Local boards of education have the responsibility and authority for operating local school systems, but in a system of any size authority must be delegated. Unlike factories, schools cannot be run from the top down. The health of the schools is determined directly by and in proportion to the extent that principals and teachers have a voice in…

A working symposium, consisting of 100 persons from many different professions and perspectives, brainstormed for three days about ways in which to make teaching more of a profession. This report presents the symposium participants' vision and action plan for the K-12 teaching profession in California. Reasons why change is needed in the teaching…

Principals wish to foster both staff motivation and student achievement in their schools, yet research reveals a seeming contradiction between these two goals. Fredrick Herzberg found in the late 1950's and 1960's that in various occupations, employees' motivation depended primarily on their sense of: the significance of their work, achievement,…

For the brightest students the most significant reasons why they won't teach relate to frustrating working conditions, bureaucratic requirements, the lack of professional control, and few opportunities for intellectual growth, as well as these students' intolerance for diversity in the workplace and their perception of teaching as a "boring…

Describes one school system's experiment in allowing teachers to decide what materials and services to buy for their classes, thereby enabling them to enjoy some financial and professional benefits of private practice while retaining the security of the traditional teacher contract. Discusses potential problems and ways to overcome them. (IW)

The first of two articles examines the process of obtaining federal aid in Australia by comparing a successful effort by school libraries and a failure to obtain public library funding. The second explores the potentially negative effects of defending professional rights and status to the extent of alienating funding agencies. (CLB)

The Hammond (IN) School Improvement Process gives teachers a major say in decision-making and in shaping the programs they believe will be best suited to the needs of their students. While the progress of the program is uneven, the prognosis is good. Includes a sidebar on individual schools within the program. (Author/MD)

Empower teachers by giving them control over organizational and instructional decisions. To improve education and attract and retain good teachers, restructure teaching as a self-governing profession like medicine, with comparable self-determined standards for entry and advancement, assumption of professional integrity and expertise, and…

Examines the history, magnitude, causes, consequences, and remedies of grade inflation. Predicts the erosion of professional autonomy and academic freedom if schools abandon the task of conscientiously assessing what students have learned and external agencies take on the task. (DMM)

Compares results of a survey of chief psychologists in medical schools to results of a similar survey reported in 1978. Reports that changes in bylaws of university-affiliated hospitals have enabled psychologists to be members of the active medical staff and that progress has been made in achieving departmental status for psychology. (KH)

Control over content, teaching, and evaluation of social studies is moving outside of the classroom. Organized action is needed to see that teachers do not lose their autonomy. (RM)

Two recent studies suggest that the role of the principal is indeed affected by collective bargaining, so that principals lose autonomy and take on new responsibilities. Four references are provided. (DCS)

Reports on a survey of Australian English teachers in years 5, 7, 9, and 11 concerning their control over the English syllabus. (HTH)

Reports results of a series of semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers from Catholic and Protestant schools in Northern Ireland. Explores such topics as professional autonomy, teacher-pupil relations, a teacher's freedom to pursue his or her own methods, discipline, sources of professional identity and the social and political backgrounds to…

Trustees often confess to confusion about the responsibility of the governing board for the academic programs and policies of higher education institutions. During the 20th century, the teaching and research missions of American colleges and universities progressively became the special domain of the faculty. As academic disciplines became…