The Staff Development for School Improvement Project (SDSI) combined the resources of Wayne State University with 19 schools from 15 school districts in the Detroit (Michigan) metropolitan area. The university provided a facilitator to guide each school through the following six-step change process: (1) awareness, readiness, and commitment; (2)…

In this book, eight contributors examine issues related to the likely effects of the decentralization of school governance on educational practice. Two major themes emerge in the book. The first (chapters 1 through 4) is that governance reforms in education may have little to do with what actually happens in schools, but have much to do with…

General interest in decentralized decision-making in education is increasing in both Canada and the United States. This paper attempts a preliminary study of school-based management, which shifts some budgetary decision-making authority from the central office to individual schools. Although many academic specialties have explored decentralization…

Examines why an elementary school, set up as a model school promoting learning effectiveness, was not working as predicted. Concentrates on staff assessments of principal's role. (JW)

Summarizes the historical background, planning, and implementation of a School-Based Management/Shared Decision Making (SBM/SDM) program in Dade County (Florida). Highlights interim evaluation findings and recommendations. (FMW)

This document is a three-part collection of information on school-based management which includes: (1) a list of researchers and practitioners with knowledge and expertise on school-based management; (2) a list and summary of school-based management programs throughout the country; and (3) an annotated bibliography on school-based management. The…

Although the role of a superintendent has commonly involved a conflict between instructional leadership and business management, this dichotomy is apparently false; superintendents can effectively fill both roles. To explore this possible harmony of roles, one superintendent was studied who by reputation filled both roles very well. The…

Examines the use of rational planning techniques in five English elementary schools. Discusses the decision-making processes used to determine the employment and remuneration of teachers. Finds that the decree of control over decision making was related closely to the extent to which decisions would contribute to solutions of other school…

This paper describes research needs in light of changes taking place in school-based practice in both general and special education. The tenets of educational reform and societal concerns fueling demands for reform are identified. The context in which changes in educational practices are occurring is described, focusing on evolving relationships…

Investigates administrative metaphors and the school principalship in the current literature. Three metaphors--maintenance, survival, and vision--are explored through participant observation of the behavior of five principals. (MLF)

Compares the restructuring of educational governance using school-based management/shared decision making (SBM/SDM) to restructuring of Soviet government under the "perestroika" program. Reviews the other six articles in the theme issue. (FMW)

A 1983 survey conducted in England and Wales by the Education Management Information Exchange and the Society of Education Officers Industry Committee examined the widespread administrative use of computers and related technology in Local Education Authorities (LEA's). This report summarizes responses from 95 of the 108 LEA's in the survey area.…

Four critical time periods offer a sense of where the Effective Schools Movement has been, and where it appears to be headed. The period of 1966 to 1976 marked the beginning of descriptive studies of individual effective schools. During the period of 1976 to 1980 a new coalition was formed between many of the Effective Schools researchers and…

The 1980s will be a period of restructuring for Australian education. Four factors will be central to this process: school-based decision-making, new administrative structures, regionalization, and declining and shifting enrollments. (Author/JW)

A study of 20 representative primary schools in New South Wales, Australia, revealed that a high degree of principal supportiveness as measured by the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire was associated positively with curriculum decision making by staff groups and negatively with curriculum decision-making by individual teachers. (PGD)