To explore how charter schools will enhance teacher professionalism, this paper provides a theoretical framework for a qualitative study that investigated the role played by Colorado's charter-school policy in teacher development. Based on a review of the literature, the paper provides a baseline for comparison. The text examines bureaucratic…

The essence of school-based decision-making is accepting the importance of decentralization and placing emphasis on process in planning efforts. "Synergistic planning" may be a more realistic term, instead of planning, to convey meaning to educators concerning educational organizations. In this model, all people in the organization look…

Concerned with how new schooling structures, once implemented, will remain in place, this paper reviews findings of the International School Improvement Project (ISIP) about institutionalization and suggests their application to educational restructuring results. According to the ISIP study, indicators of complete institutionalization include…

This paper discusses the merits of developing a high school semester time-table, or schedule, as the final planning stage in the educational process. Such a schedule would provide a weekly breakdown list of all academic subjects, grade levels, teachers for each subject and grade, rooms, laboratories and other facilities, and resources, thereby…

In November 1987, the superintendent of a major urban public school system (Philadelphia) publicized the district's decision to convert junior high schools (grades 7-8-9) into middle schools (grades 5/6-7-8). The superintendent's decision was based on several factors related to grade organizational structure, including (1) the district's already…

As part of its school restructuring work with states, the National Governors' Association sponsored a March 1988 working meeting of experts to define common issues confronting educators and policymakers. Besides initiating dialogue between these groups, the meeting concentrated discussion on early state and district efforts. This essay summarizes…

This paper presents one researcher's perspective in providing technical research support for the self-evaluation of 10 school-based management (SBM) schools in the Dade County Public School (DCPS) system of Florida. Background information on the DCPS and the SBM program is reviewed. A description of the evaluation process and analysis is provided.…

Describes a tentative model for comparison of departmental effectiveness within a given institution: a coefficient consisting of weighted student credit hours divided by total support dollars times a factor made up of seventeen parameters weighted according to the priorities of the institution. Samples of computer output are given. (GH)

This paper was presented as part of a symposium that dealt with several systematic research efforts that employed a specific methodology--the Structural Properties Questionnaire (SPQ)--as a measure of organizational structure in schools. The "subjects" in this study, 17 students in a class on organizational behavior, representing 14…

The Management Responsibility Guidance (MRG) process is a matrix management program designed to clarify roles and improve staff integration, decision-making, effectiveness, and productivity. In 1976-77, Los Angeles County (California) used this approach in four pilot special education schools. As part of the MRG process, each staff member…

Large numbers of school age youth in Ohio are not in school, sometimes because they lack motivation, in other cases because of misbehavior or attendance problems. This report examines school motivation and discipline problems and describes how a small sample of Ohio schools have worked to create orderly schools where children are motivated,…