This paper, written from the perspective of the child advocacy community, acknowledges the importance of the business community in the political process. The paper profiles the contrast between two New Jerseys, one of prosperity, the other struggling under excruciating poverty. The economic boom of the 1980s broadened the gap between wealthy…

The purpose of this report is to explore the structuring of academic departments within contemporary comprehensive high schools. It begins with an argument for research on the organization of schools that takes account of the fact that high schools are fundamentally different structures from their elementary school counterparts and that…

The effects of large-scale improvement projects and the trend toward decentralization on the principal's role in primary and secondary schools in Belgium are explored in this paper. Particular focuses are on the ways in which sociopolitical change influences the nature of school-level leadership and on strategies that principals use in response to…

This volume describes the evolution and implementation of the Junior High School Network Project (JHSN), one of nine programs selected by the Documentation and Technical Assistance (DTA) Project as demonstration sites for enhancing the problem solving capacities of urban schools. As described, the original proposal for the JHSN was directed toward…

Suggests that two main areas, where an understanding of the interrelations of political and pedagogical concerns is the key to present debates over the thrust of educational social policy, are those of resource allocation and school system organization. (Author/AM)

In the study reported here, it is argued that recent policies implemented to improve the quality of the teaching profession by altering career structures are not likely to affect positively teachers' practices, teachers' work conditions, students' learning, or traditional school organizational patterns. Analyses of four teacher career structures…

This study investigates the long-term effects of a school environment with characteristics that indicate invitational education is being realized at the institutional level on students from the University of Hawaii Laboratory High School (ULS). Students of many races, ethnic groups, and socioeconomic levels study together in a program where all…

The five correlates of effective schools are as follow: (1) strong administrative leadership; (2) high expectations for all pupils; (3) safe and orderly climate; (4) strong instructional focus; and (5) frequent monitoring of pupil progress. This paper outlines a model for implementing effective school practices. One or more of these correlates…

Institutional research in Western Europe was analyzed in the context of the changing relationship between higher education and the central government. Questionnaires concerning institutional research activities were sent to colleges in 16 countries, and usable responses were returned by 48 institutions, almost half of which were located in…

Although direct supervision of teachers is rare and most teachers are relatively free to exercise considerable control over their own work, schools generally manage to function without organizational or curricular chaos. The unseen force maintaining control appears to reside in the organization and culture of the school, and may affect teacher…

Issues concerning whether to centralize or decentralize decision-making are addressed, with applications for colleges. Centralization/decentralization (C/D) must be analyzed with reference to a particular decision. Three components of C/D are locus of authority, breadth of participation, and relative contribution by the decision-maker's staff. C/D…

This paper, one of the nine-booklet Teacher Quality Series, offers guidelines for educational leaders who have the responsibility of making policy to improve the school as an organization in which teaching and learning take place. Various organizational schemes that encourage staff to share understandings and techniques, help each other to…

The model used in a multivariate fashion to reorganize the Department of Industrial Technology Education at the University of Idaho thereby undergoing a test for effectiveness is presented. This model is a product of a seminar held in West Germany in 1986 in which a group of professional educators from several countries produced a generic model…

When a new administration came to Michigan's Wayne County Community College (WCCC) in 1985, the college evidenced several characteristics of a failing institution: poor media image, continuing budget deficits, declining enrollments, and probationary accrediation status. To address these problems and the demoralization that had accompanied them,…

This pamphlet summarizes the recommendations of a task force of educational administrators who have experience in school-based management, a process of decentralization of authority based on the beliefs that those most closely affected by decisions ought to play a significant role in making those decisions, and that educational reform efforts will…