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…

A discussion of the work of Lev Vygotsky in the field of cognitive development focuses on how the Vygotskian concepts of internalization and mediated knowledge are crucial to the development of both learner and teacher autonomy in second language instruction. Focus is on theory, with empirical studies used as illustration. First, the Vygotskian…

The examination of teachers' perceptions of the role of parent and teacher participation in shared decision making provides insight on whether teachers view themselves as influencing decision making at their schools. The study explored the perceptions that Florida teachers of the year have about the involvement of teachers, administrators, and…

Educational reformers tend to see teachers as passive consumers of innovations, while teachers view themselves as powerful, active, and autonomous in the classroom. Reform efforts have created the conditions for a power struggle over curriculum implementation. Future efforts must take into account these power relationships. (PP)

Questions growing out of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act are provided, and United States Supreme Court rulings in "Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District versus Amy Rowley," a deaf child, are reviewed. The Court's decision is not viewed as a threat to educators' professional autonomy. (PP)

H. S. Bhola's models of planned change can contribute to the understanding of change processes and clarify the role of power in change. They do not, however, deal with problems such as resource dependency, which educational administrators face. Attitudes may interfere with acceptance of the models. (PP)