Book Description

This work examines ways central and regional education ministries can influence practices at the school level. Chapter 1, "Changing What Happens in Schools: Central-Level Initiatives to Improve School Practice," reviews common themes, concerns, problems, and emphases. Chapter 2, "Knowledge Utilization and the Process of Policy Formation: Towards a Framework for Action," offers a new way of thinking about policymaking. Chapter 3, "Information and the Reform of Initial Teacher Education in Papua New Guinea: Strategies, Challenges, and Results," traces the politics of efforts to strengthen teacher education. Chapter 4, "Bottom-Up and Top-Down Strategies for Improving Classroom Instruction, Case Studies from Korea," reports on two experiences in revising instruction. Chapter 5,"Multi-Grade Schooling in the Philippines: A Strategy for Improving Access to and Quality of Primary Education," presents a case study of the use of multigrade schooling to address rising enrollment. Chapter 6, "A National Strategy for Systems-Wide Curriculum Improvement in Trinidad and Tobago," traces a plan to change a national test influencing classroom instruction in written English. Chapter 7, "Changing Schools through Participatory Knowledge Management in El Salvador: Can Education Systems Learn?" offers a case study of efforts to implement the Education with Participation of the Community program. Chapter 8, "Linking School Change to Community Participation in Social Forestry: A Guided Innovation in Thailand," describes a successful instructional model built on community involvement. Chapter 9, "Sustainable EMIS: Who Is Accountable?" focuses on the issue of sustainability in Education Management Information Systems (EMIS). Chapter 10, "Information for Improving School Practice: Three Indonesian Cases and a Conceptual Model," identifies factors limiting EMIS success, including choice indicators, unclear educational concepts, nontransparent processes, time sensitivity, and the context-dependence of technology. Chapter 11, "Decentralizing National Education Data To Support Local Use: The Jordanian Experience," stresses the importance of decentralized information access and use. Chapter 12, "Improving School Practice: Towards Multi-Level Planning, Monitoring, and Support," offers an analysis of common themes, a set of conclusions, and future steps linking ministry-level planning and school-level practice. (TEJ)