Currently, the decline in teacher numbers has become an important topic for discussion in the field of teachers' work in Australia. The purpose of this article is to discuss current initiatives being implemented by both the Australian federal government and the South Australian state government to retain and attract prospective teachers and some…

Conducted a study of the discourse and inquiry taking place in an Australian school that had implemented the structural features of school-based management and shared decision making. Findings suggest that second-order changes in structures and relationships do not necessarily result in second-order changes in teaching and learning. (SLD)

Examines site-based management's effects on schools, using a Canadian framework and drawing on research from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. As branches carrying the "corporate line," schools still lack local decision-making flexibility. Principals' workload is more demanding, and student learning outcomes have not…

Summarizes results of an in-depth study of 25 elementary and middle schools in 11 districts in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Some schools were actively restructuring; others were going through the motions of school-based management with little instructional change. The most successful SBM plans were those that empowered new decision…

The current literature on school restructuring emphasizes cooperative learning, collaborative planning, teacher empowerment, and participative policy making. This literature tends to set aside client and technical perspectives and to exhibit a professional view, which deems accountability to be a politically incorrect issue. The literature on…

In 1991 Australia's National Industry Education Forum released a policy statement that suggested ways to improve Australian schools. This report, an outgrowth of that statement, contains a blueprint for the decentralization of management for Australian schools. Studies were undertaken in 11 companies to draw lessons from business and industry.…

A detailed analysis of how and why school-based curriculum development (SBCD) occurs is provided in this book. Case studies from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States are presented to show that despite different contexts, common patterns exist, especially in terms of participant motivation and processes. An innovations…

Findings of a 3-year study of the policy implementation process in three western Australian secondary schools are presented in this paper, which focuses on the macro and micro aspects of implementation. To examine responses to the formation of school-based decision-making groups, methodology involved: (1) document analysis; (2) interviews with…

Issues raised by the devolution of decision-making to the school level in Western Australia are described in this paper. The first part provides a background of governance structures and school organization. Prior to 1980, Western Australia had the most centralized system of educational administration in Australia. The second part describes the…

In the Australian state of Victoria, virtually all decisions about spending, curriculum, and personnel are made at the school level. Victoria's experience in developing a system of school-based management (SBM) and shared decision making offers a perspective on school reform efforts in the United States. Underlying the school restructuring trends…

Describes curriculum planning processes for environmental education programs employed by secondary school teachers in Australia. Explains the phases involved with a school based curriculum project and provides a case study report to illustrate the approach. Offers suggestions for initiating and sustaining curriculum planning in environmental…

The School-Based Management Project was designed to determine how School-Based Management (SBM), when combined with curriculum and instruction reform, could work to improve the performance of schools. This report presents findings of a study that examined American, Canadian, and Australian schools that exhibited a range of success in restructuring…

This paper presents findings of a case study that examined Australian primary teachers' perceptions of school-based curriculum development (SBCD). The study was conducted at Blackpool Primary School, a Catholic school in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Data were derived from participant observation, a teacher questionnaire, interviews with all…

Following a review of the literature on parental involvement in school decision making, examines the background of current educational restructuring and parental involvement in school decision making in Western Australia. A case study of attitudes of primary school teachers in Western Australia about parental involvement is reported. (SLD)

This paper examines the effects that the adoption of school-based management (SBM) and subsequent efforts to generate curriculum and instructional reforms have on school staff members. Specifically, it explores the leadership behaviors exhibited by administrators, faculty, and staff in 17 elementary and secondary schools from eight locations.…