Reviews ERIC literature on the development of participatory governance structures in community colleges that secure the participation of students, faculty, staff, and other campus constituencies and the growth of state authority at the expense of local autonomy. (DMM)

Program staff participated in evaluating two school improvement programs of Research for Better Schools, Inc. They used evaluation information primarily to identify technical assistance needs and to modify the program. Increased use has resulted from improved communication, staff perceptions of evaluation relevance and credibility, and staff…

Equal voting rights in marriages enhance the relationship, but it is more difficult to manage, and consequently, there are many failures. Solutions offered include: (1) education as information-giving, often not acted upon; (2) therapy, which can come too late to be effective; and (3) marriage enrichment which applies new knowledge preventively.…

Describes an automation project at the Merriam Center Library in which Apple Macintoshes were introduced as library workstations. The implementation process, staff involvement and reactions, and current configurations and applications of the workstations are discussed. An appendix provides a comparison of current microcomputer based workstations…

To address the professional needs of principals and other middle management supervisors, school boards might consider meet-and-discuss sessions, a middle ground between unilateral board action and collective bargaining. Sessions are nonbinding, produce better decisions, confront root causes of job dissatisfaction, and can strengthen the management…

Describing secondary schools as a nineteenth century environment where students are segregated by test scores, this article discusses changes that are necessary in teaching, administration, curriculum, and teacher student relationships in order to have democratic, viable schools. (MT)

Examines the dynamics involved when preschoolers aged five years attempt to build replicas of Lego models, either by working alone or with another. Results show that collaboration was more conducive to learning than was independent work and that children were able to generalize their skills. (Author/RWB)

A healthy school climate occurs when school personnel work together to create an environment that is productive, nurturing, positive, and supportive. Such an environment promotes social networking, cooperative behavior, and creative and self-enhancing independence within a framework of personal responsibility and accountability. (MT)

Reviews the literature that deals with the political ramifications of weeding material from academic library collections and the need to involve users and other libraries within the institution in the decision process. (14 references) (CLB)

This article outlines the types of school programs that will build on the strengths of educationally disadvantaged students, bring them into the mainstream, and prepare them for economic, political, and social participation. (MT)

The authors state that 50 percent of current participative work groups will dissolve. They focus on some of the actual problems associated with participative work group strategies. They discuss (1) macroorganizational issues, (2) organizational hierarchy, (3) climate of uncertainty, (4) leadership conflicts, and (5) microorganizational issues. (CH)

Teachers harbor extraordinary leadership capabilities--a major untapped rsource for improving U.S. schools. This article explains how principals can share leadership by articulating goals, entrusting and relinquishing authority, involving teachers in decision-making, assigning responsibilities wisely, sharing responsibility for both success and…

Borrowing from Madeline Hunter, school districts should define staff development as school- or district-wide efforts to improve the quality of teacher decision-making. This article outlines a six-step process (including needs assessment, brainstorming, strategic plannning, communicating plans, coaching for effectiveness, and periodic monitoring)…

Both school boards and parent teacher associations should have a systematic program for exchanging information and for involving parents in school policy-making processes. Responsibilities of each group are listed. (CB)

To offset declining enrollments, financial constraints, younger faculties, and high tenure ratios, some institutions are considering early retirement programs to facilitate faculty turnover. A University of Virginia faculty committee reviewed several early retirement options and selected a cost-effective bridging program with ample incentives and…