This qualitative study examined the degree to which a school principal, faculty, and community achieved shared decision making. Through faculty interviews, observations of meetings, and review of the school's documentation of committee structures, the study investigated strengths and weaknesses in the decision-making process. First, participants…

A position paper addresses the current round of school closings in the District of Columbia arguing that these closings are not within the context of the 10-year educational facilities plan that included community input, and valid criteria for closing decisions being consistently and objectively applied. Current closings decisions are viewed as…

In Chicago, local school councils (LSCs) with a majority of elected parent and community members, exercise substantial school-level decision making powers. They hire their school principals on performance contracts, set priorities for school improvement, and determine school budgets. This report summarizes two 1997 studies that analyzed LSC…

This workbook is designed for leaders and members of work teams in educational and social-service systems. It presents in a systematic fashion a set of tested facilitation tools that will allow teams to work more efficiently and harmoniously, enabling them to achieve their goals, to deal directly with both personal and work-related issues that…

Investigated the effects of participative versus assigned goal setting on intrinsic motivation for interesting and boring tasks. Participative and assigned goal setting had no significantly different effects on performance if the goal was held consistently difficult, but had different effects on intrinsic motivation at different levels of task…

Suggests combining the Delphi technique and the nominal group process technique to improve the collective decision-making of school curriculum and other committees. Both methods require group members to respond in writing. A five-step agenda with sample questions illustrates the approach. (MLF)

Two general models for bringing about change--the structural model and the people model--are described. Team leadership and team building are seen as people-oriented approaches to change that also affect the structure of an organization. Both targets of change--people and structures--should be approached in tandem. (MLW)

The merits of managerial and collegial models of governance are discussed. The experiences of a faculty member turned trustee of a public consortium of colleges in Colorado are described. (MLW)

This interview with the chief executive of Donnelly Mirrors, Inc. explains the basis of the company's leadership in participative management and discusses why it is more successful than traditional authority-based management styles. (Author/JG)

A community forum provides a setting and a structure for people to deliberate on issues. School district forums organized by the Center for School Study Councils are characterized by diverse participation; and a structure that encourages deliberation and clear outcomes. (MLF)

Discusses a postal survey of British primary headteachers showing that most principals have senior management teams (SMTs). Makes comparisons with secondary-school SMTs; summarizes heads' accounts of their teams' origin, structure and role; and presents tentative models of team decision making. Describes heads' criteria for judging team…

Summarizes a Louisiana study that asked teachers and new principals in 24 restructuring schools to assess their level of involvement in shared decision making, the kinds of information used to reach decisions, and their perceptions of various information sources' usefulness. Results showed high involvement but little valuing of information beyond…

Collaborators sparked by creative ideas and obsessed by a common task may not realize they're part of a "hot group"--a term coined by business professors Harold J. Leavitt and Jean Lipman-Blumen. Spawned by group decision making and employee empowerment, hot groups can flourish in education settings. They're typically small, short lived,…

Since 1974, the Scottish education system has legally recognized that all children are educable. Since all children are of equal worth, their individual needs are given equal priority. Structural inequalities are being addressed by early intervention and mentoring schemes and links with higher education. Schools are inclusive in their curricular…

Discusses "partnerships" in child protection as they relate to the families of children subject to these services. Suggests that parents are ignored or deliberately excluded from the process, leading to "learned helplessness." Claims that good intentions of professionals are necessary but insufficient for partnership, which can…