Educational reform efforts have increasingly focused on students at risk of school failure. Educational reform in the 1990s shows a trend toward large-scale restructuring of schools. This document explores the relationship between reform-restructuring schools, and improving educational outcomes for students at risk. Two main questions are posed:…

Total Quality Management (TQM) establishes business and industry standards and techniques that ensure the quality of products leaving and reaching firms through continuous actions rather than one final inspection. Deming, Juran, and Crosby, who initiated the process, share a common theme of participatory management. Management participation and…

Findings of a study that examined the outcomes of longterm institutionalization of school reform are presented in this paper. Project Excellence, implemented in 1984 in a secondary school in Cochrane, Ontario, involved a comprehensive change in curriculum, instruction, and professional roles. An initial evaluation of the program, conducted during…

Educational visions developed by two participants in the Education 2000 project--Redwood Falls, Minnesota, and Yonkers, New York--are described in this paper. An overview of the blueprints that are being developed from these visions is provided as well as a description of the design process. The Education 2000 process offers a new design for…

In May 1987, the Washington State Legislature passed Chapter 525 Laws of 1987 (Substitute Senate Bill 5479) that authorized the Schools for the 21st Century Program. This report presents information about the progress and results of that program. The State Board of Education selected 33 schools to be awarded 10 additional staff days; supplemental…

This handbook presents three chapters that explore reforms in teacher empowerment, school choice, and administrator-education programs. In chapter 1, "Leading Empowerment," Zarif Bacilious and C. John Tarter discuss the role of administrator education in empowering teachers. They argue that the educational-administration profession…

This paper presents findings of a case study that examined Australian primary teachers' perceptions of school-based curriculum development (SBCD). The study was conducted at Blackpool Primary School, a Catholic school in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Data were derived from participant observation, a teacher questionnaire, interviews with all…

This bulletin describes how schools are building coalitions with parents, businesses, and social agencies as part of their restructuring efforts. Data were derived from a review of literature and interviews conducted with principals, parents, teachers, business people, social workers, and state administrators. Chapter 1 outlines the general…

Elmore (1990) has presented two contrasting models of school restructuring, each with different views about who is empowered--teachers or parents. This book examines what happens when schools and school districts attempt to implement either of these models. Following the introduction, "Examining School Restructuring Efforts," by G.…

Findings of a study that examined how information is used in schools that have adopted shared decision-making practices are presented in this paper. The study focused on how first- and second-year principals access, use, and value various kinds of information. A total of 24 out of 29 Louisiana LEAD schools responded to a questionnaire, an…

In 1990, the Arizona legislature initiated the Arizona School Restructuring Pilot Project. This report identifies local- and state-level barriers encountered in the first 2 years. Outcomes are presented for the 15 pilot schools--11 elementary and 4 high schools--that were selected in a competitive grant process. Data were collected through school…

This paper addresses issues and the viability of applying participatory management (PM) to education, with focus on Total Quality Management (TQM). Following a description of PM techniques with an TQM focus and a historical overview of Deming's management theory, four stages of team growth experienced during the implementation process are…

After describing the nature, promise, and reality of school-based management, this document discusses delegation of authority to the school site and distribution of authority among site participants as critical issues in the implementation of school-based management and reviews the importance and benefits of shared decision making. Eight major…

The impact of school-based management (SBM) on student performance is examined in this digest. The first part describes school-based management and its potential for improving student performance. A review of research concludes that, overall, school-based management has not contributed to consistent or stable improvements in student performance.…

Two models of educational reform that address the dilemma in schools caused by the confluence of two current reform movements--school restructuring and the regular education initiative are presented in this paper. The models offer a more complex framework that considers teachers' values, the role of external support for teacher development, school…