Restructuring Schools: An International Perspective on the Movement to Transform the Control and Performance of Schools

The decade 1980-90 saw a spate of educational reconstruction occurring simultaneously in many countries. This book argues that the school restructuring of the past 10 years has been called the "education-reform movement," but that term is somewhat misleading. The current reform efforts seem to aim primarily at the control and governance of both schools and school systems, targeting the management of education. The book examines the common themes that are emerging in the restructuring movement and its possible effects. Developments in Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and New Zealand are examined. Part 1, entitled "A Comparative Perspective," contains the following two chapters: (1) "Introduction" (H. Beare and W. Lowe Boyd); and (2) "Ready, A.I.M., Reform: Building a Model of Education Reform and 'High Politics'" (J. W. Guthrie and J. E. Koppich). Part 2 presents case studies from the six countries: (3) "The Education-reform Movement in England and Wales" (H. Thomas); (4) "Examining Contemporary Education-Reform Efforts in the United States" (J. E. Koppich and J. W. Guthrie); (5) "The Reconstruction of New Zealand Education: A Case of 'High Politics' Reform?" (R. J. S. Macpherson); (6) "A Decade of Educational Reform in Canada: Encounters with the Octopus, the Elephant, and the Five Dragons" (S. B. Lawton); (7) "Developments in Education Policy in Australia: A Perspective on the 1980s" (L. Warren Louden and R. K. Browne); and (8) "Education Reform in Japan Since 1984" (T. Sasamori). Part 3, entitled "Issues in the School-Reform Movement," contains the following chapters: (9) "Paradox and Uncertainty in the Governance of Education" (B. J. Caldwell); (10) "On Centralization, Decentralization, and School Restructuring: A Sociological Perspective" (R. O. Slater); (11) "Public Schools in Decline: Implications of the Privatization of Schools in Australia" (D. S. Anderson); (12) Different Ways of Viewing School-site Councils: Whose Paradigm Is in Use Here?" (H. Beare); and (13) "A Framework for Allocating Authority in a System of Schools" (A. D. Swanson). Each chapter contains references. Eight figures, five tables, a list of acronyms, and an index are included. (LMI)