A case study of a state college illustrating a framework to diagnose culture in collegiate institutions is presented. Organizational culture as a concept for understanding management and performance in higher education is explained, previous attempts to define culture in higher education are outlined, and essential elements of academic culture are…

The authors argue that the current teacher education program model, featuring apprenticeship, inhibits the self-directed growth of student teachers and fails to promote their full professional development. They describe an alternative model used at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, that promotes reflective teaching, teacher autonomy, and…

Thirteen steps to implement Theory Z management, a model for positive administrative change, are identified. Theory Z has the principal objective of "developing the ability of the organization to coordinate people, not technology, to achieve productivity" and focuses on long-range staff development and consensus decision-making. (MLW)

This article discusses some of the various school-reform strategies that have been implemented since the publication of A Nation at Risk. It opens with an examination of standards-based accountability and some of the concerns and objections surrounding this movement. It asks whether standards are achieving their purpose, looks at the role of state…

In two articles on outdoor programming models, Watters distinguished four models on a continuum ranging from the common adventure model, with minimal organizational structure and leadership control, to the guide service model, in which leaders are autocratic and trips are highly structured. Club programs and instructional programs were in between,…

Discusses characteristics of four common administrator evaluation procedures: management by objectives, traditional rating scales, self-evaluation, and administrator outcomes models. Outlines three broad responsibility areas for special-education administrators that warrant evaluation. Introduces a comprehensive, team-based model that begins with…

Examines distinctive organizational and decision-making characteristics of models of school-based management found in Spain, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dade County (Florida). Models differ in original source of change and position on a decentralization continuum, ranging from deconcentration of workload to permanent devolution of authority.…

A conceptual frame is offered for the investigation of issues related to teacher participation in educational governance and teacher evaluation. In a restructured school system both teachers and schools would seek evaluation, not in response to demands for accountability, but as a step toward performance improvement. (SLD)

Compares the Group Valence Model (GVM) to several derived versions of the Valence Distribution Model (VDM), as they relate to the group problem-solving process. Suggests that, not withstanding predictive accuracy, the VDM seems generally inferior to the GVM, which consistently accounts for more of the decision-making phenomenon. Discusses…

The two reform orientations termed "hard" and "soft" policy do not represent a set of mutually exclusive choices for policymakers. Bureaucratically and professionally based decision-making approaches must coexist in schools and school districts. The dual policy approach necessitates a rethinking of administrative posture and gives shape to a…

Explores a British secondary school's 8-year involvement with the Improving the Quality of Education for All reform initiative, comparing three leadership models. Transactional and transformational leadership models are limited in long-term improvement efforts. Leadership themes based on values, shared leadership contexts, and capacity creation…

Ideally, school leadership should be shared among staff. However, the extent of justifiable sharing in actual practice depends on diverse contexts and consequent risks for headteachers. Research on management teams at four British primary schools shows how principals variably shared leadership by setting parameters for teamwork. (Contains 42…

This paper reports on an ethnographic study of 25 teacher leaders in five schools within a large midwestern city school district. Data was collected through unstructured interviews and observations of teachers. Three central themes appeared repeatedly, and explain the presence of and support for teachers as leaders, including: (1) specific school…

Proponents of school restructuring often promote the purported benefits of professional forms of management that call for staff cooperation and collegiality, teachers' participation in school decision making, and supportive leadership by school principals. A theoretical perspective on organizations known as contingency theory refers to such…

In searching for a new budget formula for the College of Business at California State University at Long Beach, a major university in the west, several rational budget formulas were explored. This report develops an explanation in quantitative terms of the reasoning process pursued by the department chairs in arriving at the compromise budget…