This study uses Henry Mintzberg's structural observation method to examine British primary school head teachers' work patterns and determine the nature of their role. Head teachers' days were characterized by brevity, variety, and fragmentation similar to those discussed in findings of other empirical managerial studies. Leadership roles stressed…

The 1988 Chicago Reform Act has empowered minority parents to create change in their children's schools. Britain's Education Reform Act of 1988 had the same intent, but school governing bodies are still dominated by professionals, politicians, and business representatives. (SK)

Uses structuration theory concepts to analyze the disjunction between annual school development plans and a more flexible planning approach effective at the building level. Analyzes concepts, discusses features of local education authority development plans, summarizes relevant research, and suggests unintended consequences of development plans as…

A former primary headteacher examines problems inherent in the doubly loaded teaching head's role in small (British) primary schools. The demands posed by recent changes have been exacerbated by the headteacher's lack of real freedom to determine an appropriate balance between teaching and managerial responsibilities. Headteachers' special…

Compares the Chicago School Reform Act of 1988 with the English Education Reform Act of 1988. Explains the source of authority for school-based management in each setting and examines six common themes. Emphasizes the conflict between the concepts of the professionalism of teachers and client empowerment through enrollment choice or…

The provision for schools to waive local education authority control and become self-governing was the most radical element of Britain's 1988 Education Reform Act. A survey of five opted-out primary schools shows that larger schools succeed better at self-governance because of economies of scale; clustering smaller schools into groups with single…

Britain's 1992 Education Bill closely follows the 1992 "Choice and Diversity" White Paper's advocacy of "grant-maintained" (self-governing) status for schools. These decentralization measures may prove simplistic and ineffective, because the White Paper identifies no school evaluation criteria other than popularity with parents…

This paper reports on the effects of local management of schools (LMS) on provision for special educational needs (SEN) of British students. It examines the legislative framework, increases in numbers of pupils with SEN statements, and difficulties faced by mainstream schools in trying to stretch their resources to cope with SEN pupils. (JDD)

Educational revolutions in Great Britain and the former Soviet Union were initiated by charismatic national leaders, looked back to more "authentic" conditions where teachers and students dominated formal education, encouraged parent participation, and sought to destroy bureaucratic intermediary agencies in the educational…

This paper applies Cuban's (1992) concept of "managing dilemmas" to the current market-based reforms in English and Welsh education at both the macro (policy) and, particularly, at the micro (individual and school) levels. The Parental and School Choice Interaction (PASCI) Study is currently investigating the interaction between parental…

In an analysis of school reform in Great Britain, this book shows how the landmark Education Reform Act of 1988 (ERA) imposed a radically new framework on British education. This framework is built on the same types of reforms that American activists have been proposing for years: school-based management (SBM), choice, and accountability.…

Large-scale curriculum and assessment reform is neither a local peculiarity, nor a product of national political partisanship. It is a phenomenon of international dimensions. Divided into three sections and nine chapters, this book seeks to explain and interpret the nature, impact, and interrelatedness of recent important and far-reaching reforms.…

Discusses the change to a choice-based school system in Great Britain under the Education Reform Act of 1988. Compares the British system with proposed changes in the United States. Describes the changes that have placed budgeting and management in the hands of the individual schools that have the power to "opt out" of school district…

In this book, educational scholars and practitioners examine school-restructuring processes, particularly those involved in site-based management. Following the introduction and overview by John J. Lane and Edgar G. Epps, part 1 examines concepts and theories that relate to school restructuring in general and to school-based management in…

This study examined the types of provisions for special needs students, measurement of needs, levels of funding, and funding formulae used by 65 British local education authorities under the Local Management of Schools approach. The study found much diversity among local education authorities in the measurement of needs and in funding levels. (JDD)