The extent to which school-based management actually altered influence relations between a district office and schools and between principals and teachers is examined in this report. Five innovative initiatives implemented in the Dade County Public Schools--peer evaluation, different teacher roles, block scheduling, school-within-a-school, and…

A summary of the school restructuring movement and an outline of strategies for implementation are presented. The underlying principles of restructuring are included in four broad strategies, which include school-based management, teacher empowerment, voice/choice, and teaching for understanding. New responsibilities for state policymakers include…

The organizational characteristics of public schools, the impact of context on people in schools, and the consequences for school reform are examined. Based on the thesis that organizational characteristics of schools constrain most reform efforts, a suggestion is made for restructuring the teaching day, which promotes effective planning and…

A formative inquiry into the institutional dimension of educational leadership is presented. Based on the thesis that individual educational leadership is a myth derived from misconceptions about social institutions and from the failure of the institution of education to value intellect, the paper demonstrates that these shortcomings stem from the…

Data from a national survey of principals in public schools with a 7th grade were used in this study of schools that serve disadvantaged, advantaged, and other populations. Differences in the schools' course-taking opportunities, organizational structures, extracurricular programs, remedial activities, instructional approaches, staffing needs, and…

This document suggests an agenda for restructuring New York City elementary schools and improving their leadership, based on interviews with 25 inner-city elementary school principals. Participants were selected on the basis of their competence and their commitment to the education of economically disadvantaged students. The following policy and…

In September 1985, the Prince George's County Public School System located in the Washington metropolitan area east of the District of Columbia, began implementation of a Milliken relief program to revamp its equity strategy. Initially, 10 of 117 elementary schools in the system were targeted for relief, but by September 1988, the Milliken program…

In 1983 the Australian Commonwealth Government announced its new Participation and Equity Program (PEP). To allow schools to focus on new directions, substantial amounts of money were allocated to the states through the PEP so that they could develop programs that focus on nine major areas: (1) curriculum; (2) assessment, accreditation, and…

This annotated bibliography offers a sampling of a wide variety of viewpoints on the topic of school choice. Fourteen references selected for annotation, ranging from a 3-page journal article to a 266-page book, are listed at the beginning of the bibliography. Among the viewpoints that different authors represent are the following: (1) unlimited…

Federal spending on education has risen steadily over the past three decades to unprecedented levels. However, research indicates that "money neutral" solutions, such as local control and parent choice, are the real keys to educational reform. Educational spending, after correction for inflation, has increased each year since the 1929/30…

This paper, by the President of the Detroit Board of Education, discusses aspects of the school choice issue, providing examples from recent developments in the Detroit (Michigan) public school system. The paper argues that freedom of choice in an educational context is a critical right of parents, and that schools of choice offer the best…

Parental choice is seen as a promising approach to school improvement. This report supports choice by suggesting answers to the following questions that reformers might ask: (1) is school performance poor enough to justify wholesale change? (2) what have schools done about troubling trends in student performance? (3) what do other researchers say…

Based on the premise that deficiencies in student learning are inherent byproducts of the traditional school structure, this study compares the effects of an experimental curriculum program on student learning with its traditional structural counterpart. The traditional school structure is characterized by a heavy teacher workload, segmented…

The E.J. Brown School is a collaborative educational undertaking between Wright State University's College of Education and Human Services and the Dayton public schools. The project's purpose is the development of a living learning laboratory based upon shared decision making and collaborative planning for urban children. Students and teachers are…

This monograph describes the rationale and objectives set forth by the Commission on Maine's Common Core of Learning. The commission was charged, in 1989, with defining the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that all Maine students should have upon their graduation from high school. Commission meetings focused on what skills and attitudes students…