The goal of the seminar reported in this document was to consider the site leadership and management issue as it relates to professionals' changing roles and influences educational equity and excellence. The seminar attempted to bring sensitive reform movement issues back to those most affected by their implications. An important seminar element…

In 1988 and 1989 there was extensive political intervention into New Zealand's education system. In 1988, as part of the Labour Government's wide ranging reform program, broader social values were deployed against "provider capture" in education. The Picot Taskforce recommended the radical devolution of power, resources, and…

One popular trend in the American school reform movement is the notion of school and teacher empowerment. This paper sketches various definitions of teacher empowerment and associated terms, presents key issues, identifies certain strengths and weaknesses, encapsulates recent evaluation and research efforts, and lists traditional and newer…

Aimed at both practicing administrators and university education professors, this book discriminates among certain "E-words" ("effective,""efficient,""excellent," and "empowerment") in the educational reform lexicon. According to the introductory chapter, levels of effectiveness, efficiency, and…

This paper applies the strategic planning process to the task of school renewal and improvement. After outlining the basic elements of stratgic planning (planning-to-plan phase, research, writing a mission statement, forecasting, contingency planning, and development of the strategic plan), the paper focuses on using this model to restructure…

A School Context Analysis Form, designed to access the readiness of a particular school to participate in planned change, is introduced and described. This report chronicles two improvement efforts in two different schools to demonstrate how the eight identified contextual indicators interact to influence improvement efforts. The eight factors…

Contrast between the appearances and the reality of several aspects of a school environment, including a participative management style, a democratic leadership style, the principal's image as democratic, and attentiveness to student needs is discussed as related to a boarding school in Israel. During an exploratory case study, observations were…

This study is the third in a series of national studies of high school principals dating back to the early 1960s. The major purpose of this study was to analyze and describe high school leaders and their schools in 1987. Chapter 1 discusses characteristics and opinions of school leaders. Chapter 2 is devoted to the tasks and problems of school…

The Staff Development for School Improvement Project (SDSI) combined the resources of Wayne State University with 19 schools from 15 school districts in the Detroit (Michigan) metropolitan area. The university provided a facilitator to guide each school through the following six-step change process: (1) awareness, readiness, and commitment; (2)…

Based on extensive policy and procedure reviews and on interviews with district administrators and staff development personnel in four school districts, this article identifies some promising procedures for managing school-based improvements within a district. This process, with specific administrative assignments, is discussed in detail. Includes…

Reviews research principles underlying site-based school management, including the National Committee for Citizens in Education's parameters. Outlines a Missouri school district's approach to site management, highlighting establishment of guidelines, team training, financial support, flexible staffing, and sense of ownership. (MLH)

Views school reorganization as best achieved through school-based management, featuring transformational leaders, school effectiveness teams, school strategic plans, school-site budgeting, and school performance reports. Describes a Dallas County (Texas) district's efforts to create a mission, review organizational structure, and adopt strategic…

Principals' job orientation has recently changed from school management to instructional leadership, though research indicates principals are instrumental in influencing student achievement gains. Effective schooling characteristics are synthesized, a diagnostic instrument of principals' training relative to instructional leadership is discussed,…

Argues for a school-centered renewal process making schools the target of improvement efforts and the site of professional inquiry and reflective practice to determine educational change. Examines the creation and use of knowledge, the nature of schools as organizations, and the lessons learned from experience. Includes 18 references. (MLH)

School Centered Management (SCM) focuses on the school as the center of all management endeavors. Systematic delegation, support, and accountability are parts of SCM's situational approach to management. (MLF)