This paper provides a synopsis of the findings of a national survey of headteachers conducted in 1999 by means of a self-completion postal questionnaire. The survey sought to establish the perceptions of English headteachers with regard to their state of readiness on taking up the role. Where respondents reported themselves as well prepared or…

Explores where in the school-budgeting process decentralized decision making could be used. People at the building site should be evaluating the programs and making decisions about their effectiveness and continued funding. (MLF)

The role of a school business administrator has changed over the years. Fred McCarthy shares the thoughts of an experienced school business official at the "crossroads" of life and work. Don Lussier imparts his own wry visions of what the Canadian secretary-treasurer's role will become. (MLF)

Examines why schools and teachers are stalled in their efforts to become more learning oriented, using site-based management as an example of certain desirable and undesirable elements of school reform. Radical reculturing of the school as institution and basic redesign of the teaching profession are recommended to achieve necessary changes. (SM)

Investigates effects of public versus private finance and management of education on school cost and efficiency, using school-level data on revenues, expenditures, enrollments, examination scores, and student characteristics from Indonesian primary schools. In poorly funded schools, more money tends to bring better school quality. Private funding…

As this feisty teacher/professor conversation shows, there are no quick fixes for motivating students and maintaining classroom discipline. Teacher education programs should require a comprehensive, teacher-taught course in discipline that includes a full year of student and substitute teaching experience. Professional development schools, team…

The study examines relationships among variations in the implementation of participative decision making, instructional improvement, and student learning in 1 school district of about 3,300 students over 5 years. Findings support the conclusion that teacher participation in decision making is related to instructional improvement and better student…

Ethnographic fieldwork in six junior high schools in East Java, Indonesia, focused on local responses to a national policy devolving authority over the curriculum to the schools. Interviews and observations in the schools revealed little change in teacher actions. The objectives of decentralization clashed with deeply rooted ideas about authority,…

A school improvement project in Turkey included 208 schools as Curriculum Laboratory Schools (CLSs). To evaluate the effectiveness of these schools, data were collected from 13 principals, 22 assistant principals, and 306 teachers from 7 primary and 4 high schools in 1 province. Findings indicated that the project provided some technical…

Report of a study from Israel that reveals that SBM positively affects teachers' commitment to the profession and students' academic achievement, and negatively affects their commitment to the school and students' social well-being. Further, teachers' autonomy remained unchanged after SBM was introduced. (Contains 4 figures, a questionnaire, and…

Educators should encourage the "small is beautiful" approach to school improvement because it mobilizes a powerful "inside out" process instrumental to organizational effectiveness. As a study of two rural Vermont high schools shows, creative ways are needed to channel and maximize innovation without dampening the dynamics of…

The Kentucky legislature has mandated that a school-based decision-making (SBDM) format of operation be adopted statewide. At the school level, the governance for SBDM becomes the responsibility of a local six-person school council. The plan establishes a reward and sanction program for schools. Offers guidelines for school principals. (eight…

Summarizes major differences between, and compatibility of, site-based management (SBM) and choice as strategies for restructuring schools. Examines the following areas of comparison: focus; impact timing; nature of impacts; teacher empowerment; empowerment basis; roles assigned parents; professionalization strategy; accountability; change…

Describes the controversial but successful experience of a small Minnesota school district that turned over all school principal duties to a team of teachers and staff, called SHARE (Staff Helping Administer Responsible Education), to have site-based management, shared decision making, and teacher empowerment. (SM)

Compares the restructuring of educational governance using school-based management/shared decision making (SBM/SDM) to restructuring of Soviet government under the "perestroika" program. Reviews the other six articles in the theme issue. (FMW)