The advantages of citizen participation in the school's decision-making process fall under the headings of representative school governance, community support and interest, and improved school performance; the disadvantages fall under politics, loss of authority, and public opposition. (IRT)

Existing definitions of the relationship between community participation and community development are flawed because they concentrate on the failings of community development without analyzing why successful programs succeed. Community development is actually a form of community participation, and its success is determined by the role of the…

Outlines arguments in favor of school-based management, which decentralizes a district's decision making so that parents, teachers, and administrators have more control over the curriculum and budget of individual schools. (IRT)

Explains how to ensure that advisory committees only advise while the school board actually runs the schools. (Author/JM)

This discussion of the development of the Oklahoma Community Youth Effort curriculum guide includes information on problem solving, issue identification, public and community issues, decision making, action plans, proposal writing, and information addressing adolescent concerns. (JOW)

Four paradigms of labor-management relations are found in American small schools: paternalism, collective bargaining, collegial problem solving, and community problem solving. Examination of the conditions under which each is likely to exist and their unique characteristics, reveals the circumstance which will enhance the effectiveness of each.…

The influence of citizens on educational collective bargaining was examined in this study of eight school districts in California and Illinois. Data were collected through interviews with persons active in collective bargaining and observation of bargaining sessions and other meetings. The study revealed that citizens rarely participate directly…

There appears to be a need for more significant involvement of the community and the school board in all stages of policy development. Policy is defined as a value-laden term, while administration deals with the determination of how policy should be interpreted in a given situation. Local policy development is affected by several forces that…

In this article, the authors explore a number of questions about the type and impact of service learning activities in the preparation programs for preservice teachers. They ask "what kinds of experiences are likely to benefit preservice teachers' understanding of collaborative partnerships?" and "what might they learn from preservice teachers'…

In the past decade, local community organizations have emerged in urban centers as new participants in educational power politics, as community leaders have come to believe that education is the key to solving urban social problems and improving local communities and neighborhoods. Many school administrators, however, are reluctant to share their…

Citing young people's seemingly extensive--but actually superficial--knowledge about drugs, the author suggests that students need drug education which stresses self-awareness and decision making. He outlines the type of teacher training and community involvement needed for such a program. (SJL)

Conflicts in school closures may be minimized by: (1) not seeking consensus; (2) recognizing the limits of leadership; (3) adopting bargaining strategies; (4) making differential decrements less clearly differentiated; and (5) matching a decrement with an increment. (Author/MJL)

If schools are to be professionally responsive to and accountable to their clients, each school must have some control over decisions affecting its particular student body. These include decisions in the areas of policy, curriculum, staffing, facilities, resources (and related finances), evaluation processes, and participation in system-level…

China's educational system is the subject of this book, which includes observations and interpretations by individual members of an American delegation to the country in October, 1977. During the 18-day trip, the group visited preschool centers, primary centers, a middle school, colleges, universities and vocational schools, school-run factories,…

It is unwise to give even a philosophically competent school head the power to set curriculum policy. In a democratic society that power should be held by the community rather than by technocrats because of the possibility of authoritarian abuse by specialists not accountable to the larger community. (IS)