Explored group participants' bias toward reducing conflict in consensus versus majority decision styles. Results suggest that the participants expect climate in consensus process to be more agreeable and friendly than in majority process. Social work students showed greater confidence in consensus than in majority, but business administration…

Educators at Fairfax County Public Schools (Virginia) built on a first- and second-grade curriculum integration project at Jefferson County Public Schools (Colorado) by implementing a kindergarten instructional program with three integrated strands: motor development/music, mathematics/science, and language arts. The program's success hinged on…

Students training to be teachers in a one-year postgraduate course are presented with a choice of course methodologies. This article is a case study of one group that chose to operate as a democratic learning cooperative. The efficacy of this approach in preparing teachers for work in local secondary schools is discussed. (Author/CT)

Teachers in an Alexandria, VA high school formed the School Improvement Project to have a greater voice in the running of the school. They were surprised by the work the process demanded and by faculty members and administrators wedded to the old top-down structure. (Author/LHW)

Discusses a Belfast, Northern Ireland, secondary school's efforts to expand its age 16+ curriculum and investigates how internal communications and external negotiations were (mis)managed. The head teacher's lack of communication with his staff led to reluctant acceptance of a policy he was formulating and attempting to execute. More staff…

Value judgments are central to the process of stakeholder-based evaluations. The selection of stakeholder participants involves a value judgment about the power and the legitimacy of the stakeholders. Consequences of stakeholder evaluation may include pseudoempowerment. Suggestions for evaluators for improving stakeholder evaluations are made.…

The more successful planning approaches lie in mobilizing the organization's support and readiness for planning, creating a climate in which successful planning can occur, involving constituents in the planning process, careful attention to communication, and the attention given to proper dissemination of process results. (MLW)

The use of quality circles in three undergraduate courses in general chemistry at Penn State is described. A key ingredient to the success of a quality circle is that the instructor must be willing to consider student opinions as valid and be willing to make adjustments. (MLW)

Explores the transition from methods of group problem solving like quality circles to a management philosophy called participation. Examines sharing control over decisions, participation as a means to building organizations that can innovate, and the transition to a participatory style of management. (CT)

Discusses how educational philosopher Joseph Schwab's conception of theory applies to curriculum development. Subtopics include the relationship of theory to practice; four universal components of education and their relationships; the curriculum development group, whose composition reflects the four components; and goal-directed versus…

Presents an analysis of the concept of "teacher participation in school decision making," a set of empirically based hypotheses concerning the current scope and extent of teacher participation, and an outline for a systematic program of research that could provide information for policy development concerning teacher participation.…

A study of public school teachers in Iowa assessed their interest and involvement in participatory decision making at the classroom, building, and district levels. The strongest correlations found linked the teacher's sex and the educational level at which they taught with the types of participation in which they were involved. (PGD)

A decentralized administrative environment can help ensure the effective allocation of resources through particpative decision making. The decentralized structure at Washburn University is described along with how it helps integrate the planning and budgeting process and the effectiveness of the resulting resource allocations. (MLW)

The conditions necessary to sustain collegial professional relationships and the problems with these relationships are explored in this article. Strategies important for successful staff development are described. (DF)

Staff nurses' perceptions of the formation of hospital policy and their role in policy formation are examined, with the assumption that knowledge about and involvement in the policy-making process are indicative of staff nurse authority and influence. (Author/MLW)