Discusses various educational reforms undertaken by states and ways of financing such reforms. Discusses state-local relations in curricular policy, state versus local roles in bringing about school effectiveness, and the need for educators to move now, while education is the number one state issue. (CMG)

Details a program used effectively in training a group of principals in a large school district as part of a change implementation effort. Concludes that consideration of principals'"stages of concern" should be a key element in the planning and conduct of any principal training. (RDN)

Assesses critically the likely impact of existing inservice programs for training principals, identifying their major shortcomings and suggesting potentially more effective alternatives. Argues that, although a complete curriculum for principal training has yet to be developed, the Principal Profile method offers a foundation for long-term…

Offers a range of perspectives on the national school reform movement as exemplified in the national commission reports. Presents articles providing a broad, comprehensive set of evaluations of reform, and more specific articles dealing with the real or potential impact of reform or explaining individual issues raised by the reports. (RDN)

Educational reform should be viewed less as the replacement of old with new and more as a process of renewal; the triumph of reform lies in its never succeeding. School reform intended to repair, once and for all, a broken institution will inevitably be frustrated. Schools depend ultimately on motivation. (RDN)

Assesses major findings and recommendations of the education commission reports and discusses issues and topics that they avoid. Argues that the inadequacies of the reports derive from the defective nature of the commission process itself. Also argues that even if the commission reports had never been issued, American schools would be on the mend.…

Examines the organizational implications of the recent education reform panels and commissions, including the question of expected linkage between reports and action at the local level. Looks at the commissions as ceremonies with deep symbolic meaning and the potential power to express, shape, reorganize, or create educational values. (RDN)

Questions certain assertions and recommendations in the reform reports. Argues that if reforms were implemented, schooling would become more highly stratified and low-income children would suffer, that too many reforms entail conservative calls for centralization, and that the crisis in public schooling reflects a deeper crisis in the American…

States within certain regions (like the Great Lakes area) are probably incapable of financing any major educational reform. The declining Illinois public school system exemplifies this predicament. However, change in the form of a more efficient organization of Illinois school districts is both feasible and likely. (RDN)

Posits several ways of interpreting the finding that, nine months to one year after its publication, "A Nation at Risk" had had no direct impact on policies in public school districts in Louisiana. Questions the function of national commissions and whether their work can produce any lasting changes. (RDN)

Among teachers, initial cynicism toward reform proposals has given way to support. Teacher organizations, especially the American Federation of Teachers, have played an important role in encouraging this positive response. However, teachers remain wary of the reform movement, feeling that some of the proposed reforms would be detrimental to their…

A typology is developed of the dimensions along which a teacher's contribution can be assessed and a pay plan projected that emphasizes each of these dimensions. Several issues cutting across various pay-reform proposals are discussed, notably the balance between rewarding veteran and novice teachers, and its effect on teacher recruitment. (RDN)

Introduces articles addressing philosophical dilemmas raised by consideration of common school's role in a changing, multicultural society and examining implications of multiculturalism for schools in a democratic nation. Argues that improvements must be generated school by school and that prototypes for healthy schools must evolve over time. (CMG)

Americans have always been ambivalent about public education, and this ambivalence is manifested by a split view of education as a vehicle for egalitarian political education and a vehicle for economically differentiated training. In high schools, particularly, attendance is common (i.e., universal), but the education received is not. (CMG)

School practices need to be brought into line with our democratic ideals. Even a cursory review of education in the decolonized world reveals how easy it is to reverse the effects of decades of neglect and oppression, notwithstanding economic difficulties and limited professional resources. (CMG)