The Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED), which arranges for the inspection of all primary and secondary schools in England, uses a model of leadership as part of its comprehensive handbook on inspection. This paper will look at the cultures of a number of effective schools to see to what extent they are congruent with OFSTED expectations…

This study examined what parents viewed as necessary for creating effective school leaders. The research used focus groups in order to obtain qualitative information that could guide program development. The results confirm the notion that parents want to participate in the democratic revitalization of society through interaction with school…

The rapid expansion of charter schools would suggest that there is evidence of their effectiveness, but this is not the case. The lack of objective evidence of their success reinforces the claim that charter school reforms are political and ideological rather than educational reforms. The arguments in favor of charter schools have exploited some…

Six schools in an urban school system with varying socioeconomic backgrounds were evaluated to determine what impact different instructional leadership styles have on student achievement. Since the principal is usually considered the instructional leader, the study focused on principal leadership styles, with principals categorized into three main…

A districtwide strategic planning model for school improvement is described in this summary report. Six elements of the model are described, which include the strategic planning process, belief statements, policies that stress self-esteem and dignity, a mission statement based on educational equity, objectives to achieve equity, and 12 action…

Virginia Governor's Schools provide gifted students with educational experiences that are otherwise unavailable in their local school divisions. Governor's Schools (previously called Magnet Schools) include 5 academic year schools, 5 summer residential schools, and 20 summer regional schools. This report, produced in response to a request from the…

This annotated bibliography of journal articles and documents on educational quality indicators contains approximately 120 entries arranged by the following topics: (1) Indicator Systems, including international, local/provincial/state, and national/federal systems; (2) Interpretive Framework (context, inputs, processes), including accountability,…

The changing role of the local school district superintendent is examined in this paper, which focuses on the link between the local education executive officers and school effectiveness. It is argued that the concept of the superintendency has changed from that of a manager to that of the leader of school district quality and effectiveness. Four…

Information about 299 schools working with the school-based management process "Onward to Excellence" (OTE) is provided in this directory. Each school entry includes a contact person and information about OTE status, school demography, and progress toward school goals and activities. A total of 176 elementary, 48 middle/junior high, 51 high, and…

This text presents a conversation between James Comer and Ronald Edmonds, whose meeting in New Haven in 1982 was sponsored by the Danforth Foundation to describe and compare the differences in their approaches to school reform. Each developed an Effective Schools model based on the belief that all students can learn. Comer's focus, however, was on…

Jefferson State Community College (JSCC), in response to external requests for accountability, developed an institutional effectiveness plan which, while demonstrating accountability, was primarily designed to improve the programs and services of the college. JSCC's plan was comprised of three components: purposes, plans, and results. As the…

This paper describes the efforts of a private Australian school system to implement practices that facilitate system-wide school effectiveness. The Diocese of Parramatta, a system of 73 primary and secondary Catholic schools, implemented system-level practices that embody elements of Fullan's (1987) notions of support and pressure. The…

School superintendents hold many leadership responsibilities, and much of schools' effectiveness rests on the abilities of the superintendents to meet their responsibilities. Criticisms of superintendents' training and educational background usually stem from a professor's lack of attention to a broader range of leadership theories. What…

Proceedings of a workshop held at the University of Stirling, Scotland, to critically examine issues in quality assurance (QA) in education are provided in this document. QA is the generic title for a series of business-management models that have been applied to educational contexts to describe and promote school effectiveness. Five papers and…

Issues in ensuring educational quality are examined in this document. Section 1 provides information for developing plans and targets. The following areas are highlighted: school-effectiveness research findings; developments in Scotland to improved educational quality; internal and external evaluation of schools; evaluation criteria; the role of…