This document contains three papers which present information from various perspectives on aspects of shared governance at De Anza College, in Cupertino, California. First, "Shared Governance: The Next Generation," by John C. Lovas, provides a brief history of governance in the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, and suggests…

This paper presents findings of one in a series of case studies designed to study leadership in schools committed to reform. Gavin Elementary School in Chicago Heights, Illinois, serves a predominantly African-American, low-income, neighborhood. In 1988, the school's achievement test scores were the lowest in the lowest-achieving Illinois school…

This document was developed by the Kansas State Board of Education to help local school districts establish school-site councils and assist in their operation. The Kansas legislature requires all school districts to participate in the Quality Performance Accreditation System (QPA). As part of that legislative requirement, each school in every…

This bulletin presents findings of a study that examined the meaning of school restructuring to those who are involved in it. Data were derived from a survey of 238 practitioners actively involved in restructuring projects--131 principals, 95 teachers, and 12 others--from 12 elementary, middle, and high schools in 30 states. Findings suggest that…

The purpose of this Bulletin is to clarify the intent of shared decision making (SDM) and explore its benefits, drawbacks, and implementation. It looks at how the principal's role changes in SDM, stresses the need for training, examines conditions that affect successful implementation of SDM, and offers ideas on how schools can concentrate on…

The Regional Math/Science Collaborative (RMSC) of Southwestern Pennsylvania is a grassroots approach to strengthening math and science education through regional planning and evaluation. The Collaborative consists of stakeholders representing educators, students, parents, university faculty, and business and community members. External evaluation…

A systematic way to create collaborative school improvement is provided. The currently expanding role of administrators as staff developers is explored; 10 strategies are listed for the principal to use as a key player in staff development. Two specific organization development problem-solving strategies, Situation-Target-Plan (S-T-P) and Force…

Few of the empirical studies on school restructuring adequately describe the role of site teams in school reform. This paper addresses this gap, an analysis of what site teams do, how they are configured, and how they operate. This paper presents empirical measures of variables relating to the decision-making and communication practices engaged in…

A foreword and nine articles discuss issues on the role of institutions of higher education in the rebuilding of a public life involving citizens across the country. After the foreword by David Brown and Deborah Witte, the papers are: (1) "The Public and Its Colleges: Reflections on the History of American Higher Education (R. Claire Snyder),…

Recent efforts to improve schools through community democratic school decision making and practices conflict with ideas of some of the founding fathers of the U.S. Constitution. There are several differences between the ideas of some contemporary democratic education reformers and those of Publius (the pen name of the authors of the Federalist…

Local community leaders should examine the principles involved in making committees an effective and efficient tool in group operations. A committee assists the parent organization in developing programs, carrying out business, establishing policies, executing affairs, and evaluating an organization's effectiveness. Committees have many social,…

Findings of a study that explored the extent of knowledge and use of school-based management concepts by faculty, graduate students, and school administrators are presented in this paper. Nationwide data were obtained from surveys that were returned by 63 professors of educational administration, 82 principals, and 216 graduate students in…

This study surveyed teacher's attitudes toward participatory decision making activity. The trend toward school-based management raises the question of whether or not teachers actually want to be involved in management of their schools. Sixty-seven teachers, from small schools taking graduate courses during the 1991 summer session at the Central…

Findings of a study that examined teachers' and principals' perceptions of organizational changes affecting their professional work as a result of restructuring are presented in this paper. The multiple case study of two elementary, two middle, and two high schools derived data from interviews with each principal and from questionnaires…

Findings of a study that examined school-based management and shared decision-making processes (SBDM) in Chapter 1 and non-Chapter 1 elementary schools are presented in this paper. Methodology involved analysis of recent literature on SBDM, though Chapter 1 status as a variable was not specifically addressed. Three differences were found to…