Analyzes the evolving U.S. principalship between 1960 and the present, focusing on three influential roles: program manager, instructional leader, and transformational leader. Assesses these roles in light of contextual changes, particularly developments in national and state educational policy. Unfortunately, a strong administrative leader image…

To determine whether reform initiatives should be adopted by rural schools, the standards of equity and quality should be applied. Specific criteria for implementing the standards can be derived from the problems and strengths of rural schools, in terms of input, process, and outcome indicators. (SK)

Recounts a fictitious high school's steps to build support for whole school change. To create a framework for change, Farragut High developed a vision statement of organization characteristics and a profile of current school characteristics and assembled people to coordinate the change process. A hands-on leadership role for the principal was…

This paper compares academic performance of American students with that of other countries; addresses responses to poor performance, such as outcome-based approaches to learning and use of national standards; outlines practices being adopted by schools to promote reform; identifies curriculum reform principles; and discusses implications for…

Summarizes results of an in-depth study of 25 elementary and middle schools in 11 districts in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Some schools were actively restructuring; others were going through the motions of school-based management with little instructional change. The most successful SBM plans were those that empowered new decision…

After 1987, Gorbachev's initiatives provoked strong educator discord over the extent of desirable national education policy change and the rewriting of the nation's history. Classroom teachers and low-level administrators pushed for greater decision-making authority at lower levels. By 1989, these differences had settled into a pattern of ongoing,…

Study by the Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy's Task Force on Teaching as a Profession assessed problems in teacher preparation, offered reform proposals, and recommended school and teaching force restructuring. The article outlines the major proposals, compares the report with earlier studies, and provides an assessment. (SM)

U.S. business and industry must follow Xerox's training, staff development, and research and development example to leapfrog ahead of foreign competitors. The business community launched the New American Schools Development Corporation to carry out the America 2000 plan to transform U.S. schooling. So far, America 2000 communities are focusing on…

The Empowered School District Project is a three-year endeavor to facilitate the creation of empowered schools in nine school districts across the country. Discusses six themes that emerged in the change process: (1) framing; (2) process and content; (3) trust; (4) risk taking; (5) communication; and (6) critical mass and critical incident. (18…

Restructuring schools in urban settings requires a commitment to establishing and evaluating equity and excellence. Beliefs and values about schooling and the interests of all students should be made explicit and examined by educators in an attitude of critical inquiry. (CJS)

The technologies in most American schools have not kept pace with those used in the larger society. Lectures, standardized tests, letter grades, tracking, textbooks, field trips, chalkboards, courses, credits, and busing remain the norm. If educators refuse to embrace newer information technologies, agencies outside schools will develop…

To revitalize schools, educators must break away from old habits and learn to think within a paradigm that is more optimistic about human potential. Without a new guiding vision, restructuring will not succeed. Educational restructuring is a fundamental change of assumptions about what schools are, how they are organized, and how they operate. (20…

Restructuring demands an organizational and cultural break with the past. Because goals are ambiguous and new roles are required, decision makers must relinquish sequential, goal-driven planning for sustained dialogue, inquiry, and risk taking. Principals enhance the process by educating parents and the community and by establishing a…

Educators leading restructuring efforts must recognize five roles people play in the change process (trailblazers, pioneers, settlers, stay-at-homes, and saboteurs) and provide training, encouragement, and support differentially for each role. The article examines four questions that must be answered to move the restructuring process forward…

An assessment system developed by Center for Leadership in School Reform expands traditional self-assessment concept; using a public trial format, a school faces charges about its restructuring progress. The system, which encourages participatory leadership, is conducted in several stages and focuses change efforts on developing a shared vision,…