Quality circles are groups of people performing similar work that meet regularly to improve their work settings. Since the quality circle is a means for organizational change, it is helpful to place the concept within the literature of organizational change in the field of educational administration. With the use of quality circles, change occurs…

Chapter 6 in a volume on school leadership, this chapter makes a case for the use of participative decision-making (PDM) at the school-site level, outlines guidelines for its implementation, and describes the experiences of some schools with PDM systems. It begins by citing research indicating the advantages of PDM, including better decisions,…

This study attempted to determine the actual and preferred decision-making levels of teachers and principals in schools. Subjects included approximately 30 principals and 675 teachers from elementary and secondary schools in a large suburban school district in Vancouver, British Columbia. Subjects completed a questionnaire on decision-making in…

Facing declining enrollment, loss of state funds, and decreasing public confidence, the Salt Lake City Schools found several groups demanding a voice in the decision-making process. A plan for shared governance was implemented. Representatives of the teachers' association, the administrative association, and the classified employees' association…

The article describes the goals, rationale, structure of the shared decision-making model in effect at the Nueva Learning Center, a private elementary school for gifted and talented in Hillsborough, California. An example applying the model to class scheduling and 10 steps for facilitating the process are given. (Author/DB)

The article details aspects of a collaborative administrative style in a special school for gifted children, describing the function of administrators and other adults as role models, the sharing and delegation of decision making, a team approach to professional growth and support, and accountability through a "rich rules" system.…

A "Pay for Performance" program in Fairfax County, Virginia, has gained support from teachers, administrators, and community. Teachers progress along a three-step career ladder based on professional growth. Teachers are involved in the plan through their roles as peer observers, consulting teachers, and staff development instructors.…

Reports refinements in a coding scheme of interpersonal argument and an analysis of argument structures in consensus and dissensus groups. Identifies four argument structures: simple, compound, eroded, and convergent. Notes that consensus groups had a greater proportion of convergent arguments than did dissensus groups. (SKC)

Describes Lake Washington (Washington) School District's master plan to balance building-based decision-making and administrative input, encourage collegiality, and respond positively to change. For each building, the district master plan is mirrored by a locally developed master plan. Each teacher is also developing a classroom plan. (MLH)

Teachers should be more comprehensively involved in process of school reform than current reports suggest if schools and teaching are to be improved. Teachers can be more involved through pedagogical roles where they model teaching excellence; mentoring roles for new teacher induction; assisting roles for continuing education of peers; research…

Florida State University sponsored a "Faculty-to-Faculty Meeting on Articulation Issues" in which Florida community and junior college faculty members representing various academic areas met their Florida State counterparts to discuss issues pertaining to community and junior college students' successful entry and performance at the…

Reviewed literature on impact of the quality circle process upon both individual and organizational outcomes. Demonstrated quality circle's effectiveness, reporting two moderating factors' influence. Found no significant positive-findings bias, suggesting bias may be an artifact resulting from the inclusion of "popular-press" articles with…

Collegiality and unionization, although they seem contradictory, are complementary expressions of a faculty desire for involvement in institutional decision making. These impulses are simultaneously present in the recent history of faculty involvement in the California State University system. (MLW)

Committee N on Representation of Economic and Professional Interests and Committee T on College and University Government (both of the American Association of University Professors--AAUP) issued a statement on collective bargaining and the part it plays in shared governance in colleges and universities. (MLW)

A teacher shares her experience with the Napa County Follow Through Project, describing effects on her as a professional and as a person, effects on her peers, school, and students. (MT)