Discusses site-based management as a means of school reform. Emphasizes the advantages of such decentralization for music education. Compares the traditional approach with a reform alternative in terms of decisions affecting teaching, learning, school climate, and curriculum. Urges implementation of site-based management as a means of involving…

Examines factors which enhance teacher empowerment, noting that site-based management is often discussed concurrently with empowerment; describes successes with teacher empowerment via interdisciplinary teams of students and faculty at the Virginia Governor's School for the Gifted in the Humanities and in the Visual and Performing Arts. (SM)

Over 100 interviews with teachers and administrators provide the base for this analysis of teacher empowerment in several highly decentralized school districts. Examined are (1) how teachers respond to opportunities for influence; (2) how such opportunities affect teaching; and (3) how opportunities affect teachers' work lives and sense of…

This article provides an overview of several major themes in the reform movement and how changes brought about by school restructuring affect practicing teachers. Topics include teacher empowerment, site-based management, knowledge-work enterprise, school-university collaboration, professional development schools, whole-language instruction, and…

Summarizes a five-month study of a British secondary school governing body to determine whether the 1986 and 1988 education acts' goals were being achieved. One significant research issue was the emerging lay-professional relationship. At present, the school governing body is not fully exercising its powers but is responding to an externally…

Despite differences among Mediterranean sub-regions, a shared political history and common state of peripheralization to the global economy make comparing the region's university systems possible. Presents nine propositions that highlight trends throughout the years. Argues that the propositions could constitute an initial agenda for further…

Official involvement of parents in school education has been very limited until recently within the highly centralized educational administration and school management system in Korea. But, the educational reform in 1995 has brought fundamental changes in educational administration and school management system of Korea. The main approach of the…

Respect. Responsibility. Resourcefulness. These three simple words embody the culture and mission of Duncan Polytechnical High School in Fresno, California. The terms are everywhere: They are painted on corridor walls, printed on posters mounted in every room, emblazoned on surfaces in the cafeteria, and easily verbalized by all of the students…

Success in today's K-12 environment often hinges on improved test scores. But success should be defined more broadly to recognize the overall learning environment that is created by students, teachers, staff members, administrators, and parents. As a middle level principal, the author has learned that to create long-lasting change and to foster a…

This study is intended as a resource and a tool for those involved in the evaluation, monitoring, or self-review of school management teams. The information presented is based on first-hand experiences of n = 838 elementary and middle school teachers from 55 schools who were directly involved with the implementation and operations of school…

Teachers in 12 Kentucky schools were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward school based decision making (SBDM). The 228 subjects included teachers at SBDM schools as well as non-SBDM schools. A Likert scale survey instrument, designed to solicit information specific to the adopted Kentucky SBDM legislation, was administered to teachers in…

This paper examines school management and decision-making practices in four small rural New Zealand secondary schools. During the late 1980s, national legislation was enacted that established local school governance by elected boards of trustees. A national teachers' union felt that teachers and their unions had been marginalized from…

This paper addresses the characteristics of alternative secondary education programs in Minnesota for students with special needs or considered to be "at risk." It examines various alternative school options including Area Learning Centers (which provide personalized year round, day and evening programs for learners aged 12 through…

The current trend toward site-based management in education, with its accompanying shift toward decision making at the individual school level, means new responsibilities and roles for principals. Principals are now required to be intimately involved in budgeting, personnel recruitment and hiring, selection of curricula and textbooks, and many…

This collection of guidelines and worksheets provides information on the development of good communication skills, aspects of interpersonal communications, and elements of administrator effectiveness in the field of education. Specifically mentioned are a public relations project; coping with rumors and grapevine information; social networking;…