Compares the organization and effectiveness of public and private schools in New York (New York). Argues that successful schools have a large degree of autonomy and are accountable to their constituencies through the process of competition and choice. (FMW)

Interdisciplinary teams of middle school faculty are fulfilling roles which serve academic, social, and emotional needs of students. The team coordinates procedures and shares information about teaching and about students. Evidence shows this style of team teaching may be appropriate in high schools if traditional departmental barriers can be…

If school restructuring simply means dismantling centralized authority, the resulting centrifugal tendency will diminish accountability. Schools today need impulses of integration, not disintegration. The main problem is deciding what we want the schools to accomplish. An inset describes a Pennsylvania district's removal of reform obstacles. (MLH)

Develops the thesis of the interrelationships of conceptions of adolescents with curricula and school organization by examining the Carnegie Council (1989) reform report on middle schools, "Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century." The article discusses economic and social contexts of the report, historical…

Reports on the activities of the Katz-MacMillan Cooperating Schools in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two K-5 schools are administered by joint principals, and although students do not move between buildings, the two institutions operate as one educational unit on a year-round basis. (MDM)

Two case studies from turn-of-the-century Saint Louis, the public school kindergarten and a privately run day nursery, reveal that, although both organizations provided compensatory child rearing, the former was legitimated through the public school whereas the latter continued as an impoverished, largely illegitimate institution for the poor.…

The common assumption that Japanese students do well academically because their schools are more academically oriented than American schools is misguided. Results of a study comparing middle-school teachers in Japan and the United States indicated that American teachers allocated a greater proportion of their time to academic work than did…

Discusses the problems of intercultural education in the European Community. Specifies that, for education not to discriminate, both majority and minorities must experience common learning processes and have opportunities to acquire relatively unbiased information about each other. Examines educational policy, school structure, and language…

Examines the history of middle level education. Offers suggestions to promote responsive middle level education: (1) building a knowledge base about early adolescent development; (2) assuring that organizational structures, programs, and practices function appropriately; (3) advocating the needs of early adolescents; and (4) involving middle level…

Reviews college and university catalogs for public relations courses. Finds 578 departments offering such courses. Notes that the majority of such courses are offered in communication departments. Takes issue with the findings of an earlier study. (SR)

Ackoff's circular structure has been successfully used to combine hierarchy and democracy in various industries. This paper argues that this structure is the most appropriate democratic structure for public schools' internal governance. A circularity of power relations between administrators and teachers would create genuinely empowering teacher…

It is argued that the basic means-ends analysis of systemic educational policy may be mistaken in the current national context. The author agrees with the basic premises of systemic educational policy but thinks that a mandatory system of strong instructional guidance from the state has basic problems, as discussed. (SLD)

The literature profiles few schools that have determined to democratize their existing, primarily authoritarian structures. This article discusses reasons for democratization and summarizes participant responses in two schools in England and South Africa that have attempted such changes. Both studies explore the role of pupil participation in…

Explores the influence of micropolitical factors on school organization and management, drawing on Ball's idea regarding the inevitability of micropolitics in school settings. Using Edgar Schein's small-group perspective, shows how micropolitical analyses of school cultures and teacher behavior can be used to increase school leaders'…

Explores ways to reduce funding fragmentation and develop a conceptual funding framework based on inclusive schooling tenets. Instead of targeting specific program units or categories of students, the inclusive school-finance framework provides more adequate support by targeting specific students. Tensions among equity, efficiency, and choice must…