Gives an overview of Educational Support Systems based on commercial off-the-shelf software (ESSCOTS), and discusses the benefits of developing such educational software. Presents results of a study that revealed the learning processes of middle and high school students who used a geographical information system. (JMV)

Describes Lehigh Valley 2000, a collaborative approach to enhance education and learning underway in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, where a business-education partnership is creating fertile ground for educational innovations and system reform. Action committees that involve more than 200 people address recommendations for educational change.…

Describes the contributions of three women educators to Japanese education and to the development of the modern Japanese empire. Criticizes Japanese historiography that ignores the role of conservative women. Discusses the educators' views of the importance of female education to help women raise children who could benefit the state. (DK)

Describes the role of the New American Schools Development Corporation (i.e., a private nonprofit organization established by business leaders to reexamine the nation's schools) in bringing about systemic change in education. A design team competition that involved collaboration among business, education, and community leaders is explained; and…

A study of teachers' experiences in four schools suggests that successful implementation of cooperatively planned, resource-based teaching is dependent upon continuous and visible administrative support, shared leadership, and opportunities for teachers to share their ideas and successes with one another. (six references) (EA)

Describes problems in rural education and highlights reform programs in rural schools. Many reform programs combine school improvement with rural economic development. Barriers to reform include the One Best System Model and consolidation. Local control of schools is a key to successful reform. (KS)

"Honeypot management" describes the skills needed to acquire and manage categorical funding, a mechanism linking resources to specific activities. In contrast, block grants are intended to be used according to local perceptions of priority and need. This paper explores the applicability of various funding models and their impact on the…

Defines informatics as both a pure and an applied science dealing with information technology and its uses and examines the organization of education from two different perspectives: how applications of informatics may impact on education, forcing it to change; and how the educational system may deal with problems to effectively integrate…

Although the benefits of student-centered or collaborative learning are real, the arguments made for them often appear ideological rather than pedagogical and rather than encouraging diversity, require revision of fundamental aspects of cognitive personality. What is needed is a broad view of the variety in teachers' and students' intellectual…

Discusses the "qualifications" required of young people to enter the adult world, and the role of education as gatekeeper. Suggests that rapid technological advances and accompanying worldwide social changes will force educational changes, away from industrialized models and toward alternative forms of "postcompulsory" education and lifelong…

A discussion of Dutch higher vocational education (HVE) looks at the place of HVE in the overall postsecondary system, its system of governance, its role in the reorganization of higher education, and efforts at innovation. Part-time programs are seen as a likely way to serve needs and cut costs. (MSE)

The Harvard University Medical School (Massachusetts) and a community health maintenance organization (HMO) have formed the first medical school department to be based in a freestanding HMO, replicating the conventional teaching hospital clinical teaching model in a managed care situation. The model is seen as potentially transforming medical…

This article examines parallels between participatory development projects and English language teaching (ELT) projects in the developing world, focusing on the need to involve local teachers and administrators in ELT development projects. Ten strategies for managers of innovation in ELT projects are included. (12 references) (MDM)

It is unclear whether the New American Schools Development Corporation will create a systematic research program or whether the approach through design teams will stimulate random innovation. This paper discusses unanswered questions about President Bush's current proposals. (SLD)

Current educational reform proposals are fixed on modifying existing structures and lack imagination. Cooperative learning and individualized instruction are time-worn "innovations" treating the symptoms of a terminally ill system. This article presents 32 transitions to transform education into a world-based, teacherless experience featuring…