The approach used by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine for developing management systems that promote change and encourage innovation is described. The major elements of this scheme are: centralization of administrative functions, communication networks, consensus among constituencies, teaching performance in promotion process, and…

Describes Southeastern Louisiana University's developmental English microcomputer laboratory and the changes undertaken since the facility was funded in 1983. Stresses the importance of a good support system of faculty and graduate assistants. Presents evaluation results showing improvements in students' attitudes and writing skills. (DMM)

Examines the demise of the Icelandic Social Science Curriculum Project (SSCP) as an example of progressive educational reform thwarted by neofundamentalist ideologies. States that the paper goes beyond Jerome Bruner's 1984 account of the rise and fall of "Man: A Course of Study" to provide a deeper analysis of the politics of…

Educational cooperation in the Nordic countries is described. Specifically discussed are elementary, secondary, and higher education, special education; adult education; research emphases; and exchange of information. (RM)

Five orientations to art education include creative development, social and cultural awareness, art history and criticism, art studio, and design and craft. Art curricula can be developed in an external mode (i.e., outside the school), a mixed mode, or in an internal mode, and can have varying degrees of prescriptiveness. (RM)

The assumptions of the conventional structure of undergraduate medical education are questioned. Available data are reviewed and the need is stressed for reform of the aims, content, and context of medical school learning preceding the clinical years. (Author/MLW)

To facilitate career change among adults, Central Michigan University developed innovative means of helping learners develop skills needed for advanced course work in management. These efforts include the preparation of a reader containing basic theories and seminal writings, diagnostic instruments and self-study guides, and noncredit workshops.…

A model to assess instructor concerns about, and use of, the innovation or change in classroom procedures and materials has been proposed and tested for its effectiveness in a vocational curriculum area. Indications are that this model has promise for improving the installation of desired change in vocational curricula. (Author)

Organizational adaptation and types of adaptation needed in academe in the future are reviewed and major conceptual approaches to organizational adaptation are presented. The probable environment that institutions will face in the future that will require adaptation is discussed. (MLW)

Situations often thought of as geographically or historically peripheral to the education system may provide the stimulus for educational innovation. How the well-known educators Freinet, Don Milani, and Freire developed their methods in peripheral situations is discussed. Implications to be found in peripheral education for teacher training are…

Reviews the history and conclusions of school effectiveness research, which focuses on student achievement, and of school improvement research, which emphasizes educational innovation per se; analyzes the methodologies of these two lines of inquiry. Distills from both bodies of literature seven school characteristics that constitute excellence.…

Argues that by viewing computer technology as a facilitator of instruction and one that is relatively easy to operate and apply to a specific content area, teachers can come to feel less apprehensive about entering into an instructional contract with it. (FL)

Concluding thoughts of offered about the evidence regarding improved learning and the role of research and evaluation in further improvements. It is suggested that continual monitoring of outcomes will be necessary because of changing times. Suggested readings are included on attrition and retention, developmental outcomes, innovation and…

A review of the development and anticipated expansion of noncampus community colleges. Areas discussed include: activities and functions, students, enrollment patterns, part-time instructors, the colleges' methods of coping with inadequacies, and major concerns facing the noncampus colleges. (JDS)

The 2004-05 school year was tumultuous for charter schools, marked by dueling studies with conflicting conclusions on whether charter schools boost student performance or hinder it. Even before this dustup occurred, a consortium of foundations decided to support a new national research center to raise the standard of research on charter schools…