A study of 488 teachers in six school districts reveals that teachers' self-reported inclination to follow or attend to curriculums formulated for their districts are highest when the district is the locus of decision making, followed by the school and the classroom as the locus of curriculum decisions. (MLF)

As this case study of a suburban New York school district shows, creating contexts for effective and meaningful curriculum deliberation means combatting the quest for certainty embedded in the nature of institutions. Applying shared decision-making "technology" is not enough. The situation demands a transformation of social relations,…

The Virginia Curriculum Revision Plan, developed by Hollis Caswell and Sydney Hall during the 1930s, was showcased as a model that effectively involved teachers, students, and administration in a comprehensive educational improvement project. This article explores teachers' role in developing and adopting the plan and discusses implications for…

Investigates the nature of curriculum decision making as it occurred in two school-based curriculum development committees in an Ontario, Canada, school district. As Thomas J. Sergiovanni suggests, certain technical, human, and educational forces are necessary but not sufficient for deliberation; symbolic and cultural forces must also be present.…

Summarizes study investigating collaborative curriculum development in Alberta, Canada, elementary schools. Focus is "snapshot" capturing extent, rather than quality, of collaboration, based on stratified random sample of elementary school principals. School staffs are moving toward more collaborative curriculum-development mode but are…

This document clarifies the ecological-integration approach to curricular decision-making by identifying highlights of the historical development of the ecological perspective. (SI)

As teachers, administrators, and community members move from a district curriculum management system to a school-based model and from an isolated, private teacher planning format to a collaborative forum for curriculum deliberations, participants will need new perspectives and skills for analyzing the new practices. This article provides this…

Analyzes the processes used by a group of Australian teachers to make curriculum decisions at the school level. Policies aimed at decentralizing curriculum decision making can be supported only if teachers' expertise is fully utilized in the decision-making process. Unless teachers contribute something that administrators cannot, they will be seen…

Restructuring efforts, including curriculum integration, require that teachers exercise intellectual skills transcending craft wisdom and recipe exchanges. This article explores the tension between teamed middle-school teachers' technical interest in seeking recipes and their deliberationist interest in engaging in fruitful dialog. Teachers…

Describes a longitudinal case study focusing on teacher and principal expectations, satisfaction, and attitudes toward curriculum devlopment. Relates these three factors to the resulting process and product. Participants' perspectives heavily influenced their views of both process and product. Includes 13 notes and 11 tables. (MLH)

Describes restructuring in a Western Australian school district. Provides background information and summarizes findings of a case study exploring what primary teachers thought about the restructuring of their work. The 60 teachers interviewed generally thought the restructuring process negatively influenced their curriculum work. Teachers felt…

Examines alternatives to the technical orientation of the Ralph Tyler rationale of curriculum planning. Emphasizes the fact that the language and processes of curriculum planning are embedded in metaphysical, philosophical, and moral concerns. Advocates using religious metaphors in models of curriculum planning and discusses how planners' values…