The literature profiles few schools that have determined to democratize their existing, primarily authoritarian structures. This article discusses reasons for democratization and summarizes participant responses in two schools in England and South Africa that have attempted such changes. Both studies explore the role of pupil participation in…

Uses experiences from Canadian and American education to discuss school wars that can occur when both professionals and community members increase their attention to schools, noting how structures designed to bring them together actually function in schools. The paper examines the construction of a crisis in education and the effects of…

In the literature, discussions of staff development (as a top-down decision-making model) have shifted to teacher-centered professional growth. Components include teachers as learners, reflective decisionmakers, collaborators, and accountability experts. Creating a culture of learning and involving teachers in strategic decision making are…

A nationwide survey of teachers and administrators showed how central administration can facilitate school-based improvement. Results revealed eight practices that respondents believed helped facilitate the implementation of school-based improvement. Practices related to goals and planning, policy and procedures, staff development, recognition and…

Examines participation issues of (British) department heads in whole-school decision-making processes to determine whether such participation represents true empowerment. Three models emerged, with varied results. Collegiality offers many persuasive benefits but is difficult to attain. Hierarchical and horizontal structures' effectiveness needs…

Today's students need countless opportunities to turn information into knowledge that helps them understand themselves, others, and the world. Emergent teacher leadership will help students practice democracy. Principals must partner with teachers to create time for staff to converse, learn together, and convert schools to learning centers. (MLH)

Hierarchical linear modeling is used to examine the extent to which expertise, longevity at the school, educational attainment, and leadership propensity affect the participation of teachers in school-conducted needs assessments. Findings from five elementary and intermediate/high schools show that expertise, longevity, and leadership affect…

Describes how one first-grade teacher makes democracy happen in her classroom. Describes the teacher's role in setting up and supporting a democratic classroom where students and teacher work together to make decisions about the learning that goes on in the class, and in determining a supportive physical environment with materials available to all…

Describes a kindergarten teacher's successful efforts to create more heterogeneous groupings and less animosity among students in her class. Discusses efforts to encourage after-school visiting among peers, classroom agreements about put-downs and exclusion during play, turn-taking, teacher-assigned grouping, conflict management, efforts to…

Describes "community meetings" in early childhood classrooms, designed to create an intentional community devoted to learning to live with and consider the perspectives of others. Discusses how meetings work, community meeting and the topic of exclusion, students' learning about themselves, awareness as a kind of solution, airing a…

Collaboration is a complex issue that is crucial in education and teacher education. This paper examines factors important in collaboration (interactive exchange of resources, decision making, problem solving, conflict management, interpersonal communication, cultural influences, and systemic influences) and discusses benefits of and barriers to…

Anecdotes of adventure activities with children and staff at two Russian camps demonstrate that Russian people, historically dependent on strong leaders, are fascinated by experiential education because the core concepts of shared leadership and cooperation disrupt old models, ask them to look anew at their capabilities, and create a sense of…

Investigates the management and leadership perspectives espoused by 11 principals of government-funded secondary schools, comparing their responses to a similar study carried out with female English head teachers. Finds that female Singaporean principals emphasize an evolving participatory management style similar to the style of English head…

A survey of 1,191 university presidents, provosts, and faculty investigated the degree to which governance is shared in the institutions and the respondents' attitudes about nine aspects of shared governance. Results indicated that perceptions of the level of shared governance were correlated with participant attitudes about the quality of the…

To ease the transition to participative decision making, some site-based-managed schools are turning to technologies such as computers, spreadsheets, word processing, e-mail, voice mail, databases, and the Internet. Although few schools recognize available technological options and their ability to improve accountability, some administrators in…