Compares the Group Valence Model (GVM) to several derived versions of the Valence Distribution Model (VDM), as they relate to the group problem-solving process. Suggests that, not withstanding predictive accuracy, the VDM seems generally inferior to the GVM, which consistently accounts for more of the decision-making phenomenon. Discusses…

Summarizes a study of 26 Dutch secondary schools to determine the possibility of distinguishing types of schools by their policymaking capacity. Schools' policymaking capacity seems related to teachers' professional orientation. In schools with a colleague-oriented policymaking capacity, teachers participate more in administrative decision making…

Principals of smaller and rural secondary schools should think critically about the mix of their goals with staff members' goals. Although very little can be accomplished from the principal's momentum alone, a united group can accomplish great things. Suggestions are given for providing each staff member with meaningful leadership opportunities.…

The two reform orientations termed "hard" and "soft" policy do not represent a set of mutually exclusive choices for policymakers. Bureaucratically and professionally based decision-making approaches must coexist in schools and school districts. The dual policy approach necessitates a rethinking of administrative posture and gives shape to a…

Total Quality Management is a value-based, information-driven management process through which the minds and talents of people at all levels are applied fully and creatively to the organization's continuous improvement. The total quality view allows educators to see with a student's eye, to understand what the school and the world look like to…

A district coordinator of gifted education in a site-based managed school system relates the learning experiences which helped define her role as an administrator and an advocate of gifted education. Her role has involved collaborating, serving as a resource, sharing program ownership, and encouraging program differentiation across the district.…

Discusses results of a 1989-90 survey of 70 randomly selected international schools and 70 randomly selected Department of Defense Schools in Europe. Programs and practices surveyed included enrollments, grade organization, curriculum and instructional plans, core subjects, grouping patterns, exploratory courses, advisory programs, and scheduling.…

Key elements in successful collaborative schools include focusing on staff involvement, collaborative school norms, collaborative practices and structures, and the principal's role. The article illustrates successful collaboration in one elementary school, noting it involved creating and sustaining a new culture within the school environment. (SM)

Effective-schools research indicates that greater community involvement in school management usually enhances children's cognitive and affective development. Future school effectiveness will be influenced by how successfully school councils and governing bodies function. Without adequate, ongoing inservice training for participants, school…

Describes an elementary school six years after it adopted the Comer process, an educational philosophy promoting ongoing collaboration among parents, teachers, and administrators to do what is best for student learning and development. Consensus whenever possible and open expression of feelings and issues builds professionalism and community.…

The school design process depends on open communication and the participation of various constituencies or customers. Today's architects use a variety of strategies to make sure they build the schools communities want. Describes approaches used by three architects. (MLF)

Until recently, teaching at Virginia Tech meant 1 professor in a room with 20 randomly assembled educational administration students enrolled in an isolated, narrowly defined course. program. Under the NASSP Alliance project, professors have developed a holistic, team-approach to instruction and benefit from a reading program that encourages idea…

To increase parental involvement, Mount Carmel High School (Poway, California) has adopted strategic-planning change model. Successful strategic plans are connected to school mission and core values, gain staff support, remain open to input from all parties, build trust and rapport among participants, ensure open communication with stakeholders,…

Discusses impediments to school restructuring, presenting arguments for and against it. The article describes a process of systematic change that allows school restructuring to deliver a specific ideology. A framework that includes purpose, strategy, and tactics is presented. The process of relief, recovery, and reform in school restructuring is…

Reviews Robert Westbrook's book, "John Dewey and American Democracy," which analyzes intellectual debates in which Dewey was involved. The book provides a critical account of Dewey's role as an agent of political change and a promoter of participatory democracy and participative decision making. (SM)