The superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools (Kentucky) describes an administrative restructuring process that removed layers of bureaucracy and dramatically improved principals' and teachers' shared decision-making opportunities and increased their enthusiasm and commitment. The key is willingness to take risks and remaining open to new…

Educators embarking on school-based management/participative decision-making report changes in relationships not only between administrators and teachers and between management and unions, but also between teachers and their union. Decentralization means teacher empowerment at the local level, collaborative bargaining, union involvement with…

Under the guidance of a new superintendent, an underfunded and uninspired rural New England school district galvanized community support for school improvement and completely revitalized its program through collaborative decision making. Goal setting, used by individual classroom teachers, committees, and administrative teams, became part of the…

After principals have involved all stakeholders in developing a school mission and identifying critical success factors, the planning team must analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within and outside the school; establish strategic goals (outcomes) to support the future vision; and develop objectives and target dates. Includes…

Discusses the importance of teachers' job satisfaction in light of a teacher shortage. Recommends ways in which principals, school districts, education schools, and teachers can collaborate to provide opportunities for teacher satisfaction. (RJC)

Study of five sets of work process variables and their relationship to role conflict and overload among public sector nurses and engineers found managerial strategies appropriate for minimizing role conflict not necessarily appropriate for minimizing role overload. Some work process predictors may be similar across professions, and managerial…

Studied joint decision-making strategies of small task group (N=8) over 15-month period. Found 4 problem areas contributing to lack of productivity: expertise, self-oriented needs, permissive operating procedures, and formal status differences. Results suggest important differences between group participants' desire to use participatory strategies…

This article proposes rules of thumb about the teacher education design process. The rules are grounded in the attempts at reforming teacher education at Washington University in the early 1970s, at a time during which a year-long, field-based alternative to the traditional elementary program was operated. (IAH)

Teacher empowerment requires investing in teachers the right to participate in the determination of school goals and policies and the right to exercise professional judgment about the content of the curriculum and means of instruction. Implications of this conception and the kind of school leadership it requires are discussed. (IAH)

Describes the system of shared decision making used by the Bay Shore (New York) Union Free School District. Discusses the following major elements: (1) long-range planning; (2) staff development; and (3) commitment. (FMW)

To implement shared decision-making, a Colorado school district needed three years to venture through the cage door, scare the cat away, and experience an increase in involvement from district constituents. Blocking can occur because of outdated policies reflecting centralized control, perceptions of the principal as prime manipulator, master…

Most schools do not include their staffs in decision making and problem solving. A system of governance is needed that makes use of the professional skills and knowledge of teachers, empowers them to identify and solve problems, and gives them a share in making decisions. (JD)

By giving teachers control over improving the curriculum, an Idaho school system has created a systemwide syllabus that guides each teacher in each subject and grade. (MLF)

Tests a model of the factors that influence groups to follow various paths as they make decisions. Uses three panels of contingency variables to predict properties of the group's developmental path. Finds that group decision paths and their properties can be predicted as a function of task and relational contingencies. (MS)

The present confrontational labor/management negotiations model mitigates against the development of a higher form of teacher professionalism. Current union and school management models are highly centralized governance systems. Collaborative planning must be instituted in a collegial manner to be successful. (MLH)