The school district decentralization process is described in this guidebook, which focuses on the administrator's role in implementation. Three chapters are organized around the three phases of decentralization--exploration, trial, and commitment. Each phase is examined in terms of the real-life experiences of administrators and other…

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development/reliability/validity of a teacher instrument to assess the organizational coupling structure (OCS) of schools. A secondary purpose is to describe the implications of this work for understanding school coupling structure as a complex, "paradoxical" measurement and theoretical…

The Leda Study, a research project, examined Sweden's team teaching system. The working conditions of teacher teams in different types of school organizations are described, with a focus on group decision-making and problem-solving processes. Methodology involved observations of teacher teams in four schools; interviews with teachers, team…

The strengths and weaknesses of school-business partnerships and the need for more corporate assertiveness in the public policy area are the subjects of this paper, which is an adaption of a speech given on November 1987 to the St. Paul, Minnesota Compact Conference. The business community has two contrasting views of public education. One view is…

A yearlong project called "Inventing the Future of Teaching" culminated in a summer institute which brought together 50 teachers from all levels of education and experience to explore future options in education. This document is the product of that institute. The challenge issued by the participants calls for quality education for all learners,…

An attempt is made to synthesize the diverse perspectives on the teaching of thinking, especially in the area of social studies. A conception is developed that incorporates major theoretical orientations as well as the views of teachers. The conception emphasizes interpretation, analysis, and manipulation of information to solve problems that…

Working conditions of school leaders in Sweden are influenced by the state and various interest groups. Results of a study to compare teachers' perceptions of school leaders' work with their formally designated tasks are reported in this paper. Reasons for school leaders' working conditions are also discussed. A mailed questionnaire was completed…

Suggestions for administrators who wish to implement Japanese management techniques in higher education are offered. These techniques are more than establishing quality circles; instead they propose different value structures that link employees and the organization. The organizational structures that typically exist in higher education and the…

In 1984, the Swedish National Board of Education inaugurated a major research program on decentralized school administration. The research undertaken at the University of Lund focused upon regional and local school administration: county education committee, local education authority, local education office, and head teachers. Results are…

For all students to become responsible citizens and productive workers, the nature of "effective learning" and the characteristics of schools providing it must change. This report reviews the value and potential of various proposals to change the instruction of at-risk students from a pedagogy of minimal basic skills to a pedagogy of…

This study provides a data profile on Vermont's middle level schools and draws several comparisons between these data and those collected in a similar study conducted in 1980. Section One reports the current data from surveyed principals. Section Two offers several comparisons between 1980 and 1989 data. Section Three draws conclusions and offers…

Whatever the past achievements of our schools, very few today bring about student learning even remotely up to the minimum requirements of a nation such as the United States; small improvements in the educational system will be of little consequence in light of the huge deficits and the country's increasing needs. Most of the large, complex plans…

This paper addresses the long-term impact of a school improvement effort of the Milwaukee public schools known as Project RISE (Rising to Individual Scholastic Excellence). Each school replicated the following characteristics of effective schools: (1) strong leadership by the principal; (2) high expectations conveyed by the entire staff; (3)…

Comparative data from three middle schools, all in one large urban school district in the Pacific Northwest, are used to identify criteria for evaluating student discipline policies and to generate theoretical statements of how school administration affects student behavior. An introduction summarizes the study's goals and assumptions and…

A structural reorganization of the University of Queensland, Australia, was undertaken to promote efficient resource management, and a resource allocation model was developed to aid in policy evaluation and planning. The operation of the restructured system was based on creating five resource groups to manage the distribution of academic resources…