A case study illustrates the ways in which local reactions to a program evaluation directly threaten its validity, and shows that not all participants in a qualitative evaluation study understand or defer to the commitments of democratic evaluation. Ethical concerns in program evaluation are considered. (SLD)

Presents some thoughts on schools and schooling concerning cultural preservation versus multiculturalism; structural attributes of schooling; roles and characteristics of teachers and principals; organizational forms emphasizing either interpersonal relationships or formal structure; and school life for students as a mixture of official, hidden,…

Suggests ways in which teachers, supervisors, and administrators can cooperatively support literature-based practices across the curriculum. Discusses a positive professional attitude, workshop structure, improving student attitudes, thematic units, team teaching, and assessing success. (SR)

A discussion of shared governance in American college culture looks at the nature and traditions of this form of governance, examines Birnbaum's model of the two cores (academic and administrative) of the college, and explores how changes in technical systems and the higher education environment affect student learning and the ability of faculty…

Evidence from the literature of college administration in a changing environment points to the critical role of academic leadership in maintaining morale, enhancing productivity, and helping staff welcome momentous change. Tomorrow's effective universities will require academic managers whose leadership qualities resemble those of good teachers in…

Summarizes federal regulations concerning academic advising, including defamation, negligence, privacy, disabilities, civil rights, duty to report crimes, and privilege. Relevant state laws, interpretations, hypothetical situations, and the possible institutional and personal penalties, both civil and criminal, of not following current laws are…

Asserts that a renewed commitment to scholarship should be made a top priority of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). Defines and presents the benefits of scholarship for the system. Identifies some of the roles to be played by the chancellor, the college presidents and administrators, the faculty, and VCCS's new publication, Inquiry.…

This interview discusses the school-improvement process, describing difficulties with setting schoolwide goals, what should happen once the goal is selected, what prevents schools from emphasizing a single goal and working to achieve it, the need to develop high academic expectations for all students, how to use research, ways to go beyond test…

Examines the work of the college or university chief financial officer (CFO) in government relations, focusing on the CFO's responsibilities, methods of working with state legislatures, pitfalls in legislative relations, and special problems faced by institutions in capital cities. (Author/MSE)

Site-based decision making (SBDM) represents one of the more progressive paradigmatic shifts in decentralization. Varieties of the model have been implemented. Surveys issues emerging from the variety of experiments in SBDM. Concludes that, at its best, SBDM is the grand experiment of letting local schools determine how to meet the district's…

Recent school improvement trends, notably the emphasis on accountability and academic standards, are changing the school principal's role. Developing a school vision for teaching and learning is becoming the top priority for principals. Leadership skills that help accomplish this include collaboration, participative decision making, and listening.…

A study compared efforts by two rural schools and two urban schools to implement state instructional reforms in South Carolina. Obstacles to rural schools' reform efforts included insufficient human resources to undertake comprehensive reforms and too much familiarity between school and community members, possibly resulting in limited involvement…

In serving students, financial aid officers must address issues outside the scope of the financial aid program, including admissions, academic policy, institutional bureaucracy, student consumer education, and pricing. These require policy decisions and resource allocations the financial aid administrator cannot make alone. Cooperation and support…

To understand causes of stress in the workplace, research administrators can use the theory of "personality priorities" to understand researcher behavior. The theory suggests each individual adopts rules to help make decisions and maintain a sense of belonging. Each of these personality priorities (control, comfort, pleasing,…

Compares results of a national survey of college administrators' work-role satisfaction and values with those of academics surveyed earlier, identifying crucial areas of difference in values attached to work and the perceptions of work practices. Issues and tensions in the everyday work interface between academics and administrators are seen as…