Public school decentralization has increased involvement of multiple constituencies in school governance. This study of a private school and a public school illustrates the complexities of leading teachers in the decision-making process. Both principals were transformational leaders, but teachers were not empowered enough to make changes. (34…

Surveyed Canadian teachers to determine leadership sources for implementing new programs and teaching practices. Results indicated that principals were the most widely identified source of leadership in implementing change. There was ambivalence about the perceived effect of principal-assistant principal teams. Teachers considered informal…

Examines senior managers' and subject teachers' perceptions of department heads' participation in policy development and leadership in 24 British secondary schools. Readiness to embrace newer approaches matters. Schools that value and develop their subject leaders, often through reformed structures, generally have subject staff who feel well led.…

The complexity of principals' work may be characterized according to three dilemmas: accountability, autonomy, and efficiency. Narrative vignettes of 74 Australian principals revealed that principals were fair and inclusive. When faced with restructuring dilemmas, however, they favored strong over shared leadership, efficiency over collaboration,…

In Japan, not attending public school is stigmatized, and alternative education is in its infancy. Reviews free spaces, which are not schools, but places for traumatized students to recover; home schooling networks; government-approved independent alternative schools; alternative after-school programs; and innovative programs within the system.…

According to Annenburg Institute consultants, all education community members need the responsibility and authority to take appropriate leadership roles. Effective schools develop a shared vision, determine clear priorities, promote continuous professional learning, link schools to community assets, provide strong accountability, and reorganize…

Bob Goerke, principal of Jacksonville (Oregon) Elementary School and Oregon's National Distinguished Principal for 1999, raised student achievement by encouraging his staff to collaborate on articulating the curriculum. Proceeding gradually, he has encouraged joint planning, team teaching, and ability grouping. A blend of warmth, daily classroom…

Discusses school reform in Japan, examining issues of school organization and regulation, curriculum development, and parent-teacher-student relationships and participation from two perspectives: human rights and global education. The relevant issues are explored under five dimensions: student self-government, interpersonal relationships, student…

Describes one elementary school's experimental, inclusive, fifth-grade class that was team-taught by a special and a regular educator, focusing on: shared decision making, curriculum development, how the teachers changed, how the students grew, and the school support system (which included the teachers, the students, the principal, other faculty…

Details the value management process in which a group of diverse, disciplined professionals work together to design a better facility for a given budget. Areas addressed include a definition of value management, some derived benefits, negative aspects, projects best suited to this method, specific results, who pays, who is involved, scaled-down…

Describes the development and implementation difficulties with the California Wellness Foundation's initiative to improve children's environment, how children's participation helped resolve initiative difficulties, and the development of several pilot projects. Articles describing research conducted in various parts of the planning project and the…

Describes the work of young people in four pilot projects in which they developed strategies to address issues considered by them to be problematic within their communities. The implications of this kind of work for public health are discussed. (GR)

Reviews developmental psychology literature for its relevance for designing organizations for children and youth followed by a review of theories on the development of children's identity, social understanding, and capacity to participate. The reviews summarize what is being said about the values of youth participation in community organizations…

Shares observations made and lessons learned by the author while student teaching in a democratic classroom environment. Outlines keys to creating a democratic classroom. Discusses preparing teachers for democratic classrooms. (SR)

Vancouver (Washington) is rebuilding its entire educational infrastructure. Community involvement in the planning process for each school has created a sense of ownership, created spaces that implement good educational ideas and accommodate community activities, and given each school its own "signature." An emphasis on efficiency has…