In Boston, City on a Hill Charter School's commitment to civic education challenges the notion that charter schools are inherently privatizing forces in public education reform. Through expanded choice, inclusive decision making, and localized accountability, charter schools can be a democratizing force that serves multiple publics, including…

The context of and the participatory strategic planning process at the University of Texas, El Paso, from 1993 to 1996 is described. The internal and external factors that influence the intensive interactive process are reviewed; the university's conceptual framework for strategic planning is described; and the role of the university's planning…

Kentucky's school-based decision-making councils now function in 66% of the state's schools. Since 1991-92, these schools have learned that their councils must represent their local constituencies, gain the support of local political structures, shun legalism, concentrate on substantive education issues, and develop a democratically based…

The Meeting School is a boarding high school in New Hampshire based on the principles of the Religious Society of Friends, which emphasize simplicity, honesty, the peaceful resolution of conflict, the dignity of physical labor, mutual trust, and care for each other and the earth. Describes how students and faculty participate fully in the life of…

Describes how co-mentoring functions in the administration of the Writing Program at Utah State University, where administrative responsibilities are shared by eight people. Outlines specific systemic roles held by those involved. Argues that co-mentoring administration is enhanced through communication and various electronic media. (SR)

Offers four perspectives on dynamic changes in the architecture of power and leadership in one university's large Freshman English writing program as it implemented a more collaborative approach in its administration, reforming a top-down administrative structure into a more egalitarian one. (SR)

Offers perspectives of 3 members of a 10-member coordinating committee that has collaborated in the administration of their university's first year writing program for the past 10 years. Discusses how such partnerships come to be created in a hierarchical university environment, how power is acquired, and how collaboration works on a daily basis.…

Makes the case for democratic education, criticizing critical pedagogy for its absence of a coherent, testable theory, lack of understanding of democracy, and inapplicability to the reality of classroom experiences. The paper presents six attributes of democracy that are generally recognized and applies them to education, adding a seventh that…

Provides a narrative account of the development of a solutions-focused approach to school improvement. Describes the process whereby an urban primary school harnessed the collective energies of all staff (teachers and support staff) to bring about improvement, and considers the role of democratic leadership in reconceptualizing the school as a…

Examines Education Action Zone (EAZ) policy as a basis for the development of an analytic framework for investigating contemporary forms of leadership and management within schools in urban and challenging contexts. Discussion explores three paired themes: "Networking and experimentation,""partnership and stakeholder…

Today's reforms call for teachers to become involved in decision making outside the classroom. Teachers need the necessary skills to become active participants. This paper examines: areas where teachers can be involved in decision making; necessary knowledge and skills; ways to include this preparation within preservice teacher education; and the…

Experiential education is not just experiential learning, but also a philosophy of education that involves the interaction between learner and teacher and recognizes the larger system-level issues within education. Viewing experiential education as a philosophy allows for its various expressions to argue collectively for educational reform that…

Interviews with 50 principals from elementary, middle, and high schools in rural Georgia examined the extent of collaborative decision making with teachers. Principals recognized teachers as best able to determine student needs. Teachers had high involvement in selection of instructional materials and development of the school's mission but…

Examines the emergence, in one school, of informal power coalescing to address issues of gender and racial equity and social justice and the move to co-opt the discourse of change through formally appointed school committees, focusing on: power relations and school structures; dangerous conversations; being set up to fail; and authentic…

Rather than turning away from faculty governance, colleges and universities need to renew commitment to faculty who can teach, keep up research, and attend to running their institutions. As attrition diminishes the power of senior faculty, the new managerial class generates authority structures that make faculty governance irrelevant. Young…