Shared governance by instructors, college presidents, and boards of trustees result in empowerment, improved morale, communication, and diversity. As the situation at Fullerton Community College (California) shows, however, it can also diminish efficiency, slow decision making, and hamper effective management. (JOW)

The Data in a Day self-study program has numerous distinguishing features to help schools strengthen their capacity as learning communities. The program focuses on teaching and learning, involves the entire school community, emphasizes student voice, leads to insights translating into action, affirms strengths, and identifies areas needing…

After a brief review of the history of research with individuals with mental retardation, this article examines critical ethical issues related to informed consent and surrogate decision-making. It then discusses ways to facilitate the research decision-making process for individuals with mental retardation and their families, including enhancing…

Although shared decision making wasn't always Harold Boyden's first priority during his 30 years as a Vermont district leader, he always sought out his staff's ideas. Boyden believes in picking his fights, knowing when to compromise, and delegating when appropriate. He prefers to spread out budgeting ownership, responsibility, and commitment. (MLH)

Delegating decision making to those closest to implementation can result in better decisions, more support for improvement initiatives, and increased student performance. Shared decision making depends on capable school leadership, a professional community, instructional guidance mechanisms, knowledge and skills, information sharing, power, and…

Summarizes recent findings from a meta-analysis on the use and effectiveness of medication as a treatment for ADHD. Expresses concern that teachers and parents may not fully realize that stimulants are still a crucial part of the overall treatment for these children. Concludes that psychological intervention can be complemented with intervention…

Discusses the importance of organizational planning and outlines steps in successful planning: getting started, selecting the committee, deciding the group's goal, plan elements, gathering data, and the finished plan. Emphasizes the importance of people to the planning process--the group should include a mix of talents, ages, and constituencies,…

Outlines an expanded framework of the Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) approach to career problem solving and decision making for career counseling with women. Addresses structural and individual barriers in women's career development and provides practical suggestions for applying and evaluating the CIP approach in career counseling.…

Discussion of change within the university focuses on the radical rethinking of university culture, the importance of all members of the institution being "empowered" to identify their crucial and unique roles, and the concept of "learning organizations" committed to continuous improvement and a spirit of inquiry and continual learning. (Author/DB)

At a time when collaborative leadership is much heralded in American institutional life as the antidote to discontent with power structures, colleges and universities have illustrated that shared governance is not inherently collaborative. The sense of common cause on campus should come from a shared knowledge base, concern with external…

To help alleviate the severe shortage of principals in the next 10 years, advocates principals sharing leadership with teachers as a strategy for recruiting teachers to the principalship. Also suggests several ways principal training programs can support and foster collaborative leadership. (PKP)

While the benefits of participating in care or medical decision making are widely reported, research on decision-making participation preferences usually reveals some portion of individuals who do not want to be involved. Data collected through structured, in-person interviews with 100 residents of six long-term care (LTC) facilities in Victoria,…

This paper presents a rationale for consulting with very young children to enable their voices to be heard, and taken into consideration, when planning pre-school provision. It goes on to suggest that the expressed preferences of pre-school children can be taken as an accurate account of their thoughts and feelings. This is tested through a case…

Both in structure and focus, FLCs create a necessary construct for a cultural transformation of teaching and learning that invites all to achieve their intellectual and social potential. The following are appended: (1) Self-Assessment Inventory on Inclusiveness; and (2) Student Assessment of Classroom Climate.

Most scheduled gatherings of teachers are, in fact, meetings at which teachers yawn their way through lists of informational items announced and commented on by the principal. If any clear communication results from those meetings, it takes place in the parking lot long after the official meeting has ended. Good faculty meetings should be…