The papers in this collection are based on the document "Perspectives on Performance-Based Incentive Plans" and offer brief overviews of the following critical issues in education: (1) performance-based incentive plans; (2) needed organizational changes; (3) successful and unsuccessful teacher incentive plans; (4) compensation strategies…

Most recent initiatives to improve teaching may be characterized as top-down, compliance-oriented policies that seek to increase accountability and regulate different aspects of the profession. Little regard has been paid to the development of assistance programs at the state level that aim at building capacity among teachers and local school…

The process of developing the curriculum and determining educational policy in the schools of the state of Victoria, Australia, has shifted in recent years from being a function of the state bureaucracy to being a matter for collaborative decision-making among parents, students, teachers, administrators, and others involved in education. To ensure…

A study conducted in Massachusetts between October 1986 and May 1987 assessed the behaviors and skills principals exhibit when they make curricular revisions. Questionnaires were sent to all superintendents in Massachusetts, of which 48 were returned. From the information furnished by these questionnaires, 18 principals were selected for onsite…

The purpose of this paper is to explore the idea of how various interests representing public education can be brought into a collaborative alliance. Within this paper, a rationale for a collaborative alliance is analyzed by exploring the degree to which the implications of federal and state regulations and mandates have restricted the creativity…

The Carnegie Foundation recently completed a comprehensive survey of more than 20,000 teachers in all 50 states about their involvement in shaping classroom and school policy. The report consists of a brief introductory analysis of the survey by foundation president Ernest L. Boyer, followed by 10 tables presenting, for each state, the percentages…

This book reports results of a study of the efects of quality of worklife programs and related forms of worker participation on unions and the collective bargaining process. Chapter 1 describes the evolution of worker participation in unionized settings and summarizes basic propositions in models of joint union-management change. In chapter 2 five…

Participation in organizational decisions is thought to have a number of positive effects on performance and worker attitudes, but it is not clear which elements of participation are responsible for these positive effects. The effects of two elements of participation, upward information input by the worker and the provision of downward knowledge…

This report summarizes the results of a statewide survey (excluding New York City) on the objectives, procedures, and problems of school closing; it emphasizes school districts' planning processes. The report begins with information on the geographic distribution of closings; the years districts closed schools; and the types, sizes, and ages of…

This study examines a naturally occurring experiment in a large urban hospital faced with budget cuts, in which departments were ordered to reduce employees' overtime without jeopardizing service quality. The study focuses on two departments that chose to use behavior modification techniques. In one department (Radiology) the intervention combined…

In January 1986, the Learning Resource Center (LRC) of New River Community College in Virginia initiated efforts to increase the level, quality, responsiveness, and adaptability of LRC services. Central to these efforts was an emphasis on employee involvement and empowerment intended to create an atmosphere of trust and teamwork; enhance employee…

Described are six elementary schools in Virginia that were judged as meeting nine criteria for programs facilitating participatory decision-making by teachers. The term "participatory decision-making" refers to the sharing of decisions on school policies and practices between teachers and school administrators. Information on the…

This study investigated secondary teachers' perceptions of school organizational climate relative to their own professional growth and development attitudes. Instrumentation consisted of the "School Climate Profile," chosen for its range of determinants of school organizational climate in the secondary school, and a Likert scaling procedure to…

This study investigates principals' perceptions of the effect of teacher empowerment on their role as building administrators. The researcher conducted structured interviews with 10 principals, 5 elementary and 5 secondary, in 2 school systems characterized by wider applications of shared decisionmaking and greater professional autonomy among…

An elementary school teacher developed a learning community classroom with four key characteristics: (1) task and objective monitoring systems; (2) use of heterogeneous groups; (3) fostering of individual responsibility; and (4) fostering of group responsibility for learning. It appeared that collaborative planning between teacher and pupils was…