The necessary conditions for successful shared decision making include school board and administrative affirmation, tolerance for diversity, teacher and administrator training, and collegial support. Involving teachers in decision making requires four implementation phases: readiness, experimentation, refinement through trial and error, and…

This paper supports Ray Helfer's proposed model of child protection services (EC 600 595) and expands on the model from the perspective of the state's service role. It describes implementation of the model in Oregon, current problems, possibilities for change, and strategies for the future. (JDD)

Examines implementers' use of channels to disseminate information to and solicit input from staff members during planned change. Assesses how communication was differently directed to paid and volunteer staff and the degree to which channel use is predictive of implementers' assessments of success of change efforts. Discusses potential…

Considers aspects of managing change as illustrated in 25 British secondary schools that have implemented antibullying policies for pupils. Despite staff ownership, problems arising from the subjectivity of policy interpretation and contextual pressures are likely to affect outcomes. Analysis of questionnaire and report data shows that policy…

When introduced a decade ago, development planning was regarded as a strategy to help (British) schools manage change. Recent evidence suggests that schools exhibiting "best practice" in development planning have transcended this usage and now employ development planning to enhance pupil achievement. This paper examines the latter,…

Continuing education is being provided to professionals in the addiction treatment field to help them develop skills in process improvement and better meet the needs and requests they encounter. Access and retention of individuals seeking addiction treatment have been two of the greatest challenges addiction treatment professionals face.…

This paper explores what lessons we can learn from the experiences of states that instituted NCLB-like accountability systems prior to 2001 (here called first-generation accountability systems). We looked at the experiences of three smaller states (Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina), four larger ones (California, Florida, New York, Texas), and…

The data are clear: Too many students are not doing well in school. Too many are experiencing interfering barriers, most of which are not internal dysfunctions but are associated with neighborhood, family, school, and peer factors. If the situation is to change, schools must play a greater role in providing supports for students experiencing…

School-based management (SBM) has become a very popular movement over the past decade. The World Bank Education Team's SBM work program emerged out of a need to define the concept more clearly, review the evidence, support impact assessments in various countries, and provide some initial feedback to teams preparing education projects. During the…

The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) is a national, collaborative effort to encourage and support state policymakers to improve the collection, availability and use of high-quality education data and to implement state longitudinal data systems to improve student achievement. The campaign aims to provide tools and resources that will assist state…

This article deals with the governmental strategies basic to the construction of the European Higher Education Area within the Bologna Process. With regard to the actual reconstruction of German universities, these strategies are verified on a structural level, in individual and collective subject relations and also in the subject matter which is…

The Division of Student Affairs at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor engaged in an iterative strategic process to create and implement a set of long-range goals. This strategic journey continues to evolve, uniting a guiding framework of strategic planning steps, a reflective process with an assessment component within each step, and a group…

The South Australian Education Department introduced the School Entry Assessment (SEA) Policy in 2001 to help teachers assess young learners and plan relevant learning events, to help collect information about South Australian education from Pre-School to Year 3, and to facilitate collaboration within and between educational and social…

In 1988, Illinois entered into a 5-year commitment, called the Illinois Alliance of Essential Schools (IAES), to implement the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) philosophy in several secondary schools. This paper presents findings of a study that examined how IAES schools defined the program's nine Common Principles and the implementation…

Findings of a study that examined the role of policy implementation in school reform are presented in this paper. The focus is on a British Columbia policy, the Primary Program, which is intended to reform educational practices through the first 3 years of schooling. During the first phase of data collection, interviews were conducted with 12…