By taking the vantage point of agonistic pluralism, the aim is to enter into dialogue with Samuelsson's theoretical development of consensus as an educational aim for classroom discussions. The response highlights three points of interest in the deliberative conception of consensus. The first point relates to the problem of exclusion, which…

I reflect on the preceding five contributions in this issue by focusing on the power dimensions of participation. I emphasize how power underlies and frames not only the activities and management of participatory development, but also our own personal/institutional involvement as development researchers and workers. I end with some thoughts on…

Argues that, with shrinking budgets, academic libraries must obtain optimal performance from their human resources, requiring a larger investment in staff training and development. Discusses how strategic planning and changes in organizational structure to include greater staff participation in decision making can improve staff effectiveness. (16…

This book provides useful guidelines for implementing collaborative decision making in the public educational system. The prologue presents the historical background of educational reform in the United States and offers a rationale for radical school reform at the individual school level. The nine chapters that follow are divided into three parts.…

Ways to apply the concepts and processes of Total Quality Management (TQM) to education are discussed in this document. Following the introduction and the preface, chapter 1 provides a historical overview and describes the four cornerstones of TQM--an understanding of systems, psychology, knowledge, and statistics. Chapter 2 describes some of the…

A democracy must tolerate many points of view without becoming divided. Therefore, public educators and the communities they serve are challenged to help students understand political and religious issues without proselytizing. This handbook provides guidelines for beginning the journey toward common ground, for moving from a climate of antagonism…

Empowerment is based on the viewpoint that power shared is power multiplied. It contributes to increased school effectiveness by providing people with the opportunity and necessary resources to understand and change their world. The interactive processes by which people empower each other and benefit from them are discussed in this report.…