The Gini index of household income indicates that, after rising for the past 2 decades, the inequality of income distribution in the United States stabilized between 1987 and 1991. This paper examines this apparent stabilization to determine whether other measures can corroborate the Gini index and to identify any changes in underlying factors…

This paper presents the issues relating to, the rationale, and the methodology for the implementation of a process-based organizational structure. Following an overview of leadership theory and traditional organizational structure, a model of the circular organization is presented. In the circular organization, the leader occupies a middle, rather…

During the 1991-1992 school year, a case study of leadership was conducted at Hollibrook Elementary School (Spring Branch, Texas). Five themes were identified that reflected the schoolwide norms for interaction--collective strength, trust/responsibility/accountability, community of learning, risk taking, and self-fulfillment. This paper presents…

The department of English at West Chester University, Pennsylvania provides a laboratory for examining the situation of composition in a department that has documented its dedication to a unified study of English based on attention to reading and writing. The department adopted a "Statement of Coherence" that signals a dialectic: the…

This paper describes a new and innovative approach to school improvement called Knowledge Work Supervision (KWS). KWS draws on individual and team-based knowledge work; uses school-community strategic planning methods; encourages participative work redesign; and redesigns knowledge work, social architecture, and environmental relationships. KWS…

The usefulness of the symbolic dimension for understanding educational administration is described in this paper, which discusses how the interpretivist rather than functional perspective is a more fruitful way of looking symbolically at organizations. The symbolic aspects of school culture, particularly its types of discourse, story, and script,…

Findings of the 1992 Fiscal Survey of the States, published biannually are presented in this document. The survey presents aggregate and individual data on the states' general fund receipts, expenditures, and balances. Although not the totality of state spending, these funds are used to finance most broad-based state services and are the most…

This paper presents findings of a study that described the work of four exemplary district-level administrators for curriculum and instruction (curriculum directors). Data on the four curriculum directors in a northwestern state were derived through structured and unstructured interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. The work of…

This paper provides a review of research that examined transformational leadership in the context of K-12 school restructuring. It presents a rationale for studying transformational leadership, a theoretical framework for such study, and findings of six studies about the effects of transformational leadership. The framework is comprised of…

Findings from a study to examine the relationship between school climate factors and student achievement in the Austin Independent School District are presented in this executive summary. Factor and regression analyses were used to analyze data from a survey of all public school professionals in the district. Findings suggested that differences in…

Although all practicing psychologists share common ethical concerns, the industrial/organizational (I/O) psychologist has additional concerns which are unique to his discipline. The institutional setting of his practice both isolates him from role models and professional colleagues and threatens his identity as a psychologist. In the organization,…

The literature on administrative style is reviewed. Attention is directed to four basic concepts of administrative style: (1) the structured, classical, traditional model; (2) the participatory or employee-involved operation; (3) a more behavioral scientific style; and (4) the situational or environmental style. These ideas are more fully…

The focus of this research was on the question of organizational climate tendencies over time. Andrew Halpin and Don Croft developed the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire and some of the more important research questions raised in conjunction with its development were examined. (Author/RK)

Despite need for greater economy in British higher education, the universities' options, according to the author, are very restricted. Low teacher morale results from inflation's effect on working conditions and research, declining enrollments, and reduced salaries, and he contends that teachers are the "chief scapegoat for the country's…

Various major business marketing actions and their analogous educational functions are examined in this exploration of the application of the marketing concept to higher education, along with modification that institutional differences (e.g. goals and operating climate) impose upon the use of such techniques (e.g. market analysis, product line…