Within the past decade, the British government imposed a national curriculum, embraced open enrollment, and shifted decision-making authority away from the district offices to the schools themselves. This report describes England's scheme of local management and gauges its impact on various aspects of the education service. It also examines…

This text provides a comprehensive treatment of curriculum theory and is organized around the concept of Reconceptualization from the institutionalized aim of improving practice incrementally to the goal of understanding curriculum practice and experience from a variety of perspectives. After an introductory chapter, Chapter 2 reviews the history…

This monograph draws on case studies of school-community partnership projects in four rural southeastern school districts in order to elaborate a thorough description of school contextual factors in the rural Southeast. In 1986, Appalachia Educational Labaoratory (AEL), one of nine federally funded research and development laboratories, received…

This collection of 26 essays examines the historical position of Harvard University as one of the nation's most influential institutions. Included are: (1) "Introducing Harvard: A Social, Philosophical, and Political Profile" (John Trumpbour); (2) "How Harvard is Ruled: Administration and Governance at the Corporate University"…

This publication reports the major discussions at a conference that was held to improve the policy education efforts of extension workers responsible for public affairs programs. It begins with abstracts of the 22 presentations. Four papers deal with public policy education in the 1990s: "To Inform Their Discretion: Policy Education and…

Ethiopia, a country with 82 distinctly different languages and ethnic groups, has recently emerged from decades of civil war. In the process of restoring civilian rule, alliances have formed between a wide spectrum of local interest groups. Education generally, and language policy more specifically, continues to be one of the most contentious…

Preparation of teachers for home-school-community partnerships will be most effective if it is based on a foundational approach that makes teachers aware of the social and political context of teaching and cognizant of the economic, social, and political demands that are placed on schools. A foundational approach to home-school-community…

This study examined how eight rural, high-impact Minnesota school districts (defined as those losing or gaining a high percentage of student population due to school-choice implementation in fiscal year 1995) responded to school choice policy. Data from semistructured interviews with each district's superintendent were sorted and analyzed. In each…

This paper discusses the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) and its impact on school facilities planning and community involvement in related decision making. Since 1900, the pattern of rural school reform, nationally and in Kentucky, has been one of increased state and federal control, with cost effectiveness and equity the primary criteria in…

This analysis of the Boston (Massachusetts) Public School System considers ways of advancing the opportunity for parent choice of school and program, and ways of breaking the bureaucratic culture of big-city American public schools to introduce a culture promoting innovation and experiment. The Boston public schools system, like large urban…

This paper examines the language planning efforts of the government of Ecuador and groups representing the indigenous peoples of the country. Government sanctioned policy and practice, as well as the grassroots efforts of the Indian population, both aim to influence language behavior and both have ultimately been directed at social and political…

A brief history of education in the state of North Carolina provides a look at public schools and the individuals who were most instrumental in their development. Chapter 1 focuses on the colonial period when education for the majority of North Carolina students was almost non-existent. Chapter 2 covers the State Constitution adopted in 1776 that…

The seventh volume of a 10-volume report, this document discusses the findings of the study's state component, especially as the activities of the states relate to and are influenced by federal dissemination programs. An analysis of the dissemination and school improvement activities in 10 states revealed 2 distinct orientations. Some states were…

This annotated bibliography is intended for teachers, students, school librarians, and others as an aid in selecting materials to support teaching about the Middle East. Eleven chapters cover: (1) "Reference and General Works"; (2) "Physical Geography"; (3) "Folktales, Literature, Fiction"; (4) "Religion";…

The use of modern marketing concepts to assist public school districts in the passage of school levies and bond issues is presented in this guidebook. The modern marketing concept is based on maximizing customer satisfaction and solving the problem of the consumer. Strategies are presented for conducting market analysis; financing, organizing, and…