This paper provides insight into distributed leadership by contrasting the oppositional messages found in the literature, and by examining differences in the rhetoric and reality associated with its application. Specifically, the treatment of power and accountability within the distributed leadership theoretical framework is difficult to…

This EEF guidance report reviews the best available research to offer schools and teachers four recommendations to support parental engagement in children's learning. Parents play a crucial role in supporting their children's learning, and levels of parental engagement are consistently associated with better academic outcomes. Evidence from our…

An overview is provided of the research conducted in Japan during the past 30 years on the Performance-Maintenance Theory of Leadership. Experimental and field studies are described which suggest that the consequences of leadership in Japan result from interaction of performance-oriented and maintenance-oriented behaviors. (TE)

Democratic participation in education suggests that communities will be served best when decision-making is decentralized and when people--teachers, parents, and students alike--are encouraged to participate directly in making decisions that affect them. In contrast, the notion of administrative leadership implies hierarchical elevation of chief…

A study of 20 representative primary schools in New South Wales, Australia, revealed that a high degree of principal supportiveness as measured by the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire was associated positively with curriculum decision making by staff groups and negatively with curriculum decision-making by individual teachers. (PGD)

Focuses on the importance of teacher involvement in designing evaluation plans, climate setting, and awareness raising within the school. Emphasizes teacher appraisal as a step in the development of human resources. Recommends negotiated change and supporting teacher autonomy, rather than legislated change. Supports collegial relationships as a…

Reports results of research on the effects of open education on student outcomes, using classroom authority structure analysis. Maintains that student outcomes are contingent on the congruence between formal and informal authority structure. Concludes that more congruent authority structure was related to higher reading comprehension and…

Reports on the role of children in assessing their special needs and their perceptions of this process. Finds that the participation of the children was minimal and their perception of the process was negative. Raises questions about the relationship between professional special educators and the representation of childhood needs. (CFR)

Inviting policy development is an attempt to cordially summon those who are involved and affected by rules, codes, and procedures to understand and participate in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies. This paper first presents criteria for an invitational framework for policy development and then goes on to discuss the…

This paper presents the major findings from a survey on parent participation in decision-making that was distributed to school administrators, trustees, and a random selection of teachers and parents at School District #68 in Nanaimo, British Columbia. The study was designed to explore means of facilitating partnership between parents and schools…

This book focuses on the interplay of education and culture and is designed to stimulate educational decision makers and practitioners in their attempt to maximize educational contributions to cultural development. People of the non-educational sectors, such as the community and media, may wish to join educators in order to make the process of…

This monograph, part of a series that critically challenges conventional definitions of school management and school resources, takes the view that the major resources in schools are culture and knowledge. What counts as culture and knowledge in the school is the subject of continuing debate by individuals and groups who articulate different…

Characterizes many civic councils (a combination parent-teacher organization and school board) as bureaucratic and unproductive. Profiles a council governing a Moscow suburban school that has been innovative and effective. Discusses the financial and administrative initiatives developed in conjunction with the school principal. (MJP)

This report analyzes the effect of public participation and the use of third party neutrals on recommendations for reorganization of a large Ontario school system. To reexamine the system, expand programs, and consolidate schools, the board of education commissioned an advisory council in 1984 to obtain community input before making…

Over recent years there has been an increasing amount of public and political discussion of educational directions and educational accountability in relation to Australian primary and secondary schools. The study reported in this monograph attempted to address these concerns through a four-stage process: a review of literature exploring community…