This qualitative case study explores the Chinese school principals' experiences in building a learning community through the Fifth Discipline (shared vision, personal mastery, mental models, team learning, and system thinking) in helping them embrace student engagement, teacher commitment, and parents' involvement for school improvement and…

The School Based Reform in Arab Countries (TAMAM) project aims to build leadership capacity for school-based reform. This paper asks: (a) To what extent can a design-based approach frame the design of school improvement projects such as TAMAM? (b) What characteristics of design-based approaches are most relevant to guide the design of school-based…

This review considers three areas of findings from research on district roles in reform, drawing particularly on the studies of claimed successful districts. First, the author identifies the challenges confronting district efforts to implement systemwide improvements in student learning. Then, he summarizes evidence about how successful case…

Based on an interview, the vice president of public affairs of the Procter and Gamble Company, states that businesses can be a source of analytical skills to help school systems run more effectively. Stresses the need for early childhood programs, and continuous training for teachers and administrators. (MLF)

The Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA) totally rebuilt Kentucky's curriculum, governance, finance structures, and processes for elementary and secondary education. The Kentucky system developed 75 valued outcomes related to the 6 broad learning goals named in KERA. A valued outcome is the ability to demonstrate consistent quality…

Reviews Hong Kong's School Management Initiative implementation strategies (rational-empirical, power-coercive, and normative-reeducative), compares them with New South Wales, Australia's strategies, and suggests an appropriate strategy for future reforms. In Australia, changes were radical and thorough (using power-coercive strategies), whereas…

The future of educational design, development, and improvement lies in integrating "how" with "what" and "why." Critical strategic thinking factors include abandoning comfort zones; focusing on ends, not means; linking all three planning and result levels; starting with an ideal vision; preparing measurable…