Administrators who "lionize" leadership miss important behind-the-scenes aspects of daily management. They depict the grand design without niggling problems and assume that leadership belongs exclusiveley to the heroic boss. Leaders often achieve best results by being skilled listeners, acting like followers, and depending on followers to act like…

Argues for a school-centered renewal process making schools the target of improvement efforts and the site of professional inquiry and reflective practice to determine educational change. Examines the creation and use of knowledge, the nature of schools as organizations, and the lessons learned from experience. Includes 18 references. (MLH)

Contends that staff development, supposedly designed to assist teachers, has instead colluded with forces to continue their colonization. Since teachers are not taking charge of their profession and participating actively in educational change, certain actions must be taken to lighten their nonprofessional workload and to build a professional…

Addresses teachers' concerns generated by the Madeline Hunter clinical supervision movement sweeping over 60 percent of all Pennsylvania school districts. Although some teachers praise the model for its attention to teaching, sense of professionalism, standardization of teaching methods, and career enhancement approach, two-thirds of the teachers…

No single viewpoint can adequately address the rising college costs dilemma. This article outlines four reasons for tuition increases (higher salaries; higher book, supplies, and equipment costs; less government support; and tuition-setting practices) and discusses certain truths, such as tuition's covering only a fraction of actual education…

Recently increased public concern for educational quality and America's international competitiveness has produced a more favorable climate for improving K-12 science education. Two principal federal agencies, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Education (ED), have differing "investment portfolios." ED provides block…

When training prospective teachers, even the most optimistic, nurturing teacher educator must realize that not every candidate has what it takes to become a good teacher. The tendency to decrease discrimination and academic rigor produces thousands of mediocre teachers who should never have been admitted to training programs and exacerbates the…

Examines gains and deficiencies in American education since the publication of "A Nation at Risk" in 1983. Highlights priority concerns such as dropouts and marginally skilled graduates, urges renewed commitment to curricular development and federal aid programs, outlines administrator and school board roles, and offers 12 recommendations for…

Summarizes recommendations of an interim report focused on the 20 million noncollege-bound American youth barred from many high-paying positions, yet forced to make it on their own. Recommends various school-to-work programs, "added chances" for training, and enhanced lifelong learning opportunities and increased national investments in youth…

Considers popular approaches to moral and character education in schools. Draws on the work of moral philosophers such as Kant and Kohlberg to construct a synthesis of direct and indirect teaching methods allowing children to make moral choices. Includes 25 references. (MLH)

Discusses three goals of character development for elementary school children: promoting (1) cooperative relationships and mutual respect; (2) moral agency; and (3) a moral community based on fairness, caring, and participation. Explores teaching strategies for building self-esteem and fostering cooperation, moral reflection, and participative…

Describes the For Character Program that identifies and honors public and private schools in which students demonstrate high levels of positive conduct and academic effort. Outlines several school and classroom management principles that stress both character development and academic quality and resemble effective school characteristics. (MLH)

Six years ago, students at Birch Meadow Elementary School (Reading, Massachusetts) were polite to adults, but callous and uncaring toward each other. Today, thanks to a "Just Community" approach modeled on Lawrence Kohlberg's philosophy, students feel a sense of school ownership and responsibility for their classmates. (MLH)

Describes the "Educating for Citizenship" program, comprising curriculum materials based on the real-life experiences of 6-to-10-year-olds. Designed to alert youngsters to citizenship rights and responsibilities and to provide opportunities to practice citizenship skills, the program succeeds because it promotes civic participation and democratic…

Instead of freeing teachers to teach, schools' bureaucratic organization may have inadvertently produced ritualized, mechanistic teaching that elicits only minimal compliance from students. Defensive teaching strategies, including fragmentation (teaching by lists), mystifying information, omitting controversial topics, and simplifying material,…