Despite ambiguous results of corporate restructuring efforts, higher education has adopted many of the methods used in hostile corporate takeovers and leveraged buyouts, affecting "ownership" of the educational process by faculty and the relationship between faculty and administration. A common element in successful restructuring is the…

Provides suggestions to child care center directors on how to become effective participants at meetings. Suggests that a little planning and careful attention to the subtleties and details of participation can transform meetings into powerful organizational tools. Suggests that good preparation, respect for the ideas presented during the meeting,…

As local pressures mount and state resources dwindle, intermediary organizations are emerging throughout Latin America. Although theoretically enabling people at the grass roots to participate in their own development and reap the benefits of their labor, the costs and tensions are often not worth the burden. Explores the quandaries that new…

Examines parent-teacher relationships in early childhood programs, including those for children with disabilities, across five eras of the 20th century. The general approaches have been the earlier tendency to view parents as learners in need of information and the recent trend to involve them in program decision making. (SLD)

Teachers in a multiage classroom developed a new spelling program that allowed students to select spelling words. Student interviews examined how they chose the words and why they considered words easy, medium, and hard. Three general areas of learning emerged: students' autonomy, real life connections, and the future. (SM)

The study examines relationships among variations in the implementation of participative decision making, instructional improvement, and student learning in 1 school district of about 3,300 students over 5 years. Findings support the conclusion that teacher participation in decision making is related to instructional improvement and better student…

Describes different team approaches to the organization and delegation of teachers' tasks in public schools, offering insights into the types of skills teachers need to ensure the success of the team and providing examples of how a teacher team may function effectively. (SM)

Explores stressors, role changes, and paradoxes encountered by four administrators and two teacher-leaders since their high school began restructuring in 1994. Identifies decision-making anxieties, role conflict and ambiguity, and accountability apprehension as sources of stress. Restructuring was impeded by training inadequacies; bureaucratic,…

Describes a collaborative action research project (the Genesee Valley Research and Reform Collaborative) involving university faculty and elementary teachers and administrators. The project originated in a discussion among educators who had participated in organized trips to observe New Zealand schools. It focuses on using collaborative action…

School governance reform in post-apartheid South Africa aimed to democratize schooling while accommodating diverse school histories of underdevelopment or self-management. Analysis of relevant legislation shows the reform was structured to allow representative democracy and partnerships. But two recent studies suggest that governance reforms have…

Report of a study from Israel that reveals that SBM positively affects teachers' commitment to the profession and students' academic achievement, and negatively affects their commitment to the school and students' social well-being. Further, teachers' autonomy remained unchanged after SBM was introduced. (Contains 4 figures, a questionnaire, and…

The Comer Process is a research-based school improvement model stressing collaboration, consensus, and communication for problem solving in academic, social, and staff development areas. The process allows school staff and parents to work together and to decide what is in the best interest of children. (MLF)

In an experimental study, K-4 teachers were trained to foster supportive teacher-student relations and provide occasions for students to work cooperatively. Results indicate that students in experimental classes demonstrated significantly higher supportive, friendly, and spontaneous prosocial behavior. Guidelines are provided for creating…

The Kentucky legislature has mandated that a school-based decision-making (SBDM) format of operation be adopted statewide. At the school level, the governance for SBDM becomes the responsibility of a local six-person school council. The plan establishes a reward and sanction program for schools. Offers guidelines for school principals. (eight…

Describes the controversial but successful experience of a small Minnesota school district that turned over all school principal duties to a team of teachers and staff, called SHARE (Staff Helping Administer Responsible Education), to have site-based management, shared decision making, and teacher empowerment. (SM)