This paper reviews principal effectiveness research and suggests measures that might promote effective principalship. The first section discusses principals' behavior patterns and conditions bearing on their effectiveness. Topics examined include role ambiguity, goal setting behavior, leadership and initiative, management behaviors, instructional…

The value of strategic planning for educational, business, governmental, and family institutions to make them more responsive to society and to insure their viability is addressed. The transition from an agricultural to an industrial society and then to a technological one can be described in terms of its impact on individuals, institutions, and…

Most computer training has made little distinction between the training of teachers and computer professionals, and few of the professional training courses discuss the fundamental elements of curriculum revision in connection with computing literacy and implementation. The implementation of computing via the microcomputer at the United Nations…

To identify critical postimplementation events and school-related factors that affect the continuation of new classroom practices, qualitative data were collected in 14 elementary and secondary schools representing a mix of settings. Efforts to improve the schools' instructional programs in either basic skills, career education, or citizen…

Perhaps librarianship is faced with problems even greater than those of education. In fact, its very existence is being challenged. Library schools have consistently tried to educate almost all librarians and information scientists in one mold. This simply cannot be done--it never could. Library educators must give up their rather immature notion…

School finance reform--traditionally based exclusively on school districts' access to funding--has been made difficult by fiscal retrenchment on one hand and the educational excellence movement on the other. Stating that school districts must consider the use as well as the availability of funds, this paper proposes a new definition of equity that…

This study examines a naturally occurring experiment in a large urban hospital faced with budget cuts, in which departments were ordered to reduce employees' overtime without jeopardizing service quality. The study focuses on two departments that chose to use behavior modification techniques. In one department (Radiology) the intervention combined…

This document draws upon theory and research about early adolescence and about the effects of middle grades structures and practices on student outcomes. The purpose is to identify specific problem areas and promising innovations that should be considered by policymakers as they establish guidelines for the restructuring of education in the middle…

This study examines the changes that have occurred in the ways colleges and universities in the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) seek to prepare teachers. Particular focus is on the effects of state policies and on the role of college and university leaders in bringing about change. The study describes and explains changes in the way…

The Information Systems Long Range Plan specifically addresses Goal four of the Texas State Board of Education's (SBOE's) "Long-Range Plan for Public School Education" dealing with efficient management and organization of the educational system. To facilitate this goal, the SBOE in 1986 approved and directed the Texas Education Agency to…

Restructuring of the Florida education system calls for fundamental changes in curriculum and instruction, authority, staff accountability, reward and incentive systems, and the relationship between schools and others. Five examples of the current school restructuring initiatives were presented at the Florida Conference on School Restructuring:…

This paper examines how the perception and anticipation of political costs and benefits affects decisions about whether and how plans for educational reforms are to be pursued. Two case studies of major educational reform attempts are described: France and Japan. The study analyzes the two societies' underlying dilemmas, which manifest themselves…

Supervisors in Georgia's schools, having assessed their most critical administrative needs through earlier surveys, identified their districts' most troublesome specific problem areas associated with those critical needs. For each critical need, rankings of seven problem areas were determined. Tables in this report display survey responses on each…

One of the working papers in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness, this document focuses on the normal and documented activities that could be described as leading to strategic choices and implementation efforts in the Arizona universities. The strategic planning literature is…

Two complementary strategies intended to achieve a strengthening of the American educational system within the next 5 years and a transformation of that system within 10 years are presented in this report. The shorter, 5-year strategy targets conventional schools and is intended to help raise student achievement and professional competence. The…