This paper presents findings of a study that examined the factors that hinder or promote teachers in taking greater responsibility for their professional growth and decreasing their dependence on principals' instructional leadership. The paper explores the consequences of an inservice collaborative activity between the principal and teachers in…

In the face of increasing demands for school reform, educational leaders are looking anew at the core elements of the instructional program, including the curriculum. This book serves as a guide to both understanding and practicing sound curriculum development. It lays out the steps of a quality curriculum-development process and emphasizes that…

The restructuring movement is seen as the best way to reform and revitalize education. Restructuring is making individual schools the focus of change and empowering those closest to students with the responsibility and authority to effect changes responsive to student needs. This publication concentrates on teachers' and principals' roles as the…

One result of the new culture of violence in the schools, and the corresponding shift in attention and resources away from learning activities and towards new security strategies, is the strong likelihood of a notable drop in student achievement levels. Fallout from the crisis in urban high schools carries over to community colleges and…

The success of educational restructuring depends on the quality of leadership exhibited by school administrators. A method to help administrators develop an achievable educational vision is presented in this paper, which focuses on developing strategies for actualizing an organizational vision statement. After a vision is designed, collaboration…

Several techniques for conducting studies of measurement integrity are explained and illustrated using a heuristic data set from a study of teachers' participation in decision making (D. L. Taylor, 1991). The sample consisted of 637 teachers. It is emphasized that validity and reliability are characteristics of data, and do not inure to tests as…

Early adolescence presents many challenges to youth, their parents, and educators. During these transition years, students experience physical, emotional, and educational transformations. The Scarborough school system in Ontario, Canada, conducted a study of the Ministry of Education's Transition Years pilot project in four of its schools. The…

A pilot study was conducted to investigate preferred leadership style, faculty job satisfaction, and faculty attitudes toward decentralized budget authority at a selected midwestern research institution. An "Attitude Toward Decentralization" (ATD) scale was developed to determine faculty attitudes toward decentralized authority and…

This report describes four schools (two elementary, one middle, and one senior high) whose administration and faculty made longterm commitments to curricular and organizational change to meet the needs of a diverse student population. Data sources included observation of meetings; conversations with staff members; and informal interviews with…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the impact of organizational type on management training. Two case studies compared the management training programs of a suburban school district and a Fortune 500, energy-related organization. Data were obtained from interviews with key informants, observations, and document analysis. Using…

This paper presents findings of case studies that applied social exchange theory to examine the instructional leadership roles of four exemplary high school department chairs. Data were gathered at four suburban high schools in a large metropolitan area of the midwestern United States using the methods of observation and interviews with the…

Introducing enduring innovations into a higher education organization requires commitment and support from colleagues. Organizational change involves three steps: (1) mobilization; (2) implementation; and (3) institutionalization. Without institutionalization, the innovation is likely to be terminated despite how well it may be communicated and…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the effect of school organization on teachers' attitudes toward their work environments. The study compared the attitudes of teachers who work in schools with an interdisciplinary team organization (ITO) with those of teachers who work in schools with a traditional departmental organization…

This paper examines the transformed governance structures of four schools engaged in systemic restructuring efforts and looks at how those transformations have affected principals' roles by reshaping the micropolitical environment of the school. Principals' roles have changed as: (1) decision-making jurisdictions are redrawn; (2) power dynamics…

This paper reports on collaborative, school-based research in an Australian Research Council-funded project that focused on curriculum leadership for effective learning and teaching. Although the research addressed certain questions about the nature of curriculum leadership and its representation in varied teaching/learning contexts, it raised…