| Educational reform has become one of the most divisive issues in America during the last decade. Concerns about our educational system are reverberating at the national, state, and local levels. A heated debate involving American education has raged in the press. A diverse group of individuals and organizations are engaged in what appears to be a major crisis.; Educational administrators should be at the forefront of the educational reform movement. Understanding the context of a problem and having a proper perspective are paramount in long-term solution planning. Historical analysis and synthesis techniques were used to investigate past reform attempts and the issues surrounding them. Reform movements must be placed into proper perspective. Failed educational reform proposals can not be understood outside this context.; The purpose of the study was to investigate the various attempts made to reform the educational system in the United States from 1983 to 1993. The study focused on why educational reform during the last decade had been unsuccessful.; The study was based on a critical examination of original and secondary source documents. A variety of sources, representing diverse viewpoints, were collected, analyzed, and synthesized. A framework was developed that can be used as a rational basis for designing educational reform proposals.; A synthesis of the literature found that the hypotheses being tested (lack of agreed purpose, lack of direction, and lack of commitment) were the major plausible reasons for educational reform failure during the past ten years. Another key reason for reform failure, lack of effective leadership, was found to be closely related to lack of agreed purpose, direction, and commitment.; Educational administrators can use the information in this study as a tool for improving the school system in the United States. Understanding why past reform efforts have failed can help administrators plan and implement more successful reform in the future. |
