Self-directed teams (SDTs) are small groups of employees responsible for an entire work process or segment, expected by some to be the workplace wave of the future in terms of organization and peak performance. SDTs work to improve their operation or product, plan and control their work, and handle day-to-day problems. (JOW)

To overcome the superprincipal complex, principals must become expert in processing information and making decisions. To make informed decisions most effectively, principals should employ participatory management, become process consultants, and incorporate the Situation-Target-Proposal (STP) method for resolving problems. Otherwise, change will…

Changing principals' orientation from manager to participatory leader takes planning, determination, and time. Management by Walking Around (MBWA), the crucial prerequisite, requires a demonstrated commitment to making people the highest priority, using time efficiently, scheduling MBWA and following through, leading by example, demonstrating the…

In 1987, the Rochester Teachers Association and the Board of Education negotiated a contract that created a professional career ladder for teachers, mandated shared decision making at the school level, and called for strengthening the relationship between teachers and their students' families. This article examines teacher response to these…

Offers insights on the use of the charrette for long-range planning, drawing from the experience of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). Defines charrettes, explains their benefits and limitations, lists requirements for successful charrettes, and explains the process used by the VCCS to incorporate the charrette into long-range planning.…

Paul Norton Elementary School in Bettendorf, Iowa, was one of 27 schools chosen to participate in the NEA's Mastery in Learning Network project to empower teachers through site-based management. This article describes the school's ongoing progress at pursuing community-school partnerships, creative fund raising, and time management. (MLH)

Presents observations, advice, and strategies for facilitating participative decision making in schools. Information is based on interviews with principals, group input from school staffs, and researcher observations in a study of 10 "participative schools." Also includes strategies for enhancing cooperative teaching. (KS)

Examines three historical examples of experiments in social change at the school level. Discusses the underlying assumptions that establishing a democratic education on a small scale can contribute to societal democracy and that education must come from the people and be related to their everyday lives. (CJS)

Discusses the results of a three-year collaborative research project documenting the effectiveness of the school reform process. The study describes efforts of the Consortium for the Advancement of Public Education in Southeast North Carolina (CAPE) to support schools as they change. Areas showing the most improvement included participative…

To remain viable, classrooms must be transformed into learning communities wherein deep ideas are developed. A Pennsylvania superintendent (Owen J. Roberts School District, Pottstown, PA) describes how discussions of great literature among administrators, faculty, and board members have helped forge shared understandings as they tackled thorny…

A survey of students in 125 randomly selected public high schools in Kentucky revealed minimal student involvement in school decision making. However, 77% of respondents would like to be involved. Principals surveyed closely supported students' views. Recommendations for principals and school councils are discussed. (MLH)

This study examined the role of senior public relations administrators in institutional decision making through a survey of presidents and senior public relations officers at the 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (SSHE). Findings indicated that SSHE senior public relations administrators are often not included in…

Describes how camp counselors can foster camaraderie among campers through participative decision making, name games, listening, adventure courses, storytelling, spending time in nature, decorating cabins, avoiding favoritism, setting rules, admitting faults, setting group goals, and praising sincere efforts. (TD)

Study develops an instrument to investigate the relationship between the perception of full-time, in-house campus attorneys and chief student affairs administrators concerning their influence in institutional decision-making. Based on results of the study, makes recommendations for collaborative decision making. (Contains 27 references.)…

Building capacity in schools means developing a new understanding of leadership capacity--broad-based, skillful participation in the work of leadership. Leadership capacity can be seen as a complex, interactive framework, with four types of schools and school communities. Leadership is everyone's work, but it does not require extraordinary…