A case study of district-level factors that enabled eight Ontario secondary schools to assume added administrative responsibilities found that after two years, district-level factors contributing to change were the actions of a steering committee, emerging professionalism in the teacher union, district history, individual personalities, and a…

Articles published from 1980 to 1997 were reviewed on team teaching and school-based problem-solving teams which served students with special needs. Results suggest that research on both models lacks experimental designs and generally report student-based outcomes. Suggestions for continued research efforts are offered. (DB)

Shows how the relationship between (Australian) secondary teachers and their highly respected, collegial principal changed when he was perceived as "doer of the center's bidding." The principal's efforts to comply with a ministerial directive to impose a statewide curriculum undermined trust in his leadership. (12 references) (MLH)

Explores how school administrators can provide a quality Catholic education for all families without depleting the parish's limited financial resources. Describes a phase-in process for a parish tuition assistance program as a new model for implementing change. (VWC)

Leadership plays an important role in middle-school community members' collaborative efforts. Principals, by valuing and recognizing contributions of each teacher, staff member, student, and parent, give high visibility to the collaborative process. Principals also bolster collaboration by providing necessary support systems and helping…

Summarizes findings of a two-year study of two locally managed Welsh secondary schools' need for support and resources. Discusses resource needs resulting from expansion and diversification of the sixth-form curriculum. Discusses implications of encouraging students to stay on in the sixth form and the factors influencing their decision making.…

A school district in Spring Valley, New York, has made its move to site-based decision making. The district sent 175 administrators, teachers, parents, and community members to a two-day training session to learn how to effectively work at building consensus as team members. (MLF)

Discusses a study that surveyed heads of locally maintained, grant-maintained, and private sector (British) primary schools concerning their management styles. Questionnaire and interview data suggest that autonomous primary schools are characterized by collective decision making and high job satisfaction levels. Private sector school heads'…

During the first 10 years of reforms, New Zealand schools had two kinds of inspections: assurance (compliance) audits and effectiveness reviews to measure academic performance and contributing factors. In 1998, accountability reviews were introduced to judge whether schools were satisfying their charter (contract) objectives. The program is…

Nicaragua's decentralization policy shifts management and budget decisions to local school councils. Interviews with teachers, parents, and directors in 12 elementary and secondary schools examined the effects of school context, poverty, and sources of authority on implementation of school autonomy; varying meanings of "autonomy" as seen…

Mixed messages--a legislature intending to repair school finance system inequities and a governor claiming the problem is "fixed" by a $100 million construction grant--characterized the beginning of Arizona's 1997 legislative session. Charter schools, school-based management, vouchers, and property-tax reforms are also discussed. (MLH)

Based on an extensive review of the literature, implications for school leadership are examined in the context of four government approaches to accountability-driven educational policy: market, decentralization, professionalization, and management. The article concludes with a discussion of four suggested areas for future leadership research. (PKP)

Significant, multisector community partnerships are a prerequisite for sustained, systemwide pre-Kindergarten through college-level educational reform. Like a few others, the University of Pennsylvania is developing higher education-assisted community schools designed to help educators educate, engage, activate, and serve all community members.…

"The New Zealand Curriculum: Draft for Consultation" (Ministry of Education, 2006) aims to first "set the direction for learning for all students while at school and will ensure that when they leave, they are equipped for lifelong learning and for living in a world where continual change is the norm" (p. 7), and second, to…

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine the extent to which school ethnic affiliation (Jewish vs. Arab) and site-based management affected the absence of teachers and school administrators. Research Design: Background individual and organization-level data on the population of elementary and middle-school teachers (52, 056 teachers at 2,…