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The final 1970 report of a 3-part study on regional education services focuses on a unit for (1) planning cooperative educational programs in terms of financial considerations, resource allocations, program operation, governance, and roles relative to operation; (2) making provisions for evaluation of the regional cooperative; (3) providing for change and innovation in the cooperative; and (4) evaluating the unit using a 4-phase evaluation design. A 10-item bibliography, 8 figures, and 1 appendix are included. (MJB)

The early 70's will see educational programs in transition as the Nixon administration attempts to redesign Health, Education, and Welfare. The program thrust is beginning to become apparent in 1970. Local educators need to take into strict account the fact that education can no longer do the job alone. Educators must use other social agencies and must refine a partnership with the private sector to provide youngsters with realistic educational opportunities. This will be difficult in regions of the South where strong political influence has always pervaded education. As education must broaden its base and develop sources of support in other sectors of the community, it will erode the power base of the school superintendent and his traditional hold over decisions in education. Educators must develop innovative approaches to utilization of the total resource allocation available to them; the classroom must expand into the community. School experiences must relate to real things, and the spirit of discovery must be tied to an analysis of society's needs. Education programs for the 70's will be designed to provide better-trained teachers, new program thrusts, and innovative structures so that education may continue to develop. (LS)

A conference on research for better schools was held to focus on the expressed needs of educators in Tennessee. The following discussion papers were provided to summarize available research data: Trends in Federal Programs for the 70's (RC 005 390); Review and Synthesis of Research on Vocational Education in Rural Areas (ED 034 632); Student Activism--An Overview (ED 045 250); The Volunteer--An Educational Resource (ED 048 981); Relationship of Power and Authority in Rural Areas (ED 048 980); A Planner's Reference Guide Relating to Socioeconomic Factors Within Appalachia as Applied to Public Education (ED 045 279); Rural and Small School Consolidation--Some Problems and Procedures (ED 048 979); Analysis of Attitudes Relative to Education in the Appalachian Region (ED 048 982); An Overview of Federal Programs and Their Impacts on Appalachia (ED 048 978); and Educational Innovations in Rural America (ED 045 241). Consultants were provided for group discussions and individual conferences. Summeries of the conference sessions are provided, as are participants' evaluations of the conference and discussion papers. (LS)

This publication is designed to help educators learn how to communicate effectively with the citizens of their communities. It presents a summary of school public information practices drawn from national and Tennessee samples. The monograph contains a discussion of recommended public information techniques for schools and educators derived from responses to the study and a review of recent literature. These techniques can be used by educational administrators in organizing and conducting public information programs. An appendix contains the survey instrument used in the national study of 441 school districts. An extensive bibliography is also included. (Author/DN)

Institutions of higher education in Appalachia need to examine their role as the primary leaders of educational change in terms of solving the educational problems of the region. The uniqueness of the Appalachian region (which might be characterized as a closed system), coupled with identifiable regional needs, should be conducive to a recognition of appropriate actions which colleges and universities might take to assume their expected roles. The colleges and universities located in the region may utilize various Federal grants and programs to assist them in this effort. With the use of change-manipulation procedures (e.g., bypass or multi-event planning), higher education could join resources with other agencies to accomplish greater educational change related to needs of Appalachia. In addition, there are numerous ways in which higher education and state departments can cooperate in experimentation and the development of new ideas. (AL)

Reviews the problem of how little is understood about educational change and how poorly some change programs are designed and developed. Describes an innovative teacher exchange program based on change theory that has developed a promising technique for promoting the adoption and diffusion of innovative educational practices. (Author/DN)

Asserts that educators can use what is known about communication and the change process to design better ways of interesting teachers in improving their instructional practices and in helping them to do so. Proposes a dissemination/diffusion model. (Author/WM)

Dropout rates and employment problems are subsiding in Memphis due to a career education program started under Project SPAN in twenty target schools. The program evolves from grade one through high school and includes such things as field trips, films, speakers, work study programs, computer assisted career information, and job placement. (DS)

Examines general trends in the development of Regional Education Service Agencies. (Author/DN)

The early 70's will see federal programs in transition as the new administration attempts to redesign health, education, and welfare. However, new organization and school structures do not necessarily mean that there will be new instructional programs. It is the educational personnel who must change and direct changes in the learning processes. If schools are to be significantly better, they must be significantly different. The people must become different; they must become aware of change and of self-renewal processes; and they must accept responsibility for teaching. Coordinated efforts are needed to create differences not only in how school buildings look or how organization and programs appear in charts or syllabi, but also how teachers and pupils behave in the teaching and learning process. A related document is ED 051 959 (Author)

This report describes an administrator training program model in which a district-selected trainee and a practicing school administrator in an extern-intern approach work closely with the university and the local school system. Under this system, a trainee would enter a planned administrator training program at an approved institution of higher education that would tailor a joint program to include both the trainee and the practicing administrator. The projected program includes (1) a summer session on campus for both trainee and administrator, (2) a full-time fall quarter for the trainee, (3) a winter quarter for the practicing administrator on campus, while the trainee fills in for him, and (5) an elective summer session for one or for both. (Author/MLF)

Describes the University of Tennessee's innovative approach to preparation of educational administrators. (JF)

The Memphis City Schools' Project SPAN provides a working example for administrators planning to introduce career education into their schools' curriculums. Career education should result in curriculums more related to possible careers for students, cooperative work-study programs for older students, and expanded placement services for graduates and dropouts. (Authors)