In Europe a very intensive discussion is in full swing as to whether vocational schools should in future be guided and monitored by the state or whether they should be freed from state dependency. Within the framework of a number of pilot projects in German-speaking countries, vocational school centers are currently testing their autonomy. This…

Charter-school legislation is part of a larger movement that symbolizes the push for decentralization of public schools, grounded in the belief that local control leads to teacher professionalism and thus improved student outcomes. This paper examines enacted charter-school legislation from across the United States, analyzing the similarities and…

This paper presents findings of a study that described and analyzed the first 5 years (1985-90) of the Spanish experience in school-based management (SBM). The Spanish experience is instructive because the country, formerly comprised of independent territories, made a swift and peaceful transition to democracy. As a means of reinforcing the…

One issue in school restructuring has been deciding exactly how to make schools more autonomous and accountable. Charter schools, a recent concept, offer a viable means of integrating various reform ideas in order to create highly autonomous and accountable learning environments. This publication defines charter schools; highlights the appeal of…

To date, eight states (Minnesota, California, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, and Wisconsin) have passed some type of charter school legislation. This report provides information on activities and legislation in these states regarding charter school formation, including the roles played by individual teachers and others as…

This paper uses data drawn from two projects funded by the Economic and Social Research Council of England and Wales. It covers the years 1990-94 and examines the effects of the Education Reform Act, which allowed state schools to "opt out" or leave the control of their Local Education Authority (LEA) and still receive funding. Such…

A number of researchers and national commission reports have recommended increased autonomy of public schools through school-site management. School-based management entails focusing the full resources of the system at school level and allowing decisions to be make at that level where faculty and principal constitute a natural management team.…

The purpose of this study was to determine the current legal status of U.S. postsecondary education by examining the legal doctrine of academic abstention, a theory by which U.S. jurists have hitherto avoided excessive legal interference with the academic affairs of colleges and universities. Since World War II, however, changes in the student and…

This case study examined the separation of a community college from a local university where both had functioned as one for 20 years. The study used Robert Yin's model of investigating a "real-life" situation and several sources of data including: informal interviews, field notes, and archival data. In addition, the metaphor of…

Although tribal colleges were created to provide autonomy in higher education for American Indians, these colleges are dependent upon external sources for funds, personnel, and part of their legitimacy. Facing two sets of expectations, tribal-college administrators must manage problems experienced by their Indian clientele and adjust institutional…

Self-regulation in North American higher education is inherent in university behavior, having existed and expanded throughout most of the past century. However, the rest of the university world is just starting to experience a significant level of control over program development, financial management, and evaluation and the subsequent need for…

School/Community-Based Management (SCBM) improves the quality of education by providing schools with administrative flexibility and by empowering each school's community to make and implement decisions that will directly affect its members and students. To help individual school communities that are considering adopting SCBM understand how shared…

Changes in the institutional control of faculty behavior are examined, stressing that such control includes not only control by a faculty member's own university, but also, increasingly, regulation and other influences exerted by institutions outside the university. The review of the literature focuses on ways in which changes in the external…

University autonomy is a concept widely discussed and often misunderstood. In the Latin American context, university autonomy has been regarded as something inherent to the nature of the universities. As long as universities exist, the phenomenon of university autonomy will be present . University autonomy should be examined in the light of such…

Characterizes Spanish universities during the period 1939-77. Examines the changing relationships that emerged during this period among the political establishment, the general social transformations that occurred in the country, and the people directly concerned with higher education and scientific research. (Author/AV)