Examines five important aspects of effective school leadership: flexibility; balance between task and human needs; understanding of the demands of specific environments; multiple vision for interpreting organizational activity (structural, human resource, political, and symbolic) coupled with targeted response; and a managing process consisting of…

Describes an Indiana school district's school improvement efforts using the effective schools framework. Focusing on teaching for learning, the district formulated a mission statement, inserviced personnel, and assessed student achievement data in relation to at-risk subgroups. Data and profiles led to student-centered goals which directed school…

Achieving educational effectiveness is an incremental, sequential, improvement process. Outlines an approach, based on "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey, that emphasizes individual responsibility for change and promoting effectiveness. (MLF)

Begun in 1977, British efforts toward school improvement through monitoring and accountability have failed, partly because of the failure of school self-evaluation and teacher resistance to monitoring and concern about professional autonomy. However, inspectors, researchers, and teachers have increased our understanding of school effectiveness.…

School effectiveness research has traditionally focused on basic cognitive pupil outcomes such as language and mathematics achievement. Article studies both cognitive and affective educational outcomes in combination with each other, using a sample of 7,000 pupils in 212 primary schools in the Netherlands. The correlations between cognitive and…

Provides an account of L'anse Creuse North High School's (Michigan) efforts to practice the outcomes accreditation tasks of identifying a target goal (i.e., getting students to come to class prepared); gathering data; evaluating data and establishing a baseline; and working across curriculum lines on a target goal. Reviews results of the minimodel…

Uses data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to argue that achievement growth in reading, mathematics, and science is possibly constrained by the (declining) growth and distribution of general intelligence. The failure of school practices to boost general intelligence would explain the disappointing effects of school reform…

Addresses the involvement of international interest groups in defining and determining educational quality in developing countries, suggesting that global measures of quality damage the educational systems of developing countries by creating feelings of isolation and inferiority. Suggests alternative measures which meet global standards and may be…

Examines causal relationships among principal behavior, school organizational processes, and intermediate outcomes in the school context. Survey results of teachers, students, and parents from 30 schools are discussed. Argues that principals can be evaluated directly in terms of their effects on teachers but only indirectly for their effects on…

Educators at a Connecticut middle school are creating programs to help students develop more positive self-images within a safe, supportive learning environment. Schoolwide restructuring efforts led to teams of professionals concerned with school learning climate, team teaching, monitoring of pupil progress, staff development, at-risk students,…

For past three years, Tallahassee, Florida, elementary school has changed from good effective school to quality learning organization. Inspired by Deming's principles, the school's broad-based task force developed a culture suitable for continuous quality improvement. Newly established core values included the importance of individuals, teachers…

Recent studies of effects of small-scale schooling on student achievement suggest that, when the interaction between SES and organizational scale is accounted for, small schools provide substantial benefits to low-SES students. Mechanisms may include small class size, good student affect, and cooperative interpersonal relationships. Contains 54…

Summarizes findings of a study that identified the criteria of managerial effectiveness at department level in secondary schools. Outlines both the "universally applicable" and "education-specific" competencies. Discusses implications regarding the selection, appraisal, and training of managerial staff in secondary education.…

Like many other open-education schools of the 1970s, John Adams High School (Portland, Oregon) failed as an experimental school because it rapidly implemented large reforms without parent or teacher involvement, did not provide teacher training and support, and did not develop appropriate administrative or learning structures. (SV)

This article details the four-year implementation of Total Quality Management at Delaware County Community College (Pennsylvania) to conserve resources, improve effectiveness, assure quality, and increase participation in decision making. Reported are planning, execution, and monitoring activities of the Implementation Team; specific problems…