At Gainfield Elementary School, Southbury, Connecticut the principal emphasizes professional development for the entire teaching staff. Teachers have ownership of the curriculum and the teaching process. Imaginative programs welcome preschoolers prior to kindergarten and prepare fifth graders for their move to junior high school. (MT)

Leadership strategies that encourage voluntary compliance are compared with those that are more assertive and demanding. Specific problems and possibilities challenging those who would lead movements of institutional reform are outlined. (CB)

Ways in which institutions may either foster or frustrate the kinds of beliefs and attitudes conducive to self-respect and self-esteem are explored. Patterns of authority in the schools of a democratic society must be examined with this fact in mind and shaped in ways that most fully develop the self-respect and self-esteem of all students. (CB)

The formation of business firms by academic scientists is an example of the deteriorating boundary between the academic and business world. The conditions and routes contributing to this phenomenon are explored. This challenge to establish academic and scientific values and norms is resulting in enhanced autonomy for university scientists. (ETS)

The etymology of the term "clinical supervision" is discussed. How clinical supervision can be used with teachers as an active force toward reform and change is then examined. Through clinical supervision teachers can assist each other to gain control over their own professional lives and destinies. (RM)

Describes the components and dimensions of the ideal of professionalism. Argues that the bureaucratic context professionalism functions as an ideology that distorts reality and controls workers. Makes these points specific through analysis of the working situation of college and university faculty, especially within the current fiscal crisis. (CMG)

This "Update" discusses the impact of the "Seminole Tribe v. State of Florida" decision on higher education. In essence, the Court in this decision rescinded the doctrine of "Eleventh Amendment immunity" and ruled that Congress has only limited power to enact laws that apply to state governmental entities, including…

Data from the National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF), a nationally representative survey of college faculty members conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, were used to analyze faculty satisfaction. Findings show that the vast majority of faculty members are satisfied with their jobs. Eighty-five percent of all full-time and…

Explores experiences of six women on two senior academic committees at a South African university to understand how practices in such committees contribute to the marginalization and exclusion of women and to constructions of subjectivity. Discusses how the presence of women on such committees challenges the consciousness of all members. (SLD)

Explores newly created opportunities for teachers in California charter schools, based on textual analysis of 86 charter proposal documents and followup interviews with selected directors and teachers. Most charter-school teachers have primary responsibility for governance, participate in hiring and peer evaluation, experience fewer bureaucratic…

Case study of two urban high schools explores how, paradoxically, professional autonomy and attention to individual needs are necessary and salient conditions of strong professional communities. Focuses on the important role that principals play in balancing individual and organizational needs and fostering professional community. Reinterprets…

By the year 2000, school decentralization could become another unfortunate, ineffectual pendulum swing. According to this article, a dynamic, ever-changing system of decentralization and centralization balances the benefits of local administrative autonomy with the pursuit of unified goals and helps each leadership level understand its…

Discusses the meaning, aims, and future directions of teacher empowerment. Generally, teacher empowerment is any activity or means that enhances teachers' professional status. Ideally, empowerment heightens teacher self-esteem, boosts knowledge of subject matter and pedagogy, and fosters greater collegiality. In reality (according to four…

After managing the nation's largest school system for two years, Chancellor Ray Cortines will be leaving New York City Public Schools on October 15th. Cortines insists his resignation was not spurred by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's efforts to overhaul the schools, despite skirmishes over budgets, bureaucracy, and staff. Having trimmed the budget,…

Examines control mechanisms that superintendents used to shape and direct suburban high school principals' work. Includes four hierarchical controls (supervision, input, behavior, and output) and two nonhierarchical controls (section/socialization and environmental), along with school social status and district size. The control mechanisms were…