Investigates teacher receptivity to a proposal to relocate year 7 primary classes to secondary schools in the Western Australia Catholic school system. Receptivity was strongly and positively related to the perceived practicality of the change and moderately, positively related to the readiness of year 7 students for secondary school. (27…

Addresses persistent tensions among centralized school governance structures. Examines the literature's claims for devolution's positive benefits and shortcomings and proposes more realistic expectations. Discusses the relationship between devolution and improved teaching and learning. Reconceptualizes devolution and proposes a preliminary…

Considers the decision that branch libraries, music libraries in particular, have struggled with concerning a centralized location in the main library versus a decentralized collection. Reports on a study of the Association of Research Libraries that investigated the location of music libraries, motivation for the location, degrees offered,…

Analyzes educational decentralization trends and policies in Argentina and Brazil during 1990s, includes case studies. Discusses historical background and rationales behind "provinicialization" in Argentina and "municipalization" in Brazil; identifies commonalities, including centralization of curriculum and evaluation…

This article examines the politics behind the initial centralization of primary education in Chihuahua, Mexico during the 1920s and 1930s. The article argues that the centralization of primary education was one of many tools used by the federal government to consolidate its power in the wake of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1917) and create a…

Compares the proportions of staff in various types of positions in public K-12 education in two Australian states and two Canadian provinces. Joint state department of education/school district (decentralized) education systems appear to require the allocation of a higher proportion of personnel and salary resources to administrative and support…

Based on his experience in a multicampus system, the author discusses the issue of centralization, concluding that campus administrators should be given the freedom to plan, implement, allocate resources, and evaluate their programs with as little interference as possible, the central office being involved in initiation, encouragement,…

Addressing resource allocation and organizational change with respect to equal education, it is stated that criteria used in apportionment of funds become a crucial set of variables. Will be continued in Vol. 15, No. 4. (Author/DW)

Designed to support the formation of a New York State Office of Communications Management, this document contains official recommendations, cost justifications, public hearing testimonies, and government documents which address the need for a statewide control of telecommunications. A year-long, 12-step plan for implementation of a State Office of…

Five models of organizational decision-making are described, and a case study of the rational model as seen in the budget process at Stanford University during the 1970s is presented. Several issues are addressed to help administrators who are interested in increasing the organization's rational decision-making. The five models are as follows: the…

Operations tasking for data center management is discussed. The original and revised organizational structures of the data center at the University of Miami are also described. The organizational strategy addresses the functions that should be performed by the data center, anticipates the specialized skills required, and addresses personnel…

This paper criticizes federal involvement in education in recent decades and asserts that control of education must be returned to the localities and parents. The document cites damaging effects of centralized education policy in Washington, D.C., noting a decline in academic standards and federal regulations that are ill-suited to local…

From all existing evidence, there is no inevitability about the relationship between centralized fiscal responsibility and decentralized decisionmaking. He who pays the piper does not necessarily call the tune. (Author)

A document retrieval study conducted before and again after the building of a more centralized library at Syracuse University is used as an example of the kind of data gathering which can lead to improved decision making and evaluation of library services by library administrators. The study is discussed in detail to facilitate replication and to…

During the 1976 session of the General Assembly, a stalemate between the House of Representatives, which passed the Board of Regents bill, and the Senate, which adopted an amendment for a commission to study the structure of higher education, resulted in a conference committee suggestion that the Legislative Program Review and Investigations…