Journal of the Effective Schools Project, Volume 1, 1994 Page: 33
39 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Musings:
ESP, Secondary Schools, and School Reform
by
Mark Littleton, Assistant Professor & Director of TMATE Program
Tarleton State UniversityWhen I was asked to submit a manuscript for
the inaugural edition of the ESP Journal, I told the
editor that I wanted to address secondary schools and
what research says about school reform at the second-
ary level. So, I began to jot down ideas that I garnered
from seminars led by noted authorities who addressed
the Effective Schools Project (ESP) audiences ... Wil-
liam Glasser, Carl Glickman, Henry Levin, Jo Ahn
Brown-Nash, etc. As I reflected upon my notes,
however, I noticed that all of the ideas were verified by
comments made to me by the public school partici-
pants. It was at that point that I decided to take a
different tack. Therefore, what follows are my obser-
vations of what secondary schools should entertain
when considering a "better" way of conducting school.
Effective Schools Project (ESP)
Tarleton State University's Effective Schools
Project is about school reform. That is reform in the
most positive definition of the word. ESP has spawned
various public school reform efforts - at the elemen-
tary and secondary levels, alike. Please understand
that the term "spawned" was chosen carefully. ESP
has not forced or coerced any school reform measure.
In fact, to imply that ESP initiated any of the reform
efforts would be untrue. However, to say that ESP
established conditions conducive to school self-refor-
mation would be much nearer the truth.
ESP is predicated on the concept that "true"
school reform must come from within. Peripheral
forces, primarily legislative, have compelled schools
to engage in school reform activities. As we well
know, legislation forces compliance, not commit-
~7 ament. Because of the compliance - commitment
dichotomy, ESP was formed to promote effective,
long-lasting school reform where positive change is
generated at the campus level, by those most closely
associated with the target of school reform - class-
room teachers and principals.
There are data that support the contention
that ESP has had a positive impact regarding school
improvement (Littleton, et.al. 1991). A study con-
ducted of ESP schools in 1988-89 found that signifi-
cant positive changes in teachers' opinions were
recorded in the following areas:
* Involvement of faculty in the selection
of topics for in-service programs
* Class visitations by principals or su-
pervisors
* Teacher attention to student needs
* Student encouragement by teachers
* The amount of freedom which teachers
are allowed in the selection of teaching
methods
* Adequate time each day to prepare for
teaching
* The appropriateness of a school's pri-
orities for expenditures of funds
Moreover, two areas where a significant posi-
tive change was noted, indicate that ESP, along with
the administrative teams, have had a monumental
impact. These positive changes indicated that teach-
ers possess:
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Tarleton State University. Effective Schools Project. Journal of the Effective Schools Project, Volume 1, 1994, periodical, 1994; Stephenville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201678/m1/33/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Tarleton State University.