Examines effects of three variables (staff involvement level and quality, individual attitudes and perceptions, and management style) on change processes in 20 British elementary schools. Survey data indicated that only five schools made demonstrable progress in managing real cultural change. However, 11 others recognized they needed to do so.…

Reviews elementary and secondary school leadership developments for the decade preceding Britain's 1988 Education Reform Act and during the 1990s. Summarizes major themes, including headteachers' central importance, shared leadership issues, the changing character of heads' professional and entrepreneurial leadership, heads' change-agent role,…

Examines local management of British schools in term of organizational form theory. The 1988 Education Reform Act was designed to change the local education authority from a unitary to a multidivisional (M-form) structure, though the LEA's regulatory role was left undeveloped. Without a quality assurance function, decentralized management…

Examines the experience of participants in the 25 British Columbia teacher research groups involved in a primary education restructuring initiative. Characterizes teacher research as a striving for authenticity involving participants in five different struggles: engaging in professional discourse; providing mutual support, stability, and…

Uses findings of a national longitudinal study to examine the changing role of secondary principals in England and Wales. Explains the United Kingdom's education system, outlines the principal's role within the context of unprecedented educational change, and discusses strategies for coping with changes and balancing roles as educators and…

The Conservative Government's education reforms of the past 6 years in England and Wales, beginning with the Education Reform Act of 1988, embody a strategy designed to pursue the following 5 themes: quality, diversity, increased parental choice, and greater school autonomy and accountability. The government's rationale for reform makes no…

In an analysis of school reform in Great Britain, this book shows how the landmark Education Reform Act of 1988 (ERA) imposed a radically new framework on British education. This framework is built on the same types of reforms that American activists have been proposing for years: school-based management (SBM), choice, and accountability.…

Discusses the change to a choice-based school system in Great Britain under the Education Reform Act of 1988. Compares the British system with proposed changes in the United States. Describes the changes that have placed budgeting and management in the hands of the individual schools that have the power to "opt out" of school district…

This paper uses the research findings of a longitudinal national study to examine the changing role of headteachers (principals) in England and Wales. The first section provides some basic information about the United Kingdom education system and a short historical perspective on the traditional role of the headteacher. Education in the United…

The emphasis in recent British educational legislation (primarily the 1988 Education Act) has been on the creation of an "internal market" to stimulate improvements in educational outcomes and provide efficiency and accountability. The internal market mechanism allows schools to manage their own budgets and personnel and to create…

In England, vast amounts of energy are being spent on changing organizational structures and school financing systems to produce a market accountability on the schools. Raises a series of questions that should be considered in restructuring efforts in the United States. (MLF)

This paper focuses on school reform in England and in particular on the attempts to increase diversity and choice through specialist schools. It examines the extent to which diversity and choice have been introduced into the state (public) education system and then presents key findings to emerge from an evaluation of the flagship government…