The Government Accounting Office (GAO) was asked to: (1) describe major federal requirements that affect school districts; (2) identify key issues school districts face in implementing these requirements; and (3) analyze the impact of the Department of Education's flexibility initiatives on school districts' ability to address these implementation…

School-community collaborations are partnerships that can take different forms and serve many purposes. An overview of some partnership models is provided in this text. It shows how schools can play a central role in the revitalization of a community by serving as community centers and by fostering school-based enterprises. Ways in which students…

Five background papers were produced for the Research, Development and Dissemination System Committee of the National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board in preparation for the proposed reauthorization of the Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement. The first paper, "Shaping the Future of…

While the concept of choice is not new to families able to take advantage of the available options, the idea of giving parents nearly total freedom in selecting their children's public school is new. Proponents of choice claim it results in higher test scores, fewer dropouts, and more involved parents. Critics maintain that there is no proof of…

From 1973 to 1978, the Rand Corporation conducted a national study of local public schools' responses to various federal programs requiring educational change--Title III of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Title VII of the ESEA, programs financed by the 1968 Vocational Education Act, and the Right-to-Read program. This paper…

Plans for transforming middle-level schools in Illinois are described in this report, which serves as a guiding document for creating middle-level schools that acknowledge the needs of early adolescence. The report, facilitated by a Carnegie report entitled "Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century," describes early…

Proceedings of a conference designed to provide a group of teachers, administrators and university professors with an opportunity to share information on initiating and sustaining innovative programs in education are summarized in this paper. The participants represented 21 exemplary programs in mathematics, science, and/or computer education as…

Ways in which strategies drawn from the local change process literature can enhance the broader implementation of a new approach to site-based management (SBM) are described in this paper. The first section presents a new conceptual framework for SBM that is based on decentralizing power, knowledge, information, and rewards within systemic…

The process of making one's own mask and having one's mask made was offered as an experiential exercise for a group of Outward Bound students training to be Outward Bound instructors. The integration of expressive arts with outdoor experiential education was an attempt to encourage balance between the technical and interpersonal skill development…

This paper seeks to provide a framework by which educators can understand the increasing "globalization" of the world, and what responses education can and should make. The environmental movement, trends in citizenship education, and developments in telecommunications technology are each discussed in terms of what they may have to offer…

This paper outlines a neo-Deweyan strategy to transform American public schools into genuine community schools that function as central agencies for the development of a democratic welfare society. John Dewey's thesis was that a well-functioning school system constitutes the necessary, though not sufficient, condition for a well-functioning…

The role of textbook publishing in educational reform is examined in this paper. The study evaluated a 4-year project in which three schools in the Netherlands implemented an open learning program (OLP) and created their own publishing company. Following the introduction, the second part provides a description of the OLP. The third part explains…

This paper addresses issues in integrating higher order thinking into the general curriculum. Data are based on a series of telephone interviews conducted in April and May 1992 with six leading thinkers in educational reform. They included: (1) Michael Apple, John Bascom Professor of Curriculum, Instruction, and Educational Policy Studies at the…

This booklet describes 12 Blue Ribbon secondary schools chosen during the 1991 federal recognition program. Representing a cross-section of America, these schools are characterized by a clear vision; empowered, hard-working teachers; a school environment that supports learning; use of local resources; and programs other than classroom learning.…

This publication presents case studies of 10 colleges and universities that developed creative approaches to resource allocation in order to confront the fiscal realities facing higher education. The case studies describe strategic review and planning efforts in times of fiscal austerity. They look at streamlining, but also explore permanent…