Discusses the coordination and history of pre-school services in Britain since the 1970s. During this century, British preschool services have developed within separate areas of public policy. In the late 1970s, coordination became a central issue in public debate and government policy. (RJC)

Explores impediments to the use of multimedia courseware in higher education and the factors required for multimedia to thrive. Impediments include the smug culture of higher education, finances, standards, the need for multiple talents, and time. (CK)

Examines taxonomy for understanding and applying various facets of ethical argumentation and conceptualization to administrative practice. Stresses importance of developing conceptual analysis approach from scientific, conceptual, general normative, and applied normative ethics strands of literature. Offers prescriptive approach to ethics and…

Arguing that curriculum research can be organized and prioritized according to reasonable criteria, this article defines "curriculum practice" and "curriculum research," explains how they relate to each other, and reviews current work in curriculum research. Curriculum research is hampered by lack of longitudinal studies and the separation of…

The commentary on this special issue on leadership summarizes the articles and claims that they take a different stance from previous research by legitimizing the subjective realities of practice, emphasizing meaning, and acknowledging the moral as a source of authority for what happens in school. (12 references) (MLF)

School leaders can preserve their equanimity by going slow with education fads; ignoring models from the business world; allowing rituals to develop instead of forcing systematic organization; keeping track of promises and carrying them out; quitting when going to work becomes a chore; and observing the golden rule. Honesty is the key. (MLH)

Discusses Total Quality Management (TQM), benefits to libraries, and possible barriers to its adoption. An overview is provided of 13 articles included in this issue on (1) library approaches to TQM; (2) implementing a TQM program; (3) supporting TQM efforts; and (4) learning from the experience of others. (EAM)

Based on interviews and observations of effective executives, this article presents numerous strategies for tackling school management efficiently. Suggestions are given for apportioning limited time, examining school problems and opportunities, pursuing administrative development, and benefiting from failures. Includes nine references. (MLH)

New principals need a game plan for an orderly transition. This article outlines a plan organized by seven significant areas of school leadership: administration, curriculum and instruction, professional development and supervision, staffing, student issues, student activities, and communication with important school constituencies. Being…

A "binocular" perspective on leadership combines the analytical, transactional leadership present in organizations and the more personal, transformational leadership needed in communities. School systems are both hierarchical bureaucracies and moral communities, requiring leaders who simultaneously attend to both realities in a balanced…

Notes that keeping current in a specific academic discipline is as crucial for community college faculty members as it is for their university colleagues. Suggest that two-year colleges, and the communities they serve, can do much to further their faculty members' intellectual growth. Argues that institutions as a whole should provide budget…

I contend that South African school leaders perform their functions within a managerialistic school system that focuses strongly on prescribed standards, quality, and outcomes. The aim is to draw attention to the conceptual contradiction inherent in the labelling of the school principal as a leader rather than as a manager. In practice, school…

This article focuses on the theory and practice of teamwork in "top management teams" in UK higher education institutions. It is informed by some of the key findings from a recent two-year research project sponsored by the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education that investigated the different ways in which UK higher education…

Administrative team management is the best way to provide direction and leadership to an individualistic group of professionals such as educators. Some suggestions to make management teams run smoothly are: (1) use the team to gather facts; (2) make sure the team works with the people (teachers, parents, and business people) who may be affected by…

The influence of positivism and post-positivism in public education is critiqued. Post-positivism is identified with the movement extending from T. S. Kuhn (1962, 1970). Logical positivism is discussed as a paradigm based on the philosophy of Enlightenment, the age of reasoning, and the work of A. Compte. The critical theory of society, emerging…