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In educational settings, decentralized budgeting refers to various fiscal practices that disperse budgeting responsibility away from central administration to the line education units. This distributed decision-making is common to several financial management models. Among the many financial management models that employ decentralized budgeting are site-based budgeting, contribution margin budgeting, and responsibility center management or responsibility center budgeting. While all of these models incorporate distributed decision making into their operation, the span of budgetary decision making responsibility appears to be related to the educational unit's influence over its revenue stream. All three models share characteristics common to both public school and postsecondary educational settings. From the perspectives of budgeting practitioners, the diversity of decentralized budgeting in educational settings is apparent. From public school settings, where administrators focus their budgeting energies on controlling costs, to universities, where administrators pursue alternative revenue sources, decentralized budgeting manifests the characteristics of different financial management models. Across the range of diverse manifestations, decentralized budgeting in education attempts to empower fundamental unit personnel with the ability to participate in, influence, and take ownership of expense and/or revenue decisions for which they are ultimately and uniquely responsible. (Contains 10 references.) (SM)

This paper explores what happens to the old central office when the familiar top-down structure of school governance is replaced by a charter-district system in which independent public schools operate on charters or contracts. For the most part, the paper examines districts that authorize and oversee a significant number of charter schools, rather than districts that contract out for the management of a few schools. It concentrates on districts that set out to create a system of successful independent schools, as well as viable structures of oversight and accountability distinctly suited to the charter context. The paper also makes some assumptions about how an ideal charter district should operate. It examines how the major functions of the central office change in a charter district; how larger questions of accountability and equity are affected by how the district is organized; and how the roles and responsibilities change for board members, superintendents, administrative staff, school leaders, and teachers. Finally, the paper offers suggestions to help districts seeking to create a new central office. (Contains 53 endnotes, many of which are references.) (WFA)

This paper asserts that the growth and maintenance of failed urban school districts that have miseducated minority children in poverty for over 50 years is a predictable, explainable phenomenon. The essay suggests that the extensive resources funneled into these systems are used for increasing district bureaucracies rather than improving education. It notes that the larger society provides institutional and cultural settings that protect, preserve, and enhance these failing urban school systems in order to provide a broad spectrum of constituencies with a set of unearned privileges. The most valuable of these is access to economic and ethnic forms of schooling for middle class Whites that is effective and leads to careers, higher education, and improved life opportunities. Part 1 provides examples of the processes that dysfunctional urban school bureaucracies use to survive and grow despite systematically harming the life opportunities of impoverished children and youth. Part 2 identifies constituencies who derive real benefits from supporting these failed systems. Part 3 analyzes processes employed by failing urban districts to prevent change and maintain the distribution of unearned privilege. Part 4 analyzes the role of teacher education in making urban schools more effective. Part 5 and the appendix propose what states can do to stop the massive miseducation of diverse, impoverished students in dysfunctional urban districts. (Contains 28 references.) (SM)

This report examines Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's Annenberg Challenge, Children Achieving, a districtwide systemic reform initiative designed and led by a small core group of district officials and external partners. It was organized around eight core strategies (fair funding, standards, accountability, decentralization, leadership and support for teachers and principals, better coordination of resources, civic and parent engagement, and the all at once philosophy). A combination of factors contributed to Children Achieving's failure to produce sustained improvements and deep changes in practice and included flaws in the theory of action itself, flaws in implementation, lack of capacity, and behavior inconsistent with underlying beliefs and values. Reformers encouraged stakeholders to believe that standards, accountability, and decentralization would result in improved student performance, but this did not occur. Lessons learned include: content standards and accountability measures offer a foundation for instructional change, but produce results only if teachers are given the time and support needed to develop high-quality curricula and alter their classroom methods; curriculum-based, sustained professional development is essential to instructional change; and too much reform can overload schools and teachers. Two appendices present additional reading on Children Achieving and research methodology. (Contains 28 endnotes(SM)

This paper reports on a study to determine if teacher self-efficacy in site-based managed schools differed from teacher self-efficacy in schools that were not site-based managed. The study also examined whether there was a relationship between self-efficacy in site-based managed schools and schools that were not site-based managed in regards to age, gender, years of teaching experience, years at present school, grade-level assignment, and education degree of teachers. Participants in the study were about 100 teachers from two secondary site-based managed schools and about 100 teachers from two secondary schools that were not site-based managed in South Mississippi. Data were collected from a researcher-designed instrument (included in the report). Analysis of the data showed that teachers in site-based managed schools had a higher level of teacher self-efficacy than teachers in the other schools. Analysis also showed that there was a significant difference in self-efficacy among teachers in site-based managed schools and teachers in the other schools relative to their influence on the variables of curriculum, school resources, and disciplinary procedures. There was not a significant difference in self-efficacy among teachers relative to their influence on the variable of instruction. (Contains 46 references.) (WFA)

Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) prepared a summary and brief analysis of the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" (NCLB) and its implications for education for the American Pacific region. This briefing paper is intended to help educational leaders understand the law and its expectations and implications for schools, educators, parents, and children. The NCLB is based on stronger accountability for results, greater flexibility and local control, expanded options and choices for parents, and emphasis on teaching methods that work. Freely Associated States' eligibility for grants under NCLB has been reduced. For Hawai'i, federal education funding is increased to more than $194.6 million, Title I funding is increased to more than $38.6 million, and more than $13.6 million is provided to train and retain skilled educators. For U.S.-Affiliated Territories, benefits include substantial set-asides in the new legislation and an increase in federal dollars overall. The territories also gained a Coordinator for the Outlying Area within the Office of the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education. A table provides a bird's-eye view of funding by title and lists the implications for education in the state of Hawai'i, the territories, the Freely Associated States, and for PREL. (RT)

A qualitative case study design was used to identify effective staff development practices in schools where there had been an increase in scores on the state-mandated tests over a period of 2 years. Informal interviews were conducted with 10 Algebra I teachers at 2 high schools, 4 eighth-grade mathematics teachers at 2 middle schools, 7 English teachers at 2 elementary schools, and 4 principals. Results indicate that some practices, identified by teachers and principals as having contributed to higher test scores, were the same across the three school levels. The most important factor, according to those interviewed, was the commitment and dedication of all teachers and administrators to do whatever was needed to improve student learning. Some decision-level of staff development was identified as being helpful, but decentralized or building-level training was found to be just as effective, or more so, because it was directly related to the needs of teachers. Also effective was a strong, clear, in-depth focus on specific areas with a common theme. Test scores, teacher input, small group collaboration, and a culture of support and success were also important contributors to improved achievement. (SLD)

This study examined the ways in which for-profit comprehensive management educational management organizations (EMOs) operating charter schools respond to the need to balance school autonomy and flexibility with the fact that centralized operations require consistency, coordination, and legal constraints. The study focused on the perspective of EMO central office staff to explore the balance between central control and local autonomy. The study first examined research and EMOs and privatization and then considered the notion of school autonomy. Representatives of 15 EMOs were interviewed for this study, and autonomy was analyzed. Findings show that the ability of stakeholders in an individual charter school to make decisions about operations in that school varies greatly across a host of issues, including components of the educational program, governance, organization, hiring practices, and fiscal issues. From the perspective of EMO central office staff, specifics of school autonomy very considerably between companies, even among EMOs that call into the category of comprehensive management. Company staff view the removal of some autonomy as critical to developing quality charter schools and, often, to maintaining fidelity to EMO ideals. (Contains 37 references.) (SLD)

This paper focuses on the role of the World Bank and its subsidiaries in promoting the neoliberal educational reforms of privatization and decentralization globally and in El Salvador. Neoliberalism is first defined as a sociopolitical philosophy that supports concepts such as the free market, market-driven education, and the use of a voucher system to provide consumer choice to individuals and families pursuing education. Based on early evidence and existing global conditions, it appears that the neoliberal reforms of privatization and decentralization will do little to reduce poverty and improve access to schooling for the impoverished and girls. An increase in basic education will doubtless provide a growing work force of semiliterate, semiskilled workers for the subsidiaries of transnational corporations. Decentralization of local basic schools will grant more decision-making to parents and communities, but will reduce the power of national teacher unions and the national government. Standardized curricula and tests will ensure employers of a code of knowledge, skills, and dispositions that will be most useful to their demands. This knowledge will include language, science, mathematics, and communications, but very little of the students' culture, such as art, music, and literature. (Contains 56 references.) (RT)

In 1994 Ethiopia committed to expanding its education system, particularly at the primary level, to reach previously marginalized communities. The unprecedented expansion of the education system resulted in large classes with few resources. The reforms aimed to implement student-centered, active learning, but the new approach was not reflected in the teacher preparation curriculum, and there was little student teaching. As a result, there was a teacher shortage and morale was low. A new site-based system of inservice teacher development was introduced in 1997. Training center schools received special training and other inputs in order to function as local training centers for other schools in their geographic area. Staff development programs took place at regular intervals, mostly at the school level. They were practical and based on the concerns and needs of primary teachers, and they involved primary teachers themselves as facilitators. The new model faced considerable opposition at first. The program was tried out on a limited basis in Tigrai Region. Teachers reported that the cluster school-based training was important and relevant to their everyday activities in the classroom. Teachers also responded positively to the participatory, group activity-based methodologies of the workshops and to the regular contact with their colleagues that the cluster organization provided. Because of its contribution to teacher skills and morale, the program was adopted as national policy. (Contains 26 references.) (TD)

Education decentralization efforts are examined in six primarily rural, sub-Saharan African countries--Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Stated reasons do not always reflect the real underlying rationales for decentralization. Education decentralization that is publicly advocated to improve service delivery and local empowerment may actually be motivated by cost reduction or increasing political control. There is much discrepancy between the claims and practices of education decentralization. Core education decisions around curriculum, day-to-day school management, and organizational issues are hardly ever decentralized so as to encourage local community participation in decision making. Macro-level economic and political contexts influence the implementation and outcomes of decentralization. Devolution of authority to local communities cannot succeed unless all stakeholders internalize the objectives, benefits, and responsibilities involved. Decentralization reforms that change the distribution of power, authority, and resources meet greater resistance than those that reassign administrative responsibilities alone. Devolution of power to lower levels of government or local communities may be more rhetoric than reality. Appropriate organizational structure, technical capacity, and resources to implement decentralization policies are necessary, as are political will and congruency between "bottom-up" and "top-down" principles. (Contains 137 references.) (TD)

The Kyrgyz Republic--a remote mountainous region--is one of five former Soviet states in central Asia. This case study begins with a brief overview of the political and economic situation of the Kyrgyz Republic and its relation to aims of Soviet schooling in the 20th century. A critique of the Soviet schooling model by foreign academics before and after the breakup of the former USSR is followed by a discussion of how economic collapse during the 1990s led to numerous curricular and organizational crises in Kyrgyz education. The second half of this paper details the forces and actors dedicated to "improving" Kyrgyz schools in the new millennium. Since the Soviet breakup, foreign actors have been trying to influence economic and educational policy consistent with their worldviews and political agendas. There is great disagreement between foreigners and locals as to the means and ends of schooling and about how (or even if) schools should be "fixed." A new pro-Western Minister of Education put together a strategic planning process for reforming the nation's schools. Brainstorming efforts, primarily involving foreigners and high-level administrators, focused on decentralization, corruption in the university system, the need to cut higher-education budgets to fund reforms in secondary education, consolidating rural schools, academic standards, teacher retraining and salaries, efficiency, and technology. The procedures, dynamics, and recommendations of the working group on school management and minimum standards and the working group on teacher retraining and new technologies are detailed. Resistance and barriers to change are discussed. (Contains 33 footnotes.) (TD)

This publication offers a brief description of Spain's vocational training system and its radical overhaul since the early 1990s in an effort to adjust to the new economic and social context in Europe. Particular attention is paid to these three subsystems: (1) regulated vocational training that reflects the impact of reforms introduced by the General Law on the Education System of 1990; (2) occupational training for the unemployed; and (3) continuing training for those in employment following the recent signature of the third national and tripartite agreements. Other aspects, such as funding, the training of teachers and trainers, and the career information and guidance system are also covered. A brief section covers the decentralization of the vocational training system now underway as part of the devolution of powers from central government to the autonomous communities. The last chapter reviews current trends in vocational training and the outlook for them. Appendixes include abbreviations, acronyms, and a list of 9 principal bodies responsible for provision or regulation of vocational training. (Contains 20 references.)(YLB)

This paper discusses the impact that recent educational reforms by the New Zealand government had on Maori individuals involved in community decision-making processes, focusing on one predominantly Maori rural community. Three strands of recent educational change in New Zealand are the move to self-managing institutions; ongoing debate over student and parental choice of school; and development of Maori initiatives, such as Maori language nests, Maori total-immersion schools, and tribal universities. A study of the rural community of Motatau and its school in the late 1980s shows how the community took responsibility for its school and established goals of a high-quality education and fluency in both English and Maori. Discussion focuses on the role and challenges of the school's new board of trustees, the creation of computer-based information networks linked to traditional family networks, school-community communication issues, issues of teacher workload and financial problems, and need for teacher education and professional development relevant to small rural schools. Ten years later, the hardships of rural schools had not abated. Governments devolved the responsibility of school governance and management but did not provide sufficient financial and human resources to pursue local interests. Nevertheless, Motatau has maintained an innovative learning environment with a balanced education unique to the community. (Contains a glossary of Maori terms and 11 references.) (SV)

The reforms undertaken in the vocational education and training systems and the public employment services systems of European Union (EU) candidate countries in the 10 years since the transition have resulted in the following achievements: (1) participation in upper secondary and tertiary education has increased and curricula for general education have been revised, leading to an increase in educational attainment; (2) autonomy of schools, encouragement of private training providers, and decentralization have led to new possibilities for social and economic cooperation; (3) legislation and policy documents are in place to support education; and (4) the systems have been responsive to short-term needs of the labor markets and individuals. However, gaps in relation to EU standards remain wide and some of the following problems still exist: (1) resources are lacking in some countries; (2) there is a critical shortage of school teachers; (3) there is a lack of technical equipment for practical training and a general lack of cooperation between schools and companies; (4) the process of reforming vocational curricula has been slow and continuing vocational training lacks a comprehensive framework; and (5) social inclusion objectives have received insufficient support. (This draft is incomplete as three monographs, concerning Bulgaria, Latvia, and Romania, have yet to be prepared.) (MO)

This report describes key policy decisions that have shaped the New Jersey system of higher education during the past third of a century. The study was part of a larger study that aimed at understanding the linkages between policy decisions and higher education performance through comparative case studies of two states in the United States and two states in Mexico. Adding to information from measures developed by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, this study offers data provided by the state and information from interviews with a range of elected and appointed higher education leaders in New Jersey. Those who were interviewed described state legislation in 1994 as completing a process toward greater autonomy for state colleges and universities that began in 1985. While rules for operating funds do not seem too different, capital planning in higher education is now decentralized in New Jersey, with primary responsibility vested in institutional governing boards. Economic development has become a key factor in state funding decisions, and higher education institutions have responded positively. This case study of New Jersey system design suggests that a state can achieve or maintain high performance using a market-oriented approach, provided that is has good information about outcomes and remains vigilant against threatening trends. (Contains 1 figure and 25 endnotes.) (SLD)

This paper discusses the development of teacher professionalism over the years, focusing on four phases of the changing nature of teachers' professionalism: the pre-professional age (before the 1960s), the age of the autonomous professionals (beginning in the 1960s), the age of the collegial professional beginning in the mid-1980s), and the fourth professional age (beginning in the late 1990s). It looks at the professionalism of teaching in both the United States and Jamaica. The paper describes several central features of U.S. schooling today that have implications for teaching as a profession: changes in the population of students attending schools, changes and innovations in schools, tensions between centralizing and decentralizing schooling, and new unionism. Recent research indicates that teachers consistently find satisfaction in working with and helping others, having an opportunity for professional challenge and growth, and making a difference in a young person's development. An appendix presents Wisconsin teacher standards. (Contains 11 references.) (SM)

By analyzing the process of decentralization of education in Argentina, this paper complements the existing literature on decentralization and federalism in two ways: (1) it studies the impact of federal institutions on the origins and evolution of decentralization; and (2) it analyzes a case of decentralization of education that, in a way not planned or desired by the national executive who pushed for the reform, led to the strengthening of the bargaining power of provincial executives in the design of educational reforms that followed the transfer of schools. Federalism helped to legitimize the transfer of schools and teachers, even though the resources to meet the new responsibilities were not transferred. Federalism also imprinted particular features on the bargaining process over the decentralization of education. On the one hand, governors had a more important role than the national legislature in negotiations over the transfer of schools, while on the other hand, federal institutions such as the Federal Council of Education fostered coordination and learning among provincial ministers and governors, putting them in a better position vis-a-vis the central government for the next rounds of negotiations on educational issues. The paper analyzed primary and secondary sources of data and in-depth interviews with national and subnational academics, public officials, and politicians. (Contains 45 references and 18 notes.) (Author/BT)

This report reflects a 9-month study of the existing decentralization and deregulation efforts in higher education in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It also looks for opportunities to reduce the burden needlessly placed on institutions of higher learning by state government bureaucracy. The report first attempts to catalogue more than 100 reports that the state government currently requires institutions of higher education to file annually or biennially and more than 28 oversight or approval processes required for institutions to operate in the areas of finance and administration alone. On average institutions must submit two reports a week to a state agency or government body. With this information, the report then makes some preliminary recommendations for current reporting and oversight requirements that should be eliminated or streamlined. Finally, the report seeks to advance the Commonwealth's decentralization and deregulation efforts by identifying a process that allows institutions to receive more delegated authority while ensuring appropriate levels of public accountability. It also advocates next steps for further decentralization and deregulation in Virginia higher education. To help improve the decentralization process, the report makes seven recommendations. Among these is the suggestion that all state agencies that have administrative approval process and oversight responsibilities identify and articulate more clearly their expectations for institutional performance. Seven attachments describe reporting and oversight requirements in chart form. (SLD)

This report examines transition in educational systems and identifies key policy areas in Central-Eastern European countries. It summarizes policy implications of the transition process within the educational context of these countries. Chapter 1, "Transition and Education," outlines key characteristics of the transition process and describes the context of transformation of educational systems. Chapter 2, "Transition and Educational Policy Making," explores the meaning of reform in education and describes the top-down and bottom-up models of systemic transformation of education. Chapter 3, "Investment to Effective Policy Making: The Five Points of Leverage," lists the systemic conditions of open and high quality policy making and implementation that require further development (management, assessment and evaluation, quality assurance within the school environment, stakeholder involvement and public discourse, and the capacity of actors within the system). Chapter 4, "Key Educational Policy Areas," reviews important strategy issues on the reform agendas of the Central European countries, addressing problems of decentralization and liberalization, redefinition of quality in education, education's connection with the labor market, financing of education, and equal education. Chapter 5, "External Challenges to Policy Making: Accession to the EU," discusses the educational policy implications of the European Union enlargement. (Contains 43 references.) (SM)

Strategies for initiating and sustaining complex education change, as reported in this paper, entail coordinated interaction across administrative levels of public education systems. Efforts to change schooling in England have included initiatives to downsize and reconfigure the provision of state-funded education. These efforts have created conditions for school renewal--promoting improvement in the quality of education offered in the smaller number of formally restructured institutions that survive. Large-scale local initiatives to reorganize schools provide a set of characteristics of complex educational change and change-management themes. This study hypothesizes that these characteristics are not confined to the specific complex change that restructuring schools represent through a major reorganization exercise. The study reported here was designed as a first step toward filling a gap in research-backed practical guidance that addresses the increasing complexity of educational change. A pilot study for the present research indicated that managing such a change could be highly problematic, not only because of difficulties with cross-level communication, but also due to the unintended inhibitory effect of diverse central government policies. Patterns in the complexity of educational change are revealed by analysis of the data on local education authorities' reorganization initiatives and their management implications. The analysis indicates how patterns were detectable in the complexity of the reorganization initiatives and the school-renewal efforts that flowed from them, providing practical implications for managers. (Contains 19 references.) (DFR)

This study examined the implementation of Responsibility Center Management (RCM) systems in two institutions of higher education: the Graduate School of Business at Institution and the Center of Collaborative Education and Professional Studies at Institution B. RCM is a management and budgeting process for universities that decentralizes authority and responsibility to academic and support centers. Twelve interviews were conducted with one provost and one Chief Financial Officer from each institution and one dean and three faculty members from each school. Their interview responses were subjected to content analysis. All the administrators at each institution were strongly in favor of RCM, which they regarded as a method of continuing strong central guidelines while decentralizing operations, increasing understanding and awareness of costs, and enabling deans to manage income and expenditures better at their schools and centers. Faculty members praised the decentralization and rationality of RCM, but five of the six voiced concerns about the dean's accountability and their individual management styles. There was consensus on both campuses that RCM was more flexible and more rational than traditional fiscal management. Two senior faculty and the six administrators thought that RCM increased information flow and expanded the number of participants in the decision making process. Four of six faculty members thought that academic quality might be hurt because of financially motivated decisions. Faculty members were aware of the difficulties in achieving a proper balance in RCM. Overall, respondents did not advocate RSM as a panacea, but they did consider it an effective planning tool. (Contains 19 references.) (SLD)

This report examines the legal and regulatory structure of basic education in Indonesia beginning in 1989, when Education Law Number 2 was enacted (from which all current regulations, policies, and procedures can be traced). In 1999, two key laws (Number 22 and Number 25) were passed that required the decentralization of many government functions. This paper examines the laws and their supporting executive pronouncements and makes recommendations related to improving the functions of a decentralized educational system. The five chapters focus on (1) "Overview of Regulatory Structure in Indonesia"; (2) "Laws Pertaining to Basic Education" (governance, organizational structure, management, and supervision; student personnel; program, curriculum, instruction, and resources; assessment, monitoring, and evaluation; educational personnel; community; educational finance; and other topics); (3) "Recent Legal Changes Impacting on Education"; (4) "Discussion and Recommendations" (governance, organizational structure, management, and supervision; student personnel; program, curriculum, instruction, and resources; assessment, monitoring, and evaluation; educational personnel; community; educational finance; and other topics); and (5) "Final Remarks." (SM)

Sweden is undergoing a school decentralization process from a formerly centralized system. This report examines how school personnel are adapting to the changes. Schoolteachers, administrators, and staff members were interviewed, and, where appropriate, responses were coded for numerical assessment. Additional data include school-reform plans for each school, local newspaper articles describing school changes, and other publications related to change initiatives. Findings revealed common concerns among interviewees about increased workload and stress, and less time to accomplish new tasks in addition to preparing for classes; the lack of clarity in how to organize and implement interdisciplinary courses; the success of students with limited abilities and motivation in the uniform national courses such as mathematics, Swedish, and English; the value of team organization; and adequate state and local financial support for school reform. A major obstacle to the comprehensive change process lies in the perceived disadvantage teachers and administrators have in the reform process compared to national and local authorities. Lack of power to influence changes, lack of communication between educators and politicians, and limited resources for implementation plague collaborative work between schools and community groups. Appendices contain summaries of coding processes and coding identifications for the three schools studied. (Contains 26 references.) (RT)

Research on economic development efforts among 70 American Indian tribes, mostly in rural areas, yields information that may be applicable to rural areas generally. Local control matters--when decisions move into the hands of those whose future is at stake, the decision makers bear the consequences of their decisions, resulting in better decision making over time. Current trends in governmental devolution support the importance of local control. Local control must be backed up by effective institutions, which are characterized by four elements: stability in the rules themselves, depoliticizing day-to-day business decisions, depoliticizing dispute resolution, and bureaucratic structures and procedures that can get things done predictably and reliably. The significance of effective local institutions of governance rises dramatically as local control rises. Successful economic development requires strategic thinking, a systematic examination not only of assets and opportunities but of priorities and concerns characterized by long-term thinking, systemic thinking, and a broad societal focus. Good leadership is important. Good leaders are precipitators, breaking with past habits and establishing new kinds of behavior; they are conduits for information; they encourage leadership on the part of others; and they build governing institutions that are not themselves dependent on good leadership. Rural leadership training is needed, along with research-derived models of institutional structures that work best in particular community circumstance. (Contains 37 references.) (TD)

This study examined the reading habits of 301 fourth-grade pupils in Israel. The objective was to investigate the relationship between the type of school library and the pupils' reading habits over the long range. The hypothesis was that pupils who have a central library in their school together with classroom collections read more than pupils whose school has only a central library or only classroom collections. Reading was measured by amount of reading, average number of hours per day devoted to free reading, and having library-borrowed books at home. The sample included: (1) children who participated in a class-library project in grades 2-3, with a central library also existing in the school; (2) children who participated in a class-library project in grades 2-3, with no central library in the school; and (3) children who did not participate in a class-library project, while having a central library in the school. A certain contribution of the class-library project was apparent, but the realization of this contribution depends on the existence of a central library in the school. A class library is not a substitute for a central collection, although it can constitute one approach among several that can encourage children reading. (Author/MES)

This paper discusses the reorganization of libraries in order to adopt new techniques and to incorporate the electronic library, focusing on the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The first section addresses manpower and the electronic library, including processing electronic journals, justification for the traditional library organization with a flexible and dynamic solution for the areas that are affected by constant change, and new responsibilities of staff at the Technion related to the electronic library. The second section considers the library as a leader, including status related to electronic information management, the importance of encouraging new initiatives, and the role of the Technion library in making videotaped courses available on the campus network. The third section covers centralization versus decentralization, including cooperation among libraries at the institutional level as a tool to achieve centralization, cooperation among departmental libraries at the Technion, and the use of Internet technology for bibliographic services at the Technion. The fourth section discusses technical support in the library, including the trend toward more independence of libraries in maintaining their networked information services and communication issues, especially between the library and the campus computer center. The last section describes future possible changes in library management and manpower organization. (MES)

This paper begins with some general remarks about the indexing of electronic publications. Characteristics of today's information world are highlighted, including decentralization, distributed data collections, and heterogeneous data structures and indexing procedures. Three possible models for managing access to information are summarized: a centralistic organization; a network of scientists; and standardization, acceptance, and dissemination of metadata. The shell model for indexing electronic resources is presented. The CARMEN project of the Universitatsbibliothek Regensburg (Germany), which deals with the indexing of digital publications, is then described, focusing on cross concordances between different classifications and thesauri. Similar links between a universal thesaurus and specialized thesauri are also discussed. (MES)

A study investigated and reported on the state of women's training in Ontario after the federal transfer of labor market training to the Ontario government. Data were collected from women's representatives to Ontario's local training boards; regional focus groups; and women at the 2000 conference of the Canadian Congress of Learning Opportunities for Women. Findings indicated federal changes to training and income support entitlements reduced women's access to services and community-based programs; many women needed training but were unable to find a suitable program; language instruction, foundation skills development, bridge programming, income support, child care, and access to counseling were unmet critical service needs; women's entry into nontraditional occupations steadily diminished; and women had difficulty finding information about program availability, entry criteria, and counseling services. Steps recommended as the basis for future collaboration at the local level among agencies serving women were the following: campaigns to promote best practices and equity-based programming; identification of areas for standardization and collaboration; inter-sectoral partnerships; co-location arrangements and sharing resources; employment equity practices; prior learning recognition and knowledge/skill profiles; models for home-based workers; local board environmental scans; and monitor labor market information. (Contains a 22-item bibliography.) (YLB)

In little more than 2 decades following the death of General Francisco Franco, Spain celebrated its transition from the most centralized to one of the most decentralized nations in Europe--in government and education. The objective of the study described in this report was to describe and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a complex and comprehensive reform that ultimately resulted in a successful but uneasy transfer of authority and financial resources from the center to the regions. A conventional field-study method to gather data was conducted on six occasions between 1987 and 1997. More than 200 individuals were interviewed, including university scholars, senior Ministry of Education officers, regional educational managers, school directors, and teachers. Results can provide useful guidelines for other nations attempting to decentralize their educational system. Recommendations, based on Spain's experience with reform, include negotiating decentralization between the system center and regions; letting a court decide disagreements; making changes incrementally; transferring physical resources, such as school buildings and equipment, in good condition; redirecting reforms; keeping quality managers on the job; balancing funding between rich and poor regions; depopulating the ministry of education; developing educational leaders; adequately funding the educational expansion; provide strong political support; sharing vision; and governing by laws and not personalities. (RT)

This report reviews the second-year implementation of the New York City public school system's Performance Driven Budget (PDB) initiative. The Galaxy budgeting system that is part of the PDB initiative generates a school's budget from its table of organization, and then derives district and Central budgets by aggregating all school budgets. After 2 years of implementing PDB in New York City, the outline of a radically different budgeting and instructional improvement system may be emerging. While the first year's evaluation focused on the conditions for implementation, the second year evaluation documents and analyzes the effectiveness of PDB design and implementation at Central, district, and school levels. Information from a number of data sources indicates that the central office and districts and schools have begun to create the school-driven, instructionally focused budgeting system that the PDB planners envisioned. There is some evidence that the changes have begun to have some effect in PDB district and schools. The findings of the second year evaluation are based on the assumption that changes in seven areas of policy and practice must occur in order for the successful implementation of PDB: movement of authority in budgeting, personnel and instructional planning to the school level; restructuring of resource allocation to support instructional planning and budgeting; improvement in the provision of demographic and outcome data to schools; development of the capacity to support school-level planning and budgeting; creation of more participatory decision-making structures at the school level; establishment of effective accountability in PDB districts; commitment to a system-wide culture that supports school decision-making and improvement. Three appendixes provide supplemental information about PDB. (Contains 21 charts and 25 tables.) (SLD)

There was a notable transition in the nature, content, and administration of rural policies in many developed nations in the 1980s and 1990s. These changes concerned issues of governance and institutional framework, the definition of "development," and policy goals and content. A key question, however, concerns the extent to which shifts in the language or rhetoric of rural policy are matched by reality. This paper assesses rural policy changes and their rationale in relation to rural trends at the beginning of the new century. It draws heavily on recent experience in the European Union, especially implementation of Agenda 2000, and also reviews rural policy changes in the United States, Canada, and UK countries. In all these countries, rural policies of a territorial nature now comprise many of these elements: efforts to reinforce rural economies; attempts to restructure agriculture; strengthening of transportation and telecommunications infrastructure; improved business assistance; development of human resources through vocational training, entrepreneurship education, and school-to-work initiatives; local "capacity building"; creation of products based on local identity; new or adapted financial instruments; and new ways of providing public services in rural areas. Trends in institutional arrangements for delivery of rural policy include decentralization, support for bottom-up development, better policy coordination, and regional and local partnerships. Challenges for rural policy and the ways that developed countries are meeting these challenges are discussed. (SV)

This report summarizes what is known about educational improvement in Latin America and provides objectives and strategies to guide the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in supporting primary and secondary education in Latin America and the Caribbean over the next decade. It is based on six background papers as well as a review of the lessons learned from recent regional and country experience. The papers are "The Need for Education Reform"; "Five Critical Areas of Reform to Improve Quality and Increase Equity"; "The Challenge of Secondary Education"; "Navigating and Managing the System: Tools to Achieve Reform Goals"; "The Art of Implementing Education Reform"; and "Looking to the Future: Developing an IDB Action Plan." The critical areas of reform are making teachers partners in reform; providing more and better textbooks and teaching materials; selectively supporting the use of technology in education; decentralizing educational management and increasing accountability of key stakeholders; and strengthening early childhood education and development. The report summarizes new challenges facing secondary education in the region (i.e., meeting increasing quantitative and qualitative needs while simultaneously serving a more diverse clientele). It sets out information and management tools needed to meet long-term goals and confirms the fundamental importance of engaging in a long-term and consensual reform process. (Contains 81 references.) (SM)

This paper discusses the Collaborative Action Team (CAT) process, which was initiated by the U.S. Department of Education, and which encourages the development of partnerships among families, community members, school personnel, and students in communities with histories of ongoing and underserved needs. CAT is based on a set of core principles and includes four stages of team development: Team Identification, Team Mobilization, Project Development, and Project Implementation. The core principles are representative membership, shared leadership, consensus decision-making, and action focus. The article focuses on whether collaborative partnerships among the school, home, and community can be developed and sustained as a result of the CAT process. CAT participants from Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas were included in the study. The findings show that over 90 percent of the sites under review had completed the majority of activities in the first stage of the CAT process. Teams were comprised of representatives from the home, school, and community, though family members other than a parent, teachers, higher education staff, and civic organizational personnel were less likely to be a member of the CAT. Overall, the results show that the development of school-based collaborative efforts is a time intensive, multifaceted endeavor. (Contains 16 references and a table that includes demographic information.) (RJM)

Education reform during the last 2 decades has been shaped by the forces of growing public distrust of educational bureaucracies in a climate of rapid political change and growing international competition in the context of a global economy. Major school reforms in four selected industrial countries that differ significantly in terms of educational institutions and cultures are examined using school reform literature, related government reports, and newspaper articles. Japan and Korea have highly centralized school governance systems and homogeneous educational values. Conversely, in the United States and England, education governance is decentralized, and educational values are relatively heterogeneous. In the latter two countries lack of focus and accountability were identified as major deficiencies of their educational systems, and efforts were made to standardize curriculum, tighten assessment practices, and introduce market-like competition. Similar political and economic challenges in Japan and Korea, on the other hand, resulted in policies to differentiate curriculum, diversify assessment, decentralize school governance, and make the system more diverse and democratic--enhancing whole-person education. (Contains 33 references.) (DFR)

This paper examines the relationship of the Chinese National Academy of Educational Administration, the Asian Development Bank, and a consulting U.S. university in a project to provide technical assistance for senior Chinese university administrators in management training and modernization of facilities. Although the higher education component in China is relatively small, the central government expects it to play a key role in social and economic development. The government also wants to decentralize university administration and reduce its share of the financial burden, but at the same time not lose complete control. Sections of the paper discuss the development of Chinese higher education, sources of funding for higher education, private higher education, the need to decentralize the administrative structure, and issues of efficiency, effectiveness, and expansion. Issues addressed include free education in China losing out to market forces; a growing disparity between rich and poor; increasing demand for higher education as a result of the growth of secondary education; and the need for legal codes on which to base policies and protect the rights of institutions, their administrators, faculty, and students. (Contains 25 references.) (RH)

This paper examines the current status and future of Canada's Depository Service Program (DSP) for government information. The first section discusses the depository model, including changes due to information technology and decentralization of government authority. Access and preservation are addressed in the second section, including the implications of the migration to electronic format. The third section describes Service Canada, an initiative of the Canadian federal government mandated to: create a strong horizontal management structure; foster coordination, partnerships, and alliances among federal departments and agencies; and champion citizen-centered integrated service delivery. The next section considers traditional media, focusing on the continued popularity of print materials and the role of Canadian Government Publishing, the federal government's official publisher. In the fifth section, changes in the DSP's role and vision are summarized, and several recent initiatives are described. The final section discusses Canadian Depository Services in the new millennium. (Contains 28 footnotes.) (MES)

This report describes the 10 recommendations made by the Task Force for Effectiveness Planning in Postsecondary Education that were adopted by the Alabama State Board of Education in May 1999. Each recommendation in the report is accompanied by a rationale, implementation strategies, and legal/fiscal considerations to be taken into account. The 10 recommendations to be executed by the State Board of Education are to: (1) develop and execute a plan whereby every postsecondary two-year institution will become either a comprehensive community college, a branch of such a college, or close; (2) organize community colleges under eight college regions in order to enhance the cost effectiveness, capacity, flexibility, and responsiveness of the system; (3) establish regional workforce development boards to provide for regional planning and oversight of community college technical training resources and to create a direct link with local workforce and economic development requirements; (4) work with regional boards to ensure that workforce training is focused on statewide priorities and is responsive to local employer needs; (5) designate authority over the Alabama Community College System to the State Board of Education; (6) organize quality literacy training; (7) establish and oversee workforce development programs; (8) abolish tenure for all new hires; (9) facilitate and improve the transfer of state-of-the-art technical knowledge to business and industry; and (10) connect community colleges regionally and statewide through interactive video and data networks. (AS)

So that New York City could build on the experiences of other large cities as it implemented Performance Driven Budgeting (PDB) in the schools, a study was conducted of the school based budgeting training in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Denver. These districts have from 6 to 10 years experience in site-based budgeting. The study is based on interviews with reform office staff and budget office directors, as well as principals, teachers, leadership team parents and staff members, district budget trainers, and external training program directors and trainers. Training materials and training evaluations were also examined. Descriptions of the programs in the three cities resulted in the identification of five key practices for model training: (1) institutional support for site-based decision making; (2) comprehensive training and information programs; (3) accessibility of training; (4) understandable training and materials; and (5) external training and technical assistance. The lesson that can be drawn from New York City is that the task is large and requires good decision making and substantial amounts of time. Training for all parent and community members is critical, and trainers need to help school leadership teams review all their schools' resources. (SLD)