The author of this book argues that innovations do not transform colleges because higher education faces a problem of scale. The book identifies two paradigms: "organizational," which is the overall theory-in-use of an organization; and "instructional," which incorporates the mission of higher education institutions to provide instruction in the…

Reports on monetary awards made by MetLife Foundation Community College Excellence Awards to two colleges: West Hills Community College (WHCC), California; and Sinclair Community College (SCC), Ohio. The awards spotlight the singular role outstanding community colleges play in helping underserved youth and adults succeed in college and career.…

This book is the first of four volumes in a directory of more than 1,000 discretionary grants and contracts supported by the Research to Practice Division of the Office of Special Education Programs. This volume focuses on projects concerned with research, innovation, and evaluation divided into two broad discretionary programs: "Research and…

The Wisconsin Forces for Four-Year-Olds Project promotes a collaborative community approach to offering universal access to four-year-old kindergarten services for Wisconsin 4-year-olds. Presented in three major sections, this report offers an overview of a community approach to serving 4-year-olds, summarizes experiences in seven communities…

This report traces the origins, evolution and impact of Minnesota's pioneering charter school law--on its own schools, students, and communities and on the development of charter laws in many other states. It notes that, unlike what is now happening elsewhere, new schools are now being chartered at an accelerating pace in Minnesota. And because…

Social theory defines "ritualism" as the communal act of accepting the legitimate means to achieve while rejecting the goals. The innovative-school community accepts the goals; however, the legitimate means are rejected. Ninety-three teachers were surveyed in a high-performing high school and a low-performing high school to determine the…

This is a report on a best practices conference conducted by the New Jersey Council of Community Colleges. The conference was designed to allow the 19 state community colleges to share their most valuable innovations, programs, services, and other ideas for enhancing community college instruction, administration, and overall effectiveness. The…

This book is a directory of about 1,100 discretionary projects supported by the Office of Special Education Programs and focuses on projects concerned with research, innovation, and evaluation. This first volume of four presents projects categorized in the following two discretionary programs: "Research and Innovation To Improve Services and…

This book offers methods on how to cultivate and capture teacher expertise--one of the most grossly underused assets in education. These methods are simple and include goal-oriented, data-driven collaboration and ongoing assessment that can lead to an array of effective innovations and strategies to enhance school effectiveness. Five case-study…

This report offers a commentary on the recent development of community colleges in Shanghai (China). The seven institutions were established in the early 1990s to provide community education to local residents in hopes of facilitating mass higher education in China. The report describes important characteristics the colleges seek to impart…

This ERIC Digest describes the development and characteristics of vocational universities (VUs) in China. In response to the demand for increased numbers of trained technical workers in the 1980's, VUs developed and the higher vocational education system in China was reformed. Currently, 101 vocational universities are in existence in China. These…

Practices of teachers who use educational technology effectively are reviewed. The difference between the classrooms of exemplary users of technology and low technology users is in the way their classes are conducted. In exemplary classrooms, student use of learning technologies is woven integrally into the patterns of teaching even though…

This address, delivered by the chancellor of Houston Community College System, considers the issue of meeting the challenges of leadership in changing times. There is lack of cohesion between faculty and administrators. Both groups must prepare students to live in a changing world, and make the necessary institutional transformations to do so.…

This paper reports on a study of a structured active learning approach to an analytical chemistry course. The purpose of the study was to assess the longitudinal outcomes of this approach and to provide feedback to curriculum developers about the effects of the changes being made in the chemistry curriculum. The data, collected from a cohort of…

This final report of the Nebraska Special Education Accountability Commission presents recommendations for reforming the state's special education system. The tasks of the commission were to develop recommendations for a new funding system for special education which would be identification and placement neutral, to encourage preventive services,…