The research investigated whether teachers' participation in decision-making (PDM) contributes to the development of affective trust during school reform over time, or vice versa. A model including principals' interpersonal skills was tested during implementation of the organizational reform. Teachers (n = 1,482) from 113 Israeli elementary…

The purpose of this qualitative methods research is to study the development of teacher leaders in the implementation of grade-level and/or departmentalized professional learning communities across eight parochial schools. When working with teacher leaders in the leading of grade-level or departmentalized professional learning teams, there are…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine a model linking school principals' strategic, interpersonal skills and teachers' participation in decision making (PDM) to predict teachers' skill flexibility (SF) during the implementation of educational reform. Design/methodology/approach: From 113 randomly selected elementary schools in Israel…

This mixed-method study examined the ways that principals and teachers coparticipated in discipline-focused online communities of practice designed to foster instructional improvement in two middle schools. Findings derived from interviews and content analysis of the online discussion threads revealed the emergence of a shared language about…

A quiet revolution is underway in six North Carolina schools involved in Project Design--an innovative school restructuring process that is developmental, reasonable, professional, and educationally relevant. The voluntary program features multiple changes in the distribution of time, work responsibilities, decision authority, status, students,…

When Richmond County, Georgia, teachers formed study groups to become proficient in new teaching strategies, their students' achievement and behavior improved markedly. The teachers adopted an organic approach to school renewal, restructuring the workplace and using training to bring research-based teaching models into teachers' regular workday.…

An intensive study of innovative projects in five elementary and secondary schools provided an opportunity to examine teacher participation in pre-implementation activities. Particular attention was paid to the motivation and roles of participants. It was found that participation is complex and varied. There were three major findings: (1)…

This study examined to what extent teachers who choose to take a course about cooperative learning implement the innovation and which factors account for variation in use of cooperative learning in their classrooms. Nine female elementary teachers were observed and interviewed. Teachers were categorized as effective users, competent users,…

Four examples are given of Teacher Corps school-based staff development projects in Massachusetts. An introductory chapter identifies characteristics of successful staff development efforts, based on participatory decision making, the needs of teachers, students, and the community, and cooperation between the university and the school. The first…

This paper synthesizes data from two studies of educational change to describe how school contextual factors influenced teacher involvement and how principals reduced those influences. The first study, involving 14 schools representing a mixture of levels and types of areas served, began in 1979 and spanned 3 school years; the second study, which…

This paper reviews research on principals' and teachers' roles in site-based decision making (SBDM). Research examining teacher participation in SBDM is reviewed, finding that higher quality teaching behaviors and higher student academic attainment resulted from teacher participation. The review focuses on steps in implementing SBDM, means for…

This paper describes research based on the Effective Schools Project, a collaborative project between the University of Washington and the Seattle School District. The research was undertaken to determine the amount of change that took place in two rural high schools over two years and to analyze the factors that contributed to those changes based…