Research on teaching and learning emphasizes the need for school-family partnerships, student engagement, opportunities for relevant and authentic learning, and community involvement in the learning process. The case of a gifted but bored "problem student" shows how a school counselor encouraged collaborative problem solving among…

This literature review addresses four variables related to school climate: teacher efficacy, collegiality (as promoted by the principal, shared decision making, and staff development), student achievement, and parent involvement. Schools attempting reform should consider how each of these variables can contribute to a positive school climate and…

Outlines a 10-year plan for school board members to restructure individual school districts. The objectives are to fund groups of teachers directly and establish teaching as the premier professional position in the school district. (MLF)

Compares current patterns in existing anthropology major requirements with a model for an undergraduate major consistent with the recommendations of one influential report, "Integrity in the College Curriculum," focusing on the discourse of its rationale for curriculum design. Identifies critical points of difference between opinions of…

Parents of 111 students in 4 Scottish special schools generally perceived themselves to be involved in their children's "recording" (information gathering and decision making) procedures, but mothers' perceptions were more positive than fathers'. Interviews with 14 school and agency professionals indicate professionals' support for…

This article describes the development of a seven-step faculty-driven school improvement model and provides a case study of how the model is currently being implemented at a central Florida middle school. The model empowers teachers to design staff development programs based on their own needs. (IAH)

Surveys participants in the 1985 Columbia University divestment protest to develop a perspective on recruitment and commitment to social movements, emphasizing the importance of political solidarity. Group processes such as consciousness raising, collective empowerment, polarization, and collective decision making influence movement participants…

Explores potential changes in the power relationships among teachers and principals. Describes and analyzes the following models of teacher decision-making: (1) Instructional Leadership Teams; (2) Principals' Advisory Councils; (3) School Improvement Teams; and (4) Lead Teacher Committees. (FMW)

The Jefferson County (Kentucky) Public Schools have a long-term plan for "inventing" schools that will offer excellent programs for students, induct new faculty members, and serve as "exemplars of practice." (Author/TE)

There exists a crisis of inequality in our education system. The concepts of the democratic school and of school and community-based teacher education, which can contribute to alleviating this inequality, represent an important yet neglected component of the reform agenda for teacher education. (IAH)

The Delphi technique was used to enable 36 gifted education experts, special education administrators, teachers, and parents of gifted students to reach consensus about appropriate gifted education goals for elementary school programs. Three priority goals were identified, in the areas of learning environment, educational climate, and thinking…

Teachers in rural West Virginia who had completed a Foxfire training course reported that they involved students to a greater extent in the design and participation of learning activities, especially in the use of discussions, peer teaching, and planning units of instruction. Teachers also reported incorporation of the community in the learning…

Findings are presented from a study of teachers' participation in decision making. Data from 637 teachers in a large and restructuring metropolitan district indicate that participation did not improve outcomes for teachers or students and that teachers did not feel sufficiently involved. (SLD)

With decentralization and school-based management, central office personnel assume new roles as experts and brokers in staff development. The article examines the impact of decentralization and staff development, focusing on how central office personnel must relearn how to do business, preparing central office staff, and the role of staff…

Weber State University (Utah) has successfully implemented shared decision making and governance between faculty and administration. Critical elements were communication, faculty involvement, and trust. Two major decisions and their outcomes are compared. One was made without faculty input and the other was made with the new shared decision-making…