This digest summarizes some of the recent research regarding school-based management (SBM). In particular, it addresses two questions: (1) Is SBM working, and (2) What can schools changing to an SBM system do to ensure success? Information is presented on what type of SBM system works best, research on SBM success, the kinds of problems…

School-based budgeting decentralizes fiscal decisions and is usually adopted as part of a comprehensive school-based management plan. The practice requires cooperation, particularly from the school board, superintendent, and principals. The purpose of school-based budgeting is not to reduce costs but to improve school productivity by altering…

This Digest advocates alternative educational programs as ways to reduce dropout rates, increase academic and personal satisfaction and achievement, provide real options for struggling students, and generate improvement in all grade levels. The study discusses five concerns in relation to alternative school programs: (1) issues raised regarding…

The impact of school-based management (SBM) on student performance is examined in this digest. The first part describes school-based management and its potential for improving student performance. A review of research concludes that, overall, school-based management has not contributed to consistent or stable improvements in student performance.…

Recent educational reform efforts have sought to restructure schools, changing the character of school culture and creating a need for a nontraditional approach to inservice teacher education. Inservice projects have been implemented which attempt to prepare practicing teachers for restructured schools and as participants in the restructuring…

Quality work teams that are based on W. Edwards Deming's business-management theories have proliferated at the school and district levels to handle problem solving and decision making. Teams are said to build stronger relationships among those involved in education and, ultimately, to benefit students because more people with broader perspectives…

In most schools, especially urban high schools, teachers are colleagues in name only. Some schools, however, do foster substantial collegial relationships among teachers; and when schools are organized to support such teacher collaboration, the benefits are substantial. To make teacher collaboration possible and effective, two fundamental…

A growing number of educators are focusing their efforts on improving the work environment of teaching. In place of the typical school's norms and practices that isolate teachers from one another, collaborative schools have norms that encourage teachers and principals to cooperate for school improvement. Such schools are characterized by frequent…