First-year outcomes of a restructuring project in four Maryland middle schools are summarized in this paper, with a focus on new rules, roles, and relationships. Methodology involved interviews with 52 teachers and building administrators and 18 state department of education staff members; observation of school improvement teams; and document…

Over the years, Neumann College (Pennsylvania) and surrounding school districts have cooperated informally in providing clinical sites for student teaching experiences. The growth of education programs at Neumann prompted a formalization of the clinical experience process in order to maintain the quality of its teacher preparation programs. The…

A review of literature on the principal's changing role in shared decision making is provided in this paper, which discusses the following areas: policy development; the egalitarian ethic for teacher participation; the principal/faculty relationship; the principal's functions in shared decision making; and elements of successful decision making.…

Findings from a project that utilized student input in the restructuring of school practices are presented in this paper. The 6-month doctoral project was implemented in an urban middle school. Methodology was based on solicitation of student input about classroom practices and data collection of school and departmental issues, which resulted in…

Findings of a study that examined the progress of three Indiana schools (Beech Grove Senior High School, Indianapolis; Linton-Stockton Elementary School, southwestern Indiana; and Richmond High School) toward educational innovation goals under the 21st Century Schools Pilot Project are presented in this paper. Each school is described in terms of…

School-based management (SBM) is a strategy to decentralize decision-making authority to the individual school site. This document describes the principles of SBM, of which devolution of authority is the fundamental concept. Local control and shared decision-making are manifested in five educational operations: goals, budget, personnel, curriculum…

A view of teacher empowerment based on professional knowledge is presented in this paper. A new definition of "professional knowledge" for teachers is also proposed, based on teachers' knowledge of professional community, educational policy, and subject area. After a year of field study and a literature review of structural, formal, and…

A prototype policy operation manual for the school-based decision-making councils of elementary schools in the school districts of Kentucky is presented in ths document. Guidelines are offered to help the councils adopt policies consistent with the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990, which are based on school improvement and extended ownership.…

As more locally based community media emerge to reflect more popular participation in the creation of communication systems, media planners and activists, as well as scholars, must confront inevitable problems of organization. Ideally, management of a community radio station should comprise a democratic structure. Yet, inherent in the difficulties…

Business and industry have been shaken by the explosion of new technology, and scientific and technological advances will continue to have a profound impact on the labor market. Vocational education plays a key role in preparing citizens for jobs. This manual encourages greater use of advisory committees in vocational education programs. Advisory…

A strategy for increasing worker participation in an effort to remedy the problems of declining productivity and quality is the quality circles concept. The quality circles process involves small groups of employees who meet voluntarily on a regular basis to identify, analyze, and develop solutions to problems and to implement the solutions when…

People working together on community projects benefit both themselves and the community. Quality Circles (Theory Z) is an example of this principle at work in industry. Employees who are involved in the decision-making process turn out a lower-cost, higher-quality product. This concept could prove valuable in small schools if students were…

School-based decision-making helps create a professional environment for principals and teachers and improves the quality of decisions. This publication provides 11 examples of school and statewide initiatives aimed at school improvement through the use of shared decision-making. The projects detailed are under way in the states of Alaska,…

The benefits of a collaborative work setting--including such practices as mutual help, exchange of ideas, joint planning, and participative decision-making--have been consistently confirmed by studies of effective schools and successful businesses. However, teacher isolation remains the norm. Drawing on recent research and educators' firsthand…

Because of a multiplicity of approaches to small group argument, research in this area often needs to be summarized, condensed, and redirected. Researchers have identified the rational, cognitive and interactive components of argumentation, and have demonstrated that arguments can take several forms and fulfill a variety of functions. The result…