Describes a study that (1) compared the amount of professional input into the decision-making process between board administered and municipally integrated public libraries, and (2) examined the relationships between levels of centralization (participation in decision making and hierarchy of authority), complexity (occupational specialties,…

Examines recent attempts to reform school organizational structures to give teachers an expanded role in decision making. Discusses the distinction between authority and influence and delineates decision domains that may be considered in efforts to increase teacher participation. (FMW)

Summarizes the historical background, planning, and implementation of a School-Based Management/Shared Decision Making (SBM/SDM) program in Dade County (Florida). Highlights interim evaluation findings and recommendations. (FMW)

Parallel issues in work and schools are cited and discussed. This article suggests that the organizational structure of schools contributes to lowered teacher morale and creativity; and concludes that school policymakers must learn the lessons of industry: Give employees a stake in the system by decentralizing decision making. (IAH)

Describes the development of the Lunch Lab program at the Mineola (New York) Middle Schools, part of a school improvement program incorporating teacher empowerment. A committee of seven teachers and two administrators researched, developed, and implemented the pilot project that provides a special time for seventh graders to receive extra help…

Examines the role of ethnography as a resource in the process of needs assessment in a multi-ethnic, low-income section of Philadelphia. Analyzes the relationship between the targeted neighborhood's socioeconomic characteristics and human service environment and discusses the work done with neighborhood leaders in developing a plan based on the…

An analysis is presented of a resolution made by the Council of Europe's Ministers of Education regarding upcoming challenges for teachers and how teacher education can help teachers to face them. The analysis focuses not only on the resolution, but also on the decision-making structure of the council and its use of commissioned background papers…

Sets forth key principles in the management of educational reform: (1) educational decision-making based on explicit philosophical statements; (2) enhancement and extension of teacher professionalism; and (3) sense of ownership among participants in educational development. Considers national and local issues. (SV)

This article examines the problem of maintaining an effective balance between the bureaucratic and professional models of school management in the context of teachers as constrained decision-makers. (TE)

This article argues that collective bargaining has affected, and has been affected by, pressures from the educational reform movement to include teachers in the formulation of educational policies and programs. (TE)

Four tenets should guide curricular decisions for young gifted children, aged three-six: (1) young gifted children have special learning needs; (2) curriculum should be drawn from their special interests and needs; (3) curriculum should emphasize exploration and play; and (4) children should be engaged in the curricular decision-making process.…

The School Development Program, conceived during the 1960s, is a collaborative process designed to enhance school climate through shared decision-making and guided problem-solving approaches. Basic components are the school management and planning team, the mental health team, and the parents' program. This evaluation of Cleveland (Ohio) Public…

The article examines four basic elements of staff development needed to manage the changes in educational systems today and in the future: multidimensional professional development for all staff, decentralized performance-based systems, understanding and implementing the change process, and the changing role of the staff developer. (SM)

Comments on major issues in Canadian teacher education; describes a trend toward structural collaboration in British Columbia's (BC) teacher preparation. The BC College of Teachers, an independent professional organization, removes government control of the teaching profession and places it in the hands of teachers and administrators in public…

The Eight-Year Study was a landmark attempt to design, implement, and evaluate democratic secondary schools. Reexamining this 1930s initiative allows us to consider how democratic priorities can transform educational practice, evaluation, and policy analysis. The norms, values, and technologies that currently guide mainstream analysis are poorly…