This narrative study examined teachers' perceptions of their inclusive classrooms. Eight early childhood teachers responded to open-ended interview questions about their experiences teaching children with and without disabilities in the same classroom environment. The social constructivist view of teaching and learning is highlighted as the…

Presents an analysis of the concept of "teacher participation in school decision making," a set of empirically based hypotheses concerning the current scope and extent of teacher participation, and an outline for a systematic program of research that could provide information for policy development concerning teacher participation.…

A study of public school teachers in Iowa assessed their interest and involvement in participatory decision making at the classroom, building, and district levels. The strongest correlations found linked the teacher's sex and the educational level at which they taught with the types of participation in which they were involved. (PGD)

Addressed to teachers, administrators, and researchers, this study discusses the philosophy behind collaborative school-based curriculum development and the results of an attempt to implement this type of curriculum development. This multi-disciplinary approach offers a way to combine the advantages of both centralized and localized decision…

Teacher participation in a research project was examined to determine the effectiveness of an individualized mathematics program involving drill and practice in computation processes. The first data set was gathered from a laboratory school (experimental group) where the teachers were accustomed to trying out new programs, and a private school…

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…

Past researchers have claimed that it is possible to over-involve individuals in decision-making and that this saturation may result in a decrease in job satisfaction. This paper presents a synthesis of three studies that covered the kindergarten through 12-th grade spectrum and tested the curvilinear relationship between teacher involvement in…

This paper describes Hilltop Junior High School's initial experience with interdisciplinary teaming, an arrangement whereby teachers from different disciplines systematically plan curricular experiences for a common group of students. The innovation began with the appointment of a new principal who advocated teaming as the basic unit of middle…

The first of two questions investigated in this paper concerns the relationships among three measures of teachers' expectations: that their students can succeed, that they can be successful as teachers, and that they can influence what happens in their classrooms and schools. The second question involves relationships between these three types of…

This study examined curriculum procedures and the roles, decision-making processes, and perceptions of central administrators, building administrators, and teachers in five school districts. Qualitative data collection included taped interviews using a focused indepth interview schedule, field notes, observation, and document collection. The study…

This paper synthesizes data from two studies of educational change to describe how school contextual factors influenced teacher involvement and how principals reduced those influences. The first study, involving 14 schools representing a mixture of levels and types of areas served, began in 1979 and spanned 3 school years; the second study, which…

This brochure provides brief descriptions of 11 recent documents and journal articles selected from the ERIC database by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management (University of Oregon), all on the broad topic of teacher collegiality. The works reviewed are as follows: "A New Model for Professionalizing Teacher Evaluation," by…

A curriculum project is described which illustrates the use of collaborative inquiry, a cooperative effort between university researchers and educational practitioners. Four tenets of collaborative inquiry are outlined. (1) Researchers and school practitioners work together on all phases of the effort. (2) The effort is focused on real world as…