A class council can collectively decide what components will make up the instructional system in an elementary school class. A class council is a friendly assembly made up of the students and the teacher; it meets to discuss and make decisions about all aspects of the instructional system, including objectives, grading, and materials. Each student…

A description is given of a faculty development program that is run by the faculty of the McCallie School, a private secondary school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Three principles guide the program: (1) the quality of the educational program is the responsibility of the entire school community; (2) faculty that shares the responsibility for the…

For all students to become responsible citizens and productive workers, the nature of "effective learning" and the characteristics of schools providing it must change. This report reviews the value and potential of various proposals to change the instruction of at-risk students from a pedagogy of minimal basic skills to a pedagogy of…

The processes by which school leaders can institutionalize staff and organizational development, with a focus on initiating school restructuring through team development, are described. Three features are necessary for implementing school restructuring through team development: a deliberate plan for staff involvement, a positive work environment,…

Recent educational reform efforts have sought to restructure schools, changing the character of school culture and creating a need for a nontraditional approach to inservice teacher education. Inservice projects have been implemented which attempt to prepare practicing teachers for restructured schools and as participants in the restructuring…

Effective leaders operate with three different styles: manager-as-technician, manager-as-conductor, and manager-as-developer. The first two work well if the manager remains a hero, but this heroic style diminishes the subordinates' own capabilities and confidence and is counterproductive to change. The post-heroic manager, or manager-as-developer,…

The functional and organizational activities of the Cooperative Extension Service in the United States can be an appropriate means for providing a new image and concept to the kind of extension service that is needed in developing nations and Sri Lanka in particular. The problems of the extension program in developing nations are inherited and…

The collegial ideal of shared authority is needed as community colleges move into the 1990s. The impact of the Rodda Act of 1976, which introduced collective bargaining into California schools and colleges, has been significant and has changed the form and substance of collegiality to include willingness to change one's position, to seek…

Focusing on the concepts of scanning (gathering information about segments of the public, their reactions to the organization, and their opinions about issues important to the organization), decision making, and roles, a study examined the relationship between environmental scanning and the participation of public relations practitioners in…

The evaluation of academic programs at colleges and universities is discussed by the Chancellor of Indiana University of Kokomo. A comprehensive programmatic review and planning process should enable the college to define clearly its purposes, goals, objectives, and priorities and to outline its strategies for achieving its goals and objectives.…

An investigation identified issues that are important for federal agencies to consider in designing and implementing employee involvement programs. Employee involvement programs in the private sector and in the federal government were studied. The use of seven involvement practices was examined: suggestion systems, survey feedback, quality…

Using the Rockefeller Foundation's project CHART (Collaboratives for Humanities and Arts Teaching) as a basis for the study, this book examines the demoralization and lack of status that plague the teaching profession today. The premise of the book is that doors will open toward empowerment if teachers are given the proper circumstances to become…

This ERIC digest discusses civic education in U.S. schools in terms of: (1) its meaning; (2) its place in the curriculum; (3) its effects on learners; and (4) suggested methods of improving it. Civic education involves the development of skills in making decisions about public issues and participating in public affairs and encompasses the…

The dissertation reports on a study which examined the mainstreaming practices and decisionmaking processes used in Pittsburgh Public Schools' elementary schools and investigated whether learning disabled (LD) students assigned to mainstream academic classes differed academically and behaviorally from non-mainstreamed LD students. The study was…

To establish collaboration between theory and practice, between teaching and learning, and between researchers and teachers, a three-year project was initiated at Metcalf Laboratory School. Teachers were invited to explore reading comprehension and composition in their classrooms in a manner that supported unique teacher decision making and…