Using a sample of 300 Arab teachers in Israel, we developed a model to analyze how school-based management directly and indirectly (through motivation) affects school effectiveness. The results show that there is a positive relationship between all dimensions of self-management (decision-making, resource and personnel management, availability of…

A School Context Analysis Form, designed to access the readiness of a particular school to participate in planned change, is introduced and described. This report chronicles two improvement efforts in two different schools to demonstrate how the eight identified contextual indicators interact to influence improvement efforts. The eight factors…

Educators considering the adoption of school-based management are advised to reflect carefully before jumping on the shared decision-making bandwagon. To aid this reflection, a checklist with 29 pertinent questions is provided. If school leaders proceed without realistic expectations or knowledge about the organizational changes involved, the…

In 1990, the Leon County Public Schools (FL) implemented a voluntary school-based, decision-making (SBDM) council. This paper presents findings of an evaluation of the SBDM system in the school district conducted after 5 years of activity. Data were obtained from interviews with 61 principals and 34 site-council chairs and from a survey of 206 out…

Findings of a study that examined the perceived effects of school-based decision making (SBDM) on school curriculum, particularly vocational education, and decision-making processes are presented in this document. Sixty-nine secondary schools in Kentucky participated in SBDM during the 1991-92 school year. Data were obtained from a survey mailed…

Because schools must still respond to federal reporting requirements while exercising greater responsibility for funding and administering local programs that were once under state and federal administration, and because of the increased public outcry for local accountability, many school districts have maintained large central administrative…

The adoption of a school-based management/shared decision-making administrative process (SBM/SDM) was recommended for the Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) school district in June 1990. Findings of a study that determined the attitudes of three non-Chapter 1 elementary school communities in Philadelphia toward the adoption of SBM/SDM are presented in…

Few efforts have been made to inject teachers' voices into discussions on school restructuring. Qualitative, in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 teachers to ascertain what the "average" teacher thinks about restructuring. The majority of interviewees held positive perceptions about restructuring, but opinions differed on the feasibility of…

Factors that influence the perceptions held by school site council members and others about the quality of site-based management (SBM) are examined in this study. Specifically, the relationships among a group's assessment of SBM, perceived level of influence on council decision making, perceived level of support from other groups, and perceived…

The Tennessee education system has slowly introduced school-based management (SBM) or site based decision making (SBDM). This paper presents findings of a study that investigated Tennessee educators' perceptions of responsibility for teacher hiring. Data were obtained from a survey of 197 teachers, 22 principals, 13 district administrators, and 22…

Findings from a Massachusetts Department of Education project to describe district-led experiences with school-based management and to identify factors for improved classroom practices are presented in this paper. Interviews with 12 superintendents and assistant superintendents involved in systemwide restructuring were conducted to learn about…

The study summarized in this report explored the attitudes of 320 teachers employed at three ethnically diverse high schools selected to pilot the Model Schools Project during the 1988-89 school year. The survey was returned by 164 teachers. The researcher-developed study questionnaire elicited attitudes toward school reform, perceptions of the…

This study sought to determine whether Chicago Public School teachers are more involved in shared decision making since the Chicago School Reform 1988. A review of literature on shared decision making yielded inconclusive results. While some studies concluded that shared decision making is imperative, other studies suggested that school climate,…

Many kinds of educational reform, especially site-based management, have contributed to teacher empowerment. The success of these reforms, however, is contingent upon administrative leadership that is willing to share power. This paper describes the attitudes of teachers toward site-based management (SBM), with a focus on the effects of…

Report of a study from Israel that reveals that SBM positively affects teachers' commitment to the profession and students' academic achievement, and negatively affects their commitment to the school and students' social well-being. Further, teachers' autonomy remained unchanged after SBM was introduced. (Contains 4 figures, a questionnaire, and…