Issues concerning whether to centralize or decentralize decision-making are addressed, with applications for colleges. Centralization/decentralization (C/D) must be analyzed with reference to a particular decision. Three components of C/D are locus of authority, breadth of participation, and relative contribution by the decision-maker's staff. C/D…

This paper describes how the Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL) operated the first study groups, what topics they investigated, what fruit they bore, and what the study group members and AEL staff later said they would do differently or the same way next time. Major topics discussed in the paper are: how groups were initiated and organized,…

To reduce disciplinary cases without using suspension or alienating teachers and parents is a challenging task for principals. Forcing teachers to tolerate unruly student behavior is no solution. When both teachers and principals experience failure in eliciting desirable student attitudes and behavior, some relief measures are appropriate. This…

A discussion is presented of the work of the Educational Renewal Consortium, a national network for renewal in higher education and the public schools. The foremost characteristic of renewing institutions is recognizing the intractibility of some school problems and working collaboratively with other institutions to find solutions. Teachers in…

The inservice program described in this paper was a successful attempt to help 30 teachers from kindergarten through grade six learn together, plan together, and experience the satisfaction that comes from improving classroom reading programs. A description of the format of the program emphasizes the importance of providing for the individual…

When a new administration came to Michigan's Wayne County Community College (WCCC) in 1985, the college evidenced several characteristics of a failing institution: poor media image, continuing budget deficits, declining enrollments, and probationary accrediation status. To address these problems and the demoralization that had accompanied them,…

This pamphlet summarizes the recommendations of a task force of educational administrators who have experience in school-based management, a process of decentralization of authority based on the beliefs that those most closely affected by decisions ought to play a significant role in making those decisions, and that educational reform efforts will…

Although research in goal setting has demonstrated that specific, difficult goals lead to better performance, more refined research on the affect of participative decision making and supportive leadership on goal setting has produced ambiguous results. To investigate the relative importance of goal setting, leader supportiveness, and task…

This monograph provides educational staff with a theoretical basis for decision-making skills for application in quality circles. Roadblocks to good decisions are outlined, as well as the differences between group decision-making and individual decision-making (both have problems). The influence of values and personality characteristics on…

A quality circle approach was implemented at Valley Forge Military Junior College during two semesters of an American History survey course. Student input into the academic progress of the course was at the root of the quality circle experiment, with students determining the type and frequency of written assignments, course structure, the…

The second of two volumes on planning parent participation programs, this guide is intended to be an aid in the actual program development. The importance of involving school faculty in the planning is emphasized. A description is provided of a seven-step development process in which the faculty team: (1) states program goals; (2) examines sample…

A longitudinal study compared the effectiveness of worker buyouts and quality of work life programs (QWL) in reversing the shutdown of supermarkets in Philadelphia. Working conditions, worker attitudes, and economic outcomes at a group of employee-owned stores and a group that had adopted QWL strategies were compared at three points in time…

The abstract and complex nature of decision-making processes and structure in colleges and universities is discussed from the perspective of organizational behavior theory developed in the industrial sector. After an introductory discussion of the history of organizational problems in higher education, the two main sections of the book are…

This guide is intended to be a first-time, general introduction to employee involvement for trade unionists--local leaders, stewards, and rank-and-file members. It makes no attempt to be comprehensive, but instead raises the major issues concerning employee involvement framed in trade union terms. Part I looks at the kinds of employee involvement…

This five-part paper provides an overview of the use of quality circles as a participative management technique in community colleges. Section I offers an introduction to the technique, reviewing the history of quality circles from their development in Japan in the early 1960s to their introduction in American higher education in the early 1980s.…