From a sample of 1,000 New York attorneys, data from 553 men and 129 women suggest that professional autonomy depends on social capital arrangements that assume overtime, open-ended work demands, and release from private obligations. Access to time is qualitatively different for men and women, especially married women with children. (SK)

Defines cataloging management; describes cataloging work flow basics; discusses current issues such as outsourcing, job duties, cataloging Internet resources, and online catalogs; and predicts the future role of cataloging managers. A simplified cataloging work flow chart and cataloging management exercise with a sample solution are presented in…

This article examines the interplay between universities and governments, within the context of recent changes in the Australian higher education system. The Australian government is urged to fund institutions adequately and encourage diversity. Australian universities are urged to defend their autonomy and distinctive educational missions. (DB)

To test R. E. Callahan's (1962) theory about superintendents' vulnerability to interest groups, the career of E. C. Hartwell is examined. Hartwell's career in three cities (1914-22) demonstrates the power that a superintendent could acquire and wield. (SLD)

School effectiveness, rather than distribution of power, is the key school reform issue. The structure of shared decision making should be driven by what administrators and teachers believe is important for kids. In a recently restructured San Diego community school, the principal's primary function as chief executive officer is "keeper of…

Two normative interpretations, professionalism and democracy, are advanced for research that argues for such school reform as decentralized management, a team approach to school operation, and more autonomy for teachers. It is argued that a democratic conception is distinguishable from, and preferable to, a conception of teachers as professionals.…

The current emphasis on accountability, standards, and assessment is missing one important dimension--connection to a sense of values and beliefs. In California, standards are stifling creativity and flexibility; standard-setting is too politicized; test scores are eclipsing democratic values; and cash rewards won't necessarily improve student…

Examined teachers' experiences in charter and public schools to investigate how deregulation policies affected teaching conditions. Results indicated that the most autonomous schools (charter schools) were not necessarily favored by teachers. Greater autonomy for teachers was accomplished by expanded roles and responsibilities in deregulated…

Analyzes recent Slovenian elementary school legislation, considering its influence on elementary school teachers. This legislation is based on the belief that teachers must learn to feel confident with their own decision making. The paper outlines proposals for restructuring elementary education generated by the Restructuring Primary Teachers'…

Educators have long recognized the negative pedagogical effects of the strong centralization, curricular uniformity, and fragmentation that characterizes Israel's equity-driven education system. A recent experiment with site-based management at nine elementary schools may increase teacher and parental involvement, improve school climate, and…

Examined social-contextual conditions that led teachers to be more autonomy supportive versus controlling with students. Using structural equation modeling the authors observed that the more pressure teachers perceive from above and from below, the less they are self-determined toward teaching. In turn, the less they are self-determined, the more…

Educational psychologists and practicing educators agree that student motivation is a central and often problematic issue for education. Understanding and working with those factors that influence students' ability and willingness to engage with curriculum content and intellectual challenges help teachers increase the likelihood that our students…

The paper argues that a critical realist perspective can contribute to a critique of evidence-based practice, while at the same time not abandoning the idea of evidence altogether. The paper is structured around a number of related themes: the sociopolitics of "evidence-based"; epistemological roots and a critical realist critique; the debate in…

This article examines a key factor of the National Literacy Strategy, interactive teaching, and looks in particular at how it may be affecting teacher autonomy. It traces the development of this approach in the Literacy Hour and describes a research project which showed that many teachers have their own sophisticated ideas about interactive…

The aim of this article is to problematise the dominant construction of "professionalism" as created and promoted by the United Kingdom Government through policy. Like other professionals working in education, early years practitioners are subjected to a disempowering, regulatory gaze in the name of higher standards. The preoccupation…