There has been strong governmental pressure on British schools to adopt a technicist-rational approach to management. This paper investigates the relationship between efficiency of resource management and school effectiveness, using data from 117 secondary school inspection reports undertaken by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED).…

Although the United States prides itself on individualism and free markets, parents in many other countries have more freedom of choice than Americans. This review describes Charles L. Glenn's book "Educational Freedom in Eastern Europe," provides background for choice in formerly communist countries, and summarizes dilemmas that choice…

Explores two underlying dimensions of school effectiveness: instrumental and expressive functions. Explores Paul Mott's idea of perceived organizational effectiveness as a concise measure capturing both these dimensions. Tests a model incorporating expressive elements (trust and school health) and instrumental elements (student achievement). Each…

The Danforth Foundation and the National Policy Board for Educational Administration brought together 90 educators to examine characteristics of reform-minded schools and their implications for preparing school leaders. This article examines these issues from five participants' viewpoints. School leaders must be able to promote shared visions,…

Summarizes a study that surveyed 1,047 teachers and 4,715 students about 55 Hong Kong primary schools' educational environment. Analyzes 18 environmental variables categorized by instructional, structural, human, political, and cultural aspects. Classifies teacher and student environmental perceptions according to synergetic, headless, mediocre,…

Provides historical and current information about historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), identifies benefits and criticisms of HBCUs, and draws conclusions from the success of HBCUs that can apply to all institutions. Asserts that there is a clear case educationally justifying HBCUs. (EV)

Describes and demonstrates analytical techniques used in organizational psychology and contemporary multilevel analysis. Using these analytic techniques, examines the relationship between educational outcomes and the school environment. Finds that at least some indicators might be represented as school-level phenomena. Results imply that the…

Describes the Ibero American network for research on school effectiveness and school improvement created in 2000 to improve the quality of education in Ibero American countries through the exchange of information among educational researchers and the dissemination of research results to school practitioners. (Contains 19 references.) (PKP)

Clear and concise communication in school systems is one of the weakest links in many administrative practices. Ron Edmonds, a professor at Harvard University and Michigan State University, found that good educator-to-parent communication goes a long way in improving student achievement. (MLF)

Shows how California State University at Fullerton improved classroom allocation and scheduling efficiency while responding to student enrollment increases and campus renovation. Steps discussed include conducting facilities audits, assessing the scheduling process, allocating smaller rooms, and studying scheduling and foot traffic patterns. (GR)

Discusses challenges particular to urban middle schools. Describes collaborative services programs, and culturally relevant teaching as two effective ways to meet some of those challenges. Offers the example of an effective urban teacher, and discusses moving from a pedagogy of poverty to a pedagogy of success. (SR)

Describes procedures that can be used to summarize the effect of schools when interactions between school practice and student background exist. Applies these procedures to a fairly realistic school effects dataset. Highlights the importance of considering differential school effectiveness rather than using a single quantitative indicator. (SLD)

Argues that to understand schooling effects on students with learning problems, researchers and educators must consider both student characteristics and the characteristics of their schools and classrooms, including structural characteristics of classrooms, the affective climate of classrooms, and the risky business of school as seen by the public…

Recent research does not provide clear evidence that rural schools are inferior to urban schools. For example, one prominent study finds that students in rural schools perform less well than their urban counterparts, but other studies using the same national data set have reached divergent conclusions. The present study reassesses the issue using…

With imperfect markets for the services of the higher education sector, it is important to assess the effectiveness of institutions. Previous studies have analysed the costs of universities but few their efficiency. In this paper, we examine the costs and efficiency of English and Welsh universities as suppliers of teaching and research using the…