. Questionnaires mailed to all of the state's 177 public school superintendents yielded a 73 percent response rate. Findings indicate that while there was considerable interest in SBM, there was…

The process of how innovations develop from ideas and as responses to needs within a middle-school setting is the focus of this study. The dynamics of influence and leadership behavior that contribute to two schoolwide innovations are examined. The study findings highlight the importance of strategic thinking and of the creation of integrating…

Broad patterns in the last 30 years of research on educational change are traced in this synthesis paper. The three dominant perspectives are: (1) the rational-scientific perspective that posits that change is created by the dissemination of innovative techniques; (2) the political perspective (the "top-down" approach) that generates…

This study examined the involvement of students with disabilities in the New American Schools Development Corporation (NASDC) projects. The report begins with a description of the competition to select demonstration projects that would create teams to design, implement, and disseminate "break-the-mold" schools to bring about educational…

To date, only two states (Minnesota and California) have passed charter-school legislation. This report presents details from these two states regarding charter-school formation, including roles played by teachers and organizers, by local school boards as sponsors, and by county or state officials in providing an appeals process and technical…

Following a preliminary discussion of school effectiveness, school-based management (SBM) elements, changing roles for school community members, and common implementation problems, this newsletter summarizes a research project testing one school district's readiness for implementing SBM. The project attempted to determine the knowledge,…

Part I of this book, which comprises the bulk of the volume, consists of a bibliography of approximately 650 publications on child education. The publications include articles from 58 Indian journals and newspapers published in the English language. The bibliography also references books, research reports, and doctoral theses that have been…

This book examines the influences of governmental regulation on the behavior of higher education institutions in several nations with respect to designing and implementing innovations in curricula. Part I contains theoretical and empirical analyses in four chapters while Part II presents case studies of three nations, the Netherlands, West Germany…

An examination of recently published college-level textbooks give an indication of what is taught in introducing cultural, world, regional, and economic geography courses. The paper suggests that the ideas of anthropologist Don E. Dumond should be included in classroom discussions on population. Dumond draws parallels between an industrial society…

This monograph describes recently initiated or proposed school- and community-sponsored educational programs for African American male children and youth. The decline in the urban industrial economy, the departure of middle- and working-class African Americans from the inner cities, and the burgeoning African American birthrate have contributed to…

New educational programs are attempting to meet the needs of male African American students. The new programs vary widely in approach, scope, content, and targeted age group. However, they all focus on helping African American male youth develop productive behaviors and values by bringing them into contact with African American male adults. The…

New findings from a Rockefeller Foundation study spotlight the possible gains from fully integrated programs of education and employment. The findings are especially relevant to programs of basic education and employment developing under the Family Support Act. The integrated model focuses employment training on a specific job, relates basic…