This report is the fifth in a series on cultivating excellence in education for the purpose of training and retraining school leaders of the 1990s. The role of school administrators, and especially building principals; the characteristic administrative functions; the step-by-step procedures for implementation; and the advantages and possible…

The report documents the extent to which special education teachers took advantage of a program which provided substitute teachers for their classes in order to free them to attend Evaluation, Appraisal and Review (EAR) committee meetings held to review individualized education programs and placement decisions for individual students. Funds to…

In 1981, at the suggestion of the college president, Metro Community College (MCC) instituted a College Advisory System (CAS) to replace its cumbersome structure of 17 standing committees and numerous ad hoc committees. CAS is a voluntary, action-oriented, entirely open system, allowing for input from all sectors of the college community. It is…

Three crucial factors which have inhibited past school improvement efforts are analyzed in this paper. These factors include: (1) promising more than can be delivered; (2) failing to effectively deal with the reality of limited resources; and (3) failing to recognize and initiate opportunities for collaboration and resource sharing. The paper…

In response to the increased emphasis on parent involvement in schools, the Parent Involvement in Education Project (PIEP) conducted a comprehensive six-year study of the attitudes and current practices of teacher educators, teachers, principals, parents, and school administrators in a six state region (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New…

In order to build more effective partnerships between home/community and the public school, the Parent Involvement in Education Project (PIEP) conducted a comprehensive six-year study of the various aspects of parent involvement in education from the perspective of key stakeholder groups. This executive summary of the final report represents a…

The Saint Clair County Teachers' Institute (Evanston, Illinois) plans and implements a 1-day inservice for 3,000 teachers (grades K-12) each year. The committee in charge of planning and implementing the inservice is composed of two co-chairpersons (each an administrator from a local school district), representatives from the regional…

Managerial styles and the concommitant relationships between managers and other employees can have a significant impact on many aspects of the work situation. In a study of the environments within two automotive supply organizations similar in size and technology but different in formal managerial styles (participative management and modified…

In British Columbia the responsibility for non-degree, continuing professional education of teachers is vested in the Ministry of Education, three universities, the British Columbia Teachers' Federation, and the schools. Demography necessitates coordinated planning. Multi-agency planning committees are established to improve communication, assess…

The way that "open meeting laws" are working in the governance of U.S. higher education is discussed, based on a study of sunshine laws of 50 states and a survey of case law and attorneys' opinions. In-depth interviews were also conducted with individuals from six states identified as representing a range of openness. From most open to…

This paper describes a survey conducted in 1982 by the Rosemount, Minnesota, school district as a model for other districts wishing to obtain reliable information about their communities at low cost. The paper outlines the following information: (1) the objectives of the survey; (2) the district's constraints and resources; (3) preliminary…

The policy-making and administrative roles of trustees and presidents are distinguished. The level of policy at which trustees should operate is dependent on the college's size and complexity and whether it is public or private. Trustee responsibilities of soliciting funds and selecting a president are acts of implementation in pursuit of a…

Strengths of the committee system and its value for colleges and universities are discussed. College committees provide more people with the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process. Leadership is provided to a committee by a chairperson who acts as a facilitator. The value of a committee depends on the scope of its mission, the…

Addressed to teachers, administrators, and researchers, this study discusses the philosophy behind collaborative school-based curriculum development and the results of an attempt to implement this type of curriculum development. This multi-disciplinary approach offers a way to combine the advantages of both centralized and localized decision…

The philosophy upon which this monograph is based is the belief that one of the responsibilities of the schools is to prepare all youth to become active and well-informed participants in a democratic society. Alternatives and options are recommended for improving the school curriculum, governance, teacher effectiveness, testing, discipline, and…