A view of teacher empowerment based on professional knowledge is presented in this paper. A new definition of "professional knowledge" for teachers is also proposed, based on teachers' knowledge of professional community, educational policy, and subject area. After a year of field study and a literature review of structural, formal, and…

A prototype policy operation manual for the school-based decision-making councils of elementary schools in the school districts of Kentucky is presented in ths document. Guidelines are offered to help the councils adopt policies consistent with the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990, which are based on school improvement and extended ownership.…

As more locally based community media emerge to reflect more popular participation in the creation of communication systems, media planners and activists, as well as scholars, must confront inevitable problems of organization. Ideally, management of a community radio station should comprise a democratic structure. Yet, inherent in the difficulties…

Business and industry have been shaken by the explosion of new technology, and scientific and technological advances will continue to have a profound impact on the labor market. Vocational education plays a key role in preparing citizens for jobs. This manual encourages greater use of advisory committees in vocational education programs. Advisory…

A strategy for increasing worker participation in an effort to remedy the problems of declining productivity and quality is the quality circles concept. The quality circles process involves small groups of employees who meet voluntarily on a regular basis to identify, analyze, and develop solutions to problems and to implement the solutions when…

People working together on community projects benefit both themselves and the community. Quality Circles (Theory Z) is an example of this principle at work in industry. Employees who are involved in the decision-making process turn out a lower-cost, higher-quality product. This concept could prove valuable in small schools if students were…

School-based decision-making helps create a professional environment for principals and teachers and improves the quality of decisions. This publication provides 11 examples of school and statewide initiatives aimed at school improvement through the use of shared decision-making. The projects detailed are under way in the states of Alaska,…

The benefits of a collaborative work setting--including such practices as mutual help, exchange of ideas, joint planning, and participative decision-making--have been consistently confirmed by studies of effective schools and successful businesses. However, teacher isolation remains the norm. Drawing on recent research and educators' firsthand…

Because of a multiplicity of approaches to small group argument, research in this area often needs to be summarized, condensed, and redirected. Researchers have identified the rational, cognitive and interactive components of argumentation, and have demonstrated that arguments can take several forms and fulfill a variety of functions. The result…

School-based management/shared decision-making (SBM/SDM) in New York City rests on the conviction that schools can be improved by giving school professionals and parents the flexibility to develop local solutions for local problems. Accountability is critical to this approach; a school system cannot ask school staff to accept responsibility for…

This manual is designed to help teachers organize vocational student organizations (VSOs) as part of vocational education courses. The manual is based on modern business/industry personnel management theory and practice, using personnel management techniques usually referred to as organizational development. The manual provides teachers with the…

The effect of quality circles at Iowa State University on absenteeism, performance evaluation, perceptions of the organization climate, job satisfaction, and perceived opportunities for professional and personal growth was measured in this study. The process of quality circles is designed to promote job fulfillment and organizational productivity…

The Professional Growth and Staff Development Program of the Mehlville School District in St. Louis, Missouri, is comprehensive in nature and has four distinct but complementary components. (1) The districtwide instructional improvement component focuses upon research-based teaching, and provides teachers and administrators with a common body of…

Findings are presented of the responses of over 800 teachers to a questionnaire seeking opinions on (1) working conditions; (2) support and assistance from peers, administrators, and parents; (3) participation in decision making; and (4) reform proposals. Responses to the survey indicated that the majority of teachers (1) support many reform…

This study explored the relationship between the setting of a teacher center and the ways in which the center is used by persons who participate in the activities offered there, focusing on the Workshop Center for Open Education of City College, New York. A description is given of the facility itself--the physical plant, location, educational…