John Lewis, president of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, discusses changes needed in principal training programs to reflect changes in schools, the shortage of principals, the difference between administration and teaching, the importance of collaborating with staff and students, school violence, the difference between…

This research summary says school-based management increases political activity in schools, but is time-consuming; many teachers evade SBM; less actively participating parents risk co-option by educators; and schools will not commit necessary resources. Academic achievement is not necessarily improved, and organizational implementation obstacles…

An award-winning Alaskan elementary school is designed to blend into the landscape; capture as much winter daylight as possible; and generally accommodate safety, flexibility, practicality, and whimsy. In a sidebar, the architect explains the importance of architect/educator collaboration in designing a building that supports an educational…

Describes the efforts of the Centre on Collaborative Research at Brock University (Ontario) to understand the processes of collaboration by participating in school-university collaborative research. Explores professional interrelationships and attitudes involved in collaboration and the necessary time-consuming commitment to relational processes.…

Staff developers used data-gathering tools to help one high school community deal with decision making for improving programs, organizational climate, and student learning. The school/university collaboration involved collecting data about how the organization and the people within it worked, then using the data to change the organization. (SM)

Elements aiding block-scheduling implementation at an Ohio Catholic school include a supportive principal, systems thinking, adequate time and resources, benchmarks for quality, responsible faculty decision making, readiness-based staff development, democratic process, process/content coordination, a nonthreatening learning environment, and…

Surveys past graduate-student administrators (now in professional and academic careers) involved in the consensus-based management system of a composition program. Finds that such involvement exposed graduate students to the most challenging aspects of university life, in all its political, structural, and interpersonal complexity; and was central…

Democracy in education has many facets: mass access to education, democratic governance of schools, education about citizenship, and education for citizenship. The skills and dispositions necessary for effective democracy can only be learned by practicing them, yet most secondary students have neither political rights nor a political role. Student…

When teachers are directly involved in policy decisions, they are more likely to support them. Teachers can seek out multiple, practical opportunities to contribute to this process. Some avenues that teachers can take to impact policy decisions include curriculum planning and integration, school-based management, internal evaluation, computer…

An eight-nation intergovernmental council concerned with sustainable development in the Arctic conducted workshops on ecosystem health, youth, alternative energy, housing, transportation, and waste management. Seven themes emerged that included community involvement in decision making, consideration of local capacities, development of information…

A study examined seven rural Alaska communities engaged in educational reform. Findings indicate that educators must work with small communities to design reforms around local culture; parents must participate actively in school life and decisions; district leaders must share leadership to increase local ownership of reforms; and education in…

Education leadership is possibly the most important single determinant of an effective learning environment. Change leaders must understand procedures and processes that create the conditions necessary for organizational improvement. Building principals must be able to assess and evaluate the impact and perceptions of their leadership styles.…

According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are 103 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. Although this sector of higher education represents just 3 percent of all U.S. institutions of higher education, the National Center for Education Statistics reports that HBCUs grant approximately 25 percent of…

This community college-based case study describes and analyzes how a new mission and vision adopted by the college trustees was translated into a facility master plan. The vision is designed to serve the needs of the community and facilitate economic development, especially in the areas of health occupations, biotechnology and…

A weakening of central time regulation has constituted one aspect of the process of decentralisation and deregulation of Swedish education in the last two decades. In 1999 the Parliament decided on an experiment period permitting schools in 79 municipalities to allocate school hours more freely. The article aims at exploring and analysing pupils'…