The present culture of standardized curriculum and assessment and scripted pedagogy creates an inner philosophical turmoil for educators who refuse to accept high stakes assessment as the sole measure of their success. Tips are provided for teachers and principals on implementing learner-centered place-based education. Principal-teacher…

This article addresses ways school board members can work to engage the community in school-improvement efforts. Some suggestions: Commit your time and talents; demand clarity and simplicity; listen; use the grapevine; work with the media; and be honest. Includes an extensive list of recommendations within a "community relations checklist." (WFA)

Market dynamics have always shaped our institutions. Now the dynamics have changed, and the hierarchical organization is giving way to a new organizational model based on fulfilling human potential through networking, teamwork, diversity, full access to information, and flexible schedules. (Author/TE)

Wisconsin teachers (N=416) who had preservice multicultural education training were surveyed by mail to discover what they were doing in their classrooms to attend to diversity based on race and ethnicity, gender, and social class in the areas of curriculum and material, expectations, instructions, and student-student relationships. (IAH)

A course developed for young at-risk women in an alternative high school program involves trips out of the city, earns credits for physical education, and links students to the environment. Although balancing leadership and shared decision making was difficult, trips planned by the students became the ideal cooperative venture to seduce students…

Teaching conformity through coercion limits students' willingness to take risks and make decisions regarding their learning. In contrast, a Foxfire classroom environment that meets psychological needs empowers students to make choices about their learning, eliminates fear of failure, allows students to establish their own standards of achievement,…

Discusses challenges to traditional views of school leadership posed by many school reform initiatives, curriculum innovations, and teacher incentive plans. Examines teacher leadership structures in light of the purposes and goals they seek to advance. Uses nonhierarhical theories of leadership from the general leadership literature to examine…

A 3-year examination of school-based decision-making (SBDM) councils in four rural Kentucky school districts revealed that, similar to findings in urban and suburban settings, SBDM councils in rural schools experienced difficulties in achieving true shared decision making. Decisions regarding hiring and budget management were most likely to lead…

Reports results of research on the effects of open education on student outcomes, using classroom authority structure analysis. Maintains that student outcomes are contingent on the congruence between formal and informal authority structure. Concludes that more congruent authority structure was related to higher reading comprehension and…

Effects of variations of program evaluation purpose and methodology on decision-making information needs of various stakeholders were examined with 475 participants in planning for early childhood special education (223 administrators, 140 service personnel, and 112 parents). A program evaluation's purpose and methodology differentially affect…

Reports on the role of children in assessing their special needs and their perceptions of this process. Finds that the participation of the children was minimal and their perception of the process was negative. Raises questions about the relationship between professional special educators and the representation of childhood needs. (CFR)

Strategies are presented for developing a sense of ownership in learning, for use with students from culturally diverse backgrounds who have mild to moderate disabilities. The strategies include structuring a physical environment conducive to ownership; encouraging student ownership in classroom management; and encouraging ownership in academics.…

Intent of "A Nation at Risk" was to call attention to erosion of students' family lives, not to excoriate teachers. Reforms affecting only six hours of children's daily lives cannot succeed. Schools must reach out to help parents, and child-care workers become skilled at incidental (informal) teaching. Other concerns include technology,…

Contends that preservice art education should provide students with a balance between practices and the need for school reform. Describes an action research program in which preservice students add descriptions of effective instruction, summaries of classroom research, and case studies to a hypermedia program used by other students. (CFR)

Describes school-improvement measures in Quebec, supported by the Partnership on School Improvement and the Quebec School Improvement Network. The Partnership includes representatives from government, McGill University, associations of school boards and school administrators, and teachers' unions. Staff trainings and improvement initiatives in…