This paper examines the shifting nature of Further Education (FE) professionalism through the lenses of the Transforming Learning Cultures in FE (TLC) project. Despite over a decade of market and managerial reform professionalism in FE remains an elusive and paradoxical concept. With some notable exceptions there exists little official data or…

The authors studied a course in which an instructor allowed individuals at a distance to participate. Although these students were not formally enrolled in the university where the class took place, the instructor gave them full access to all course materials and encouraged them to complete course assignments. The authors examined the time and…

The accelerated schools process provides a systematic approach to the restructuring of schools. Developed in 1986 by Henry M. Levin, the strategy seeks to provide the best education for all students. During the first stage, the "taking stock" phase, everyone in the school community works together to develop a comprehensive school…

The schools of the National School Network Testbed, through their affiliated Internet-based telecommunications projects and consortia, represent the leading edge of elementary and secondary school use of the emerging digital communications network. The Baseline Survey provides a statistical portrait of the charter group of school members of the…

The New American Schools Development Corporation (NASDC) supports seven design teams that develop and implement comprehensive designs for high-performance schools. By 1995 plans had been developed for over 200 participating schools. This paper presents findings of a study that explored the elements of school-accountability systems that aid or…

This paper presents the findings from an evaluation of SUCCEED (Southwestern University and College Coalition for Engineering Education), a National Science Foundation (NSF) coalition. The presentation is made in several stages: (1) a review of the background and goals of the NSF coalitions, SUCCEED in particular; (2) a discussion of the methods…

To look at the issue of institutional constraints that could be affecting the implementation of portfolios in teacher education courses, a 10-item survey was distributed over e-mail to subscribers of four listservs. In addition, several surveys were sent to colleagues of the author who were using portfolios but who were not subscribers to…

The concept of "world class," often used in reference to education, lacks a precise, universal definition. This book presents case studies of exemplary schools. The foreword by Fenwick W. English presents a developmental concept of world-class education, in which fair and comparable standards, with sufficient room for sociocultural…

This paper reports the findings of research on the plans of multiracial primary schools in England to implement a series of innovations in the educational system. The Education Reform Acts of 1986 and 1988 instituted innovations which included: (1) a national curriculum; (2) nationally imposed salaries; (3) a national teacher appraisal scheme; (4)…

This policy brief clarifies the definition of charter schools and explores their place in school restructuring and reform by describing existing charter schools in Minnesota and California, examining legislative and contract guidelines, and discussing the future possibilities of charter schools. Charter schools are sponsor-created and…

A charter school is an autonomous entity that operates on the basis of a charter or contract between the individual or group (teachers, parents, and others) that organizes the school and its sponsor (local school board, county, or state board). Once granted a charter, the school receives educational formula-driven funding as though it were a…

This final report describes a Cultural Diversity Innovation project implemented in 1992-93 at Indiana State University (ISU). The central objective of the project was to enrich cultural diversity elements in the Masters in Public Administration (MPA) curriculum at ISU through the presentations of visiting faculty from historically black colleges…

Although the demand for formal evaluation of alternative schools is greater than for conventional schools, the unique characteristics of these schools make evaluation especially challenging. Use of traditional instruments and methods may yield misleading results. Evaluators must understand the issues associated with the evaluation of alternative…

The California Educational Research Cooperative (CERC) is a partnership between county and local school systems and the School of Education at the University of California, Riverside. The annual report of this organization is presented. The report details the missions and goals of CERC and its effort to bring professionals and research scholars…

A study examined two traditional, comprehensive high schools, both of which had been involved with the school restructuring efforts advocated by the Coalition of Essential Schools. Shortly after their commitment to essential school changes, the schools became involved in a series of vocational education reforms referred to as Tech Prep. Case…