Value judgments are central to the process of stakeholder-based evaluations. The selection of stakeholder participants involves a value judgment about the power and the legitimacy of the stakeholders. Consequences of stakeholder evaluation may include pseudoempowerment. Suggestions for evaluators for improving stakeholder evaluations are made.…

The more successful planning approaches lie in mobilizing the organization's support and readiness for planning, creating a climate in which successful planning can occur, involving constituents in the planning process, careful attention to communication, and the attention given to proper dissemination of process results. (MLW)

The use of quality circles in three undergraduate courses in general chemistry at Penn State is described. A key ingredient to the success of a quality circle is that the instructor must be willing to consider student opinions as valid and be willing to make adjustments. (MLW)

Explores the transition from methods of group problem solving like quality circles to a management philosophy called participation. Examines sharing control over decisions, participation as a means to building organizations that can innovate, and the transition to a participatory style of management. (CT)

Discusses how educational philosopher Joseph Schwab's conception of theory applies to curriculum development. Subtopics include the relationship of theory to practice; four universal components of education and their relationships; the curriculum development group, whose composition reflects the four components; and goal-directed versus…

Presents an analysis of the concept of "teacher participation in school decision making," a set of empirically based hypotheses concerning the current scope and extent of teacher participation, and an outline for a systematic program of research that could provide information for policy development concerning teacher participation.…

A study of public school teachers in Iowa assessed their interest and involvement in participatory decision making at the classroom, building, and district levels. The strongest correlations found linked the teacher's sex and the educational level at which they taught with the types of participation in which they were involved. (PGD)

A decentralized administrative environment can help ensure the effective allocation of resources through particpative decision making. The decentralized structure at Washburn University is described along with how it helps integrate the planning and budgeting process and the effectiveness of the resulting resource allocations. (MLW)

The conditions necessary to sustain collegial professional relationships and the problems with these relationships are explored in this article. Strategies important for successful staff development are described. (DF)

Staff nurses' perceptions of the formation of hospital policy and their role in policy formation are examined, with the assumption that knowledge about and involvement in the policy-making process are indicative of staff nurse authority and influence. (Author/MLW)

Describes a project in Sri Lanka that used nonformal training to prepare development workers to help women's groups organize income-generating projects. The nonformal, participant-centered program reinforces individual and group consciousness and activities within a flexible framework. (CT)

Participatory management among Gallaudet College's administration, the architect-engineer, and the construction company saved the college almost half a million dollars and still resulted in an award-winning field house. (MLF)

"Diagraming Analysis of a Fuzzy Technique" (DAFT) is a model rectifying two problems associated with Future Problem Solving Bowl activities, namely problem definition by teams and evaluation of team responses. (MC)

Early desegregation efforts simply followed the authoritarian model predominant in American schools since the 1920s. As schools have become more democratic, however, so has the process of desegregating urban school systems. (GC)

Argues that the participatory leadership model is especially effective at the middle school level because the team concept is vital to the middle school construct. Asserts that principals who use such a model can truly become instructional leaders. (FL)