In this article we discuss a collaborative research project meant to ground community members' voices in curriculum design. We argue that performing collaborative research with students and parents can better inform curriculum design decisions, particularly for communities whose identities, knowledge(s), and ways of being have been historically…

States have been given flexibility under No Child Left Behind to create need-driven comprehensive school improvement plans with an approved accountability system, however those unable to show increased student learning will be deemed as failing. Schools labeled as failing require a comprehensive framework for improvement. Research has identified a…

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…

When Stephanie Smith became the principal of Seaford (Delaware) Middle School four years ago, she was told to accept the fact that the school would never be able to change its status as a school that needed to improve. She did not accept that. To improve performance levels, she set the expectations high. Her defiance paid off: the school is now…

Political obstacles to curriculum changes can be avoided by inviting participation by curriculum specialists, teachers, parents, and other citizens in the decision-making process. (Author/MLF)

This paper reports on collaborative, school-based research in an Australian Research Council-funded project that focused on curriculum leadership for effective learning and teaching. Although the research addressed certain questions about the nature of curriculum leadership and its representation in varied teaching/learning contexts, it raised…

This paper reports on a pilot study that emerged from two separate doctoral studies on teacher curriculum decision making and school-based management. The pilot study investigated the interface of curriculum making and educational partnership, noting conceptual and contextual links between the thinking and practice of teacher curriculum decision…

This case study examines one School Community Consultative Committee (SCCC) involved in planning and implementing a primary school Human Relationships Education program in Australia. Developments on the local level that have led to this type of parent participation are outlined. Findings from two literature reviews on parent participation are…

Although curriculum issues still command reformers' attention, researchers recognize that academic success is tied to home and community support. Alliance for Achievement is a school-community management program that addresses the relationships among schools, homes, and communities based on locally defined and commonly held educational values. The…

This study presents a report on parents' participation in a leadership-development project in which parents constructed their own leadership roles for improving children's educational opportunities and outcomes. The text focuses on parents working in collaboration with other parents, school administrators, and university faculty and staff. The…

This book is a compilation of the recommendations on leadership contained in education reports and management studies over the past 5 years. In addition exemplary programs reported in a survey by the American Association of School Administrators are presented throughout the book in sections titled "Promising Practices." Eight issues identified in…

Summarizes a five-month study of a British secondary school governing body to determine whether the 1986 and 1988 education acts' goals were being achieved. One significant research issue was the emerging lay-professional relationship. At present, the school governing body is not fully exercising its powers but is responding to an externally…

At the beginning of his tenure in 1987, the superintendent of Clear Creek School District (Colorado) found that the district had no written K-12 curriculum, no ongoing process for developing such a curriculum, and no systematic process for staff development. To provide for change based on projected student needs for the 21st century, the…

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…

This paper presents a case study of a collaboration between the St. Louis (Missouri) Public Schools and Maryville University (Missouri) to develop an early childhood magnet center and professional development school (PDS), the Wilkinson Early Childhood Magnet School. This school serves a diverse population of children from age 3 through second…