Reviews some characteristics of university academic and administrative organizations in Australia and China. Includes a comparative examination of supervising organs above the university, governing bodies within the university, teaching organizations, and the classification of China's universities. Party politics play an important role in…

Uses the philosophical concepts of MacIntyre and Aristotle to argue that experiential education (including adventure therapy and other specialties) is evolving into an independent professional practice and, as such, must deal with ethical issues and define standards of excellence. (SV)

A teacher educator's experience as a first-grade teacher helped her understand the desperation that is driving good teachers into other professions. She experienced autocratic scheduling requirements, humiliating permission and attendance verification procedures for inservice training, constant daily interruptions, inflexible custodial rules, and…

Examines the impact of the special education needs sections of the 1981 Education (Scotland) Act, focusing on interprofessional collaboration while drafting a record of needs. Role conflict and confusion hampered administrator-psychologist cooperation, and power struggles between doctors and psychologists compromised service delivery to special…

Reviews the case law of academic abstention (issues that the courts consider beyond their expertise) in the following areas of higher education: (1) student qualifications; (2) faculty qualifications; (3) student substantive rights; (4) faculty substantive rights; and (5) discovery of information. (199 references) (MLF)

In developing a national curriculum, ways must be found to challenge students and teachers, preserve initiative, and maintain democratic control. President Bush's New American Achievement Tests will consist of a system of examinations to be administered by individual states or clusters of states. Conversion should embody a grand,…

To discover who is in charge and ascertain principals' perceptions of their own decision-making autonomy, a short questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 2,559 elementary and secondary school principals in the 11 southeastern states. Respondents believed they have enough autonomy over instructional personnel, subject matter, and instructional…

Explores whether and how teachers' communication behavior varies within and between schools, based on a sample of eight Dutch primary schools. Also examines how teachers' network participation is related to their perception of different types of tasks. Teacher isolation at least partly results from individual teachers' behavior. (42 references)…

This case study analyzed implementation at Oklahoma State University of an institutional policy restricting the use of graduate teaching assistants in freshmen-level instruction. Findings suggested that units varied in viewing implementation as a hierarchically determined compliance task or as an opportunity for creative problem definition and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher autonomy and on-the-job stress, work satisfaction, empowerment, and professionalism. Using a reliable and valid measure of curriculum autonomy and general teaching autonomy (TAS), it was found that as curriculum autonomy increased on-the-job stress decreased, but there was…

This qualitative study describes a new professional stance, teacher as pedagogical researcher, provides a rationale for its emergence, demonstrates connections of pedagogical research to autonomy in teaching through the words and lived experiences of teacher researchers, and presents implications for teacher professional development and for…

This study examines the effects of four team-based structures on the organizational commitment of elementary teachers in an urban school district. The study model focuses on organizational commitment and includes three intervening, endogenous variables: teacher empowerment, school communication, and work autonomy. Team teaching had both direct and…

For today's public school teachers, unlike most professionals, years employed rather than performance determines where they work, how much they are paid, and whether they can be fired. To achieve professionalism teachers will need to jettison the tactics of industrial-style unionism in favor of organizations more like the medieval guilds. (MLF)

In this study, the researchers examined principal behaviors related with change in school climate. That is, the manner in which principals managed change within their schools and the impact of these change behaviors on the school climate was investigated. Through use of the Leadership Profile (Johnson, 2003) and the Organizational Health Inventory…

Censorship of school library collections has risen significantly in the last few decades, and such attacks are increasing. American courts have ruled that students in schools have First Amendment rights and some degree of freedom of speech. Courts also have ruled that students have the right to information and to learn and discuss issues of…