Explores literature on educational change and examines two literacy innovations gone "bad": process writing and literature-based reading. Argues that growth occurs from the interaction of "bad" things with good ideas (which are never perfect ideas), thereby reshaping, reforming, and strengthening them. Examines how this affects educational policy,…

Describes a project that brings together teams of science teachers and special education teachers to educate one another on collaborative models and content needs of students. Discusses retooling traditional science activities. Contains 18 references. (DDR)

A study examined state legislative and policy provisions for gifted students and state efforts to address the seven initiatives outlined in U.S. Department of Education's "National Excellence: A Case for Developing America's Talent." Findings indicate some progress in teacher preparation, enhanced curricular standards, and efforts to match world…

Argues that distance learning is inevitable, due to market forces and convenience. Examines whether distance education is pedagogically sound. Argues that traditional classrooms have many failures and is not always the best environment for learning. Discusses issues of time and compensation, intellectual property rights issues, and faculty…

Charter schools offer choices to parents and teachers dissatisfied with mainstream public education. Averaging fewer than 200 students, they offer nurturing educational communities, inventive pedagogies, and educators committed to learning. Devising an accountability system that accommodates such wide variety is their greatest challenge. Brief…

Addresses the implications of technology for multicultural education by examining the potential for global learning networks to promote intercultural literacy and critical thinking. The authors argue that computer and telecommunications technology has the potential to act as a positive catalyst in both areas through linkages of distant classrooms…

In a consideration of how competition among schools affects program quality, the dynamics of competition among four Jewish supplementary schools were examined over five years. Some competitive strategies reduced program demands, and others reinforced quality. The least intensive and least expensive program did not undercut the others but did spur…

Examines Occidental College's (California) experiment in enhancing ethnic diversity in its student body and creating a learning experience for its students that draws attention to and emphasizes these differences. Alumni opposition, the program's overall philosophy, and its ultimate success are discussed. (GR)

Provides one teacher's personal account of an ongoing learning process in a sixth-grade classroom, and the perceived advantages and disadvantages of allowing for diverse interpretations, perspectives, and points of view designed to aid student learning. The dynamic relationship between student initiative and unpredictability that can result in…

Addresses the crucial role of families in helping students learn, arguing that the success of schooling depends on the contributions of the home and school/home collaborations. Ways to better understand the everyday lives of children living in poverty are illustrated to help schools increase learning opportunities for all children, even when…

Deplores inconsistencies between the realities of today's technologically driven, information-age world and the static, constraining boxes in which state-initiated, accountability- focused reforms hold American education. We must reconceptualize schooling, curriculum content, time, grade levels, and achievement to allow more informal,…

Sixty-five experts in the moderate to severe disabilities field were asked their opinions on useful inclusive education practices across nine practice categories. Many of the identified practices require some level of educational service restructuring, including redefining the roles and functions of special and regular education teachers and…

During the 1990s, a new breed of educational-leadership faculty members emerged with the potential to make administrator-preparation programs more relevant and responsive to today's pressing issues. Compared with more senior colleagues, the new breed entered academe at an older age, has more K-12 administrative experience, comprises more women,…

Describes an exercise for college and high school students that relates descriptive statistics to the regional climatic classification. The exercise introduces students to simple calculations of central tendency and dispersion, the construction and interpretation of scatterplots, and the definition of climatic regions. Forces students to engage…

A study investigated inclusion policies and practices of 12 British local education authorities (LEAs). Results found six overlapping and interconnecting themes that seem to be crucial to the development of more inclusive practices within LEAs: policy development, funding strategies, process and structures, the management of change, partnerships,…