Offers insights and themes observed in six restructuring schools studied in 1991-92. Results show that principals' importance varies, sharing of power is fragile, leadership and power are often dispersed, changes in decision-making structures sometimes improve instruction, and power redistribution and shared purpose can foster either increased…

Describes a student-participatory death education course offered at a small private liberal arts university. As active participants, students collaborated in the design of course content and requirements that reflected their interests and concerns. Overall, students responded positively to their involvement in the learning process. Outlines course…

Describes the development and structure of Soka University of America, located near Laguna Beach, California. Planners' vision for the university is a humanistic, democratic, non-hierarchical institution infused with Buddhist values. Unusual elements include no tenure or advancement in rank and no separate administrative building. (EV)

Describes the reaction of Northeastern University when it was surprised by a major decrease in enrollment. Discusses the change process, including the involvement of the board, faculty, staff, and students. Describes major improvements that evolved from the crisis and how the involvement of all university segments made a difference as the…

James MacGregor Burns's conceptualization of transforming leadership stressed the moral and educative nature of the leader-follower relationship. However, critical examination of Burns's account uncovers philosophical and technical difficulties with some of his central claims. Transformative leadership may be structured more for domination than…

The trend toward teacher participation in policy making is the result of good practice and research over many years. Classic, bureaucratic approaches to making decisions are being replaced by collaborative efforts. There are rules to determine appropriate circumstances for encouraging teacher participation. Determining how and when to involve…

Introduces a theme issue on the politics of participation in educational reform that examines various reforms promoted in the name of participation and how they play out in practice. Discusses questions to ask of participatory reform: To what end participation? Who participates? What are the relevant spheres? What micro-level conditions are…

A number of significant studies of shared governance have been carried out in the last decade.

With the advent of network technologies, many educational web sites have been developed to assist students in the learning of subjects on computer networks. However, without proper aid, students may have difficulty in selecting appropriate web sites, that are of benefit to them; hence, studying, evaluating and recommending educational web sites…

This article describes the ways in which a 25-hour internship with families who have children with disabilities impacted four doctoral students in educational leadership. We discuss the lessons we learned as a result of our experiences and provide insight into the structural components of the internship experience that were critical to enhancing…

This study examined shared governance in public, unionized community colleges and creates a national inventory of areas in which faculty participate in governance according to the language of collective-bargaining agreements. The findings suggest that community college faculty are engaged in shared governance in both the traditional academic areas…

In November 2003, Southeastern Oklahoma State University underwent a comprehensive reaccreditation visit conducted by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Throughout the visit, Southeastern was commended for the assessment culture that had been created on campus. The team concluded that…

Many people saw the 2004 presidential election as an opportunity for students to engage in democracy in a fundamental and concrete way--by registering to vote and participating fully in the electoral process. The first national post-election study of college student turnout in the 2004 presidential election, conducted by the Center for Information…

With the increased state and national focus on student achievement, school leaders are pursuing a variety of strategies to better serve their students. Many effective principals are embracing distributive leadership, relying on their best teachers to also provide instructional leadership. Yet, many effective teachers have not had training (and…

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, advances in the sociology of childhood and the consumer rights movement have placed the spotlight on children's rights in society, challenging those working with children to examine how they share power and ensure that children's views are taken on board. While children's service…