For many years, teachers have been involved in developing the national curricula in Finland in various ways. Teachers' involvement in curriculum design and implementation has, during the last national curriculum implementation process, increased locally to strengthen their confidence in and knowledge of the national curriculum's multifaceted…

This paper presents how some Australian schools are changing their approaches to leading the teaching and learning in their diverse and multi-characteristic contexts. Experiences of these schools shows that the development of a school wide approach to pedagogy and its implementation needs to be firmly embedded in the leadership of learning.…

This article investigates the importance of parent and community engagement in curriculum development, along with curriculum leadership, engaging stakeholders, and the importance of curriculum. Parent and community member engagement is examined in light of curriculum committee participation as reported by Missouri superintendents. Survey responses…

During the past two decades, Taiwan's Ministry of Education has responded to globalization by restructuring school curricular, instructional, and decision making practices along western lines in an attempt to attain legitimacy on the world stage. As a result, Taiwanese principals, once kings within their schools, now must share power with other…

Effective curriculum implementation depends on how closely the teacher's beliefs, knowledge, and skills match curricular philosophy and demands. Curriculum designers should be a group of teachers who will be implementing the plan for learning. Astute administrative guidance is the key to ensuring a quality product. The administrator's role is as…

Changes geared toward enhancing student success occurring in certain Miami, Minneapolis, and New York City schools capture the essence of educational restructuring. A complete overhaul of curriculum and instruction, authority and decision-making practices, staff roles, and accountability systems is necessary--especially in inner-city schools.…

A persistent and pervasive disparity in academic achievement exists between ethnic minority and English Learner students and their White and Asian peers. This qualitative single-case study of a high-poverty, high-performing middle school focused on the cultural norms, practices, and programs that were perceived to be contributing to narrowing the…

Efforts to increase academic expectations and improve the school climate at Fairfield (Ohio) High School have resulted in a record high in ACT test scores, a decrease in failure and dropout rates, and a dramatic increase in attendance as well as in the percentage of students taking foreign languages, math, and science. Some policy changes…

A study conducted in Massachusetts between October 1986 and May 1987 assessed the behaviors and skills principals exhibit when they make curricular revisions. Questionnaires were sent to all superintendents in Massachusetts, of which 48 were returned. From the information furnished by these questionnaires, 18 principals were selected for onsite…

For all students to become responsible citizens and productive workers, the nature of "effective learning" and the characteristics of schools providing it must change. This report reviews the value and potential of various proposals to change the instruction of at-risk students from a pedagogy of minimal basic skills to a pedagogy of…

A study of 20 representative primary schools in New South Wales, Australia, revealed that a high degree of principal supportiveness as measured by the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire was associated positively with curriculum decision making by staff groups and negatively with curriculum decision-making by individual teachers. (PGD)

The supportiveness of the principal was found to be significantly related to the organizational and theoretical dimensions of school-based curriculum development. When school staff saw the principal as supportive, there was higher perceived intimacy among staff, higher perceived curriculum satisfaction, more perceived group decision-making, and…

This paper summarizes a Master's project designed for principals who are interested in pursuing instructional leadership in their schools. The first part provides the principal with an overall understanding of, and rationale for, the role of the principal as instructional leader. The second part, written in the format of a handbook, describes the…

This study examined curriculum procedures and the roles, decision-making processes, and perceptions of central administrators, building administrators, and teachers in five school districts. Qualitative data collection included taped interviews using a focused indepth interview schedule, field notes, observation, and document collection. The study…

School-Based Management/Shared Decision Making is a city-wide program supported by New York City Schools in collaboration with Bank Street College, based on the belief that students, parents, school staff, and communities have unique needs, and that these needs can best be addressed by these persons. Participating schools formed teams of…