In January 1988 a group of Minneapolis-area citizens and educators formed the Chiron Steering Committee to design an experimental middle school program (grades 5-8). The result is the Chiron Middle School outlined in this proposal. The main body of the report focuses on a description of the Chiron proposal, including the program, schedule,…

Focusing on the role of the educational developer, the 19 essays in this collection provide a forum for educational developer practitioners: (1) to share their practices and insights; (2) to explore what it means to be an educational developer and instructional designer, and to give some philosophical reflection of the role; and (3) to clarify the…

A 3-day conference was convened in Zagreb, Yugoslavia for the purpose of disseminating results of the Council of Europe's Council for Cultural Cooperation's (CDCC) Project 8, Innovation in Primary Education (IPE). Changes in theoretical approaches to and organizational practices of primary education in Yugoslavia were discussed. A total of 61…

An educational reform effort to implement a comprehensive school act in British Columbia (Canada) is analyzed with a focus on some sociotechnical and political aspects. An overview of the content, background, and implementation of the reform effort is followed by identification of seven contradictions inherent in the plan. Contradictions are as…

Relating vocational to academic programs in U.S. high schools is a challenge. Usually, more academic subjects are required for graduation, while vocational study is squeezed into the electives. This is not a balance; what is needed is an interaction between the academic and the vocational, the product of which is a general education persuasively…

After the announcement of Head Start Innovative Projects in 1985, local Head Start programs were able to expand their services. A total of 32 projects were funded in 22 states and the District of Columbia, the majority for a 2-year period. This document reviews the accomplishments of five groups of Head Start Innovative Projects and calls on Head…

Community education once was an educational philosophy aimed at improving public schools and the communities they served. Today, community education may well offer a promise of salvation for American education. This book, containing six chapters, questions the present authoritarian, hierarchial American public school establishment. Beginning with…

Africa was unable to fulfill the objectives of making compulsory primary education available for all by 1980. As a result, the Harare (Zimbabwe) Declaration, signed by ministers of the United Nations members states of Africa in 1982, aimed to make primary schooling universal and to promote literacy among young people and adults on a massive scale.…

Application of the study of humanities in administrator education is explored in this paper. The argument is made that humanities studies help to conceptualize ideas and generate theory, and to represent and explain what is uniquely human. Effective administrators require problem-solving and critical thinking skills for dealing with people-related…

The mission of this conference was to explore and promote the integration of experiential learning with diverse communities and settings. The 60 presentations, workshops, and preconference events included in this proceedings manual are organized under the following topics: (1) foundations; (2) urban, school, and corporate environments; (3) social…

The Effective Schools Program in St. Louis, Missouri, public schools expanded the concept of effective schools developed in Project SHAL (1980-1984). The following five characteristics are considered effective school factors: (1) strong administrative leadership (2) high teacher expectations; (3) positive school climate; (4) total school…

In recognition of the twenty-first anniversary of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS), this essay reflects on the history and accomplishments of the system and considers its future as a mature component of Virginia's culture. First, the early years of the VCCS are examined, highlighting initial efforts to deal with the increasing demand…

For many years, St. Louis Community College at Meramec has offered two distinct sets of foreign language courses: day and evening credit courses on elementary and intermediate levels and noncredit, adult evening classes on elementary I and II levels. The 10-week adult courses were usually taught by part-time instructors, although full-time faculty…

Although vast numbers of educational innovations have been introduced into the nation's schools over the past 20 years, few have succeeded in effecting affective, behavioral, and cognitive student gains. Many recent studies have focused, therefore, on school change processes and the formulation of strategies for successful innovation…

Over the past 20 years, the middle school has been a major innovative movement changing the face of intermediate education. While hard to define exactly, middle schools have different priorities and purposes than junior high schools. The former serve preadolescents (ages 10 to 14) through a balanced, comprehensive program. Middle school programs…