The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) took place in Rio de Janeiro in June, 1992. The main results of UNCED were the Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, Convention on Biological Diversity, Framework Convention on Climate Change, and Statement of Forest Principles. Agenda 21 is the international program of action for global…

The process of reexamining and reinventing a company demands a new organizational theory and, at the same time, a critical evaluation of the limits of existing theory. This book argues for change strategies that are aimed at creating more permeable boundaries within organizations. Four major sections focus on one of the four types of…

During 1983 and 1984, 202 high schools were selected for national recognition as exemplary institutions through the Secondary School Recognition Program (SSRP) of the United States Department of Education. This paper identifies factors common to successful secondary schools and develops propositions about secondary school effectiveness. Data were…

Nested in a complex environment of expectations, regulations, professional standards, and historical traditions, schools are the object of many influences. The main question of this paper is: To what extent and under what conditions do external agents help schools develop intellectual quality and strong professional communities? The paper examines…

This study examined relationships between institutional culture, decision making approaches, and organizational effectiveness of two-year colleges. The sample included 639 full-time faculty members or full-time administrators at 30 public two-year colleges stratified for size. The causal model estimated for this study used K. S. Cameron's (1978;…

This curriculum and classroom activity guide considers evidence gathered in answer to questions concerning global environmental change. It describes methods that biologists, chemists, geologists, meteorologists, and physicists use to gather and interpret their findings. The activities and approaches in this guide were developed to meet the skill…

Recently, a line of conceptual and empirical research has begun to investigate the notion of schools as "communities." Following a survey of works on this idea of community in research and theory, this paper presents findings of a single-site case study conducted during 1995-96 in an urban elementary school in Los Angeles. Data-collection methods…

Principals can best discharge their leadership role if they develop a deep and broad knowledge base with respect to curriculum. This book offers guidelines for principals who seek to work cooperatively with the school community in developing and implementing effective curriculum. Part 1 contains three chapters that review the knowledge base. They…

A study examined the extent to which employees in one university extension organization oriented themselves to a vision of extension work that responded to nontraditional societal problems, nontraditional affected communities, and the expertise of nontraditional faculty. The state extension service organization (based at a large midwestern…

This facilitator's guide offers tools for training leaders to solve problems in new and collaborative ways. It distinguishes between having knowledge about a subject and being able to use that knowledge effectively. The guide offers 15 units designed to meet the following objectives: (1) draw on each participant's work experience; (2) engage…

Newly appointed principals are usually confronted with the complexity of their new role, which some researchers believe is complicated by the recognition of their role distance from teachers. This paper examines the nature of the passage from the teacher role to the principal role. It pursues Marshall's (1991) micropolitical hypothesis, which…

This paper discusses barriers encountered by leaders when they attempt to implement change and redirect the collective focus in groups. It describes co-creative relationships that occur when leaders and followers work together in a reciprocally responsible relationship based on a common purpose. The process of covenanting toward a common purpose,…

Findings of a study that examined parent and student perceptions of school learning environments are presented in this document. The data are from the 1993 National Household Education Survey (NHES:93), a national survey conducted by Westat for the National Center for Education Statistics. This report is based on data from telephone interviews…

Issues in the application of Total Quality Management (TQM) to the development of educational standards are discussed in this paper. The first part describes the basic tenets of TQM, which are: focus on the customer; long term commitment to continuous improvement; top management support and guidance; employee involvement and responsibility;…

This paper presents an operational framework of change, derived from a synthesis of three change models. It is argued that to create a quality school, educators must use a model that helps participants internalize the components of the desired educational corporate culture. The organization must be examined in terms of the past, present, and…