A study examined the management style of non-Fortune 500 business leaders and its relationship to their organizations' environment in order to provide a profile of a cross-section of these leaders. The presidents or CEOs of 65 randomly selected Indiana companies with annual sales of at least $5 million were surveyed about situational leadership…

Democratic participation in education suggests that communities will be served best when decision-making is decentralized and when people--teachers, parents, and students alike--are encouraged to participate directly in making decisions that affect them. In contrast, the notion of administrative leadership implies hierarchical elevation of chief…

The future of academic content reforms relies on the relationship between policies and the decisions of teachers. Because the agreement of teachers with district policies is congruent with teacher autonomy, the dichotomy of district control and teacher autonomy is invalid. Districts execute instructional leadership by providing teacher autonomy or…

A study examined increasing employee participation in a Roman Catholic seminary using an analysis of management style to display a profile of recent changes in the seminary's management not unlike similar changes made in secular organizations. Management behaviors relevant to participation were analyzed according to Likert's taxonomy, which…

In 1985 the Urban League of Rochester organized an Education Initiative and held a series of Speak Out Forums and conferences for students, parents, educators, and the community to arrive at an answer to the question: What can be done to improve the academic performance of Rochester's students? This document contains the following papers pertinent…

President Reagan's promotion of merit pay as the main vehicle of educational change has prompted a sharp debate. This monograph presents arguments for and against merit pay and assesses its relative worth as a means of improving American education. First, merit pay is defined as a compensation system linking individual teachers' salaries to…

The role of the professional evaluator within a school district is essentially to provide data for use in informed decision making. In School District 4J in Eugene, Oregon, this role involves performing tasks in three basic categories: (1) maintaining and interpreting ongoing databases, (2) finding and analyzing information to answer specific…

Given the role that initiatives and referenda have played in state and local governance, it is interesting that there has never been a national initiative or referendum in the United States. The reason for this is that the Constitution of the United States does not provide for direct citizen initiation of, or direct popular votes on, either…

Recent research shows that principals can heavily influence schools' organizational effectiveness. This report describes the instructional leadership roles of elementary and high school principals participating in the Wayne State University Staff Development for School Improvement Program (SDSI) conducted from 1981 through 1984. The SDSI school…

Efforts to increase academic expectations and improve the school climate at Fairfield (Ohio) High School have resulted in a record high in ACT test scores, a decrease in failure and dropout rates, and a dramatic increase in attendance as well as in the percentage of students taking foreign languages, math, and science. Some policy changes…

Quality circles attempt to satisfy both task and personal needs through staff involvement in solving work-related problems. This paper summarizes quality circle theory, applies it to school settings, and suggests a framework for introducing the process to educational institutions. After briefly defining quality circles, the article presents two…

A set of principles that focus on issues concerning implementation of a successful dropout prevention program is presented by a consortium of national educational organizations. The key elements of this "blueprint" consider local adaptations and effective results among various programs. The booklet discusses seven principles for dropout…

Confronted by complex and divisive issues and by groups seeking participation in policymaking, the Salt Lake City Board of Education adopted a shared governance policy in the middle 1970's. The policy mandated creation of two related councils at each school site. The School Improvement Council (SIC) consisted of the principal and specified school…

The Comprehensive School Improvement Program (CSIP), a holistic school improvement plan currently operating in selected New York City schools, is explained in this guide. The handbook is divided into three sections. Section 1 discusses the goals of the CSIP, which are to enable the principal to become a more effective instructional leader of the…

Designed to be a guide for community action, this booklet examines issues and trends related to groundwater contamination. Basic concepts about groundwater and information about problems affecting it are covered under the categories of (1) what is groundwater? (2) availability and depletion; (3) quality and contamination; (4) public health…