Uses contingency theory to examine workplace conditions making high school teaching nonroutine; investigate whether organic management forms arise when teachers' work becomes nonroutine; and investigate whether such management forms have potential for enhancing teacher effectiveness by promoting job-related learning. There is little evidence that…

In an interview published in the June 1980 issue of "Principal," Paul Collins, pioneer principal of a model New Hampshire middle school, called for a real understanding of preadolescent students. The school has continued its experiential learning emphasis and has become involved in action research projects, such as an intensive inservice…

As schools are typically organized, children work under the guidance of female teachers employed by a male principal (the boss) empowered to interrupt their classes at will and mete out discipline. The principal serves as district stationmaster but not necessarily as educator. Two hypothetical examples show how teachers and secretaries can…

Explores the role of the regional organizational-pedagogical system in the former Soviet Union. Suggests that the organization of social interaction can be addressed on the district level. Discusses a project in the Dnestrovskii district in which a social pedagogical complex has been organized to strengthen schools' material base, develop…

An organization's dramaturgical facade (ability to present an appearance in keeping with the script) is a better measure of effectiveness than its actual results. An organization must match its theatrical production--stage, props, drama, and actors--to audience demands. As directors, playwrights, and actors, superintendents play a vital role in…

Staff and students at an Illinois high school recently decided to challenge all previously held assumptions about all school operations. For this group, school was best viewed as culture (not bureaucracy) dependent on collaboration, shared leadership, and flat organizational structure. Group identified communication styles matching their approach,…

Presents five definitions of "systemic change," ranging from "working with school districts or education departments to effect change" (vertical approach) to "working with every school in a system" or "working with every aspect of the school system (horizontal approaches). "Systemic" can also mean…

Presents results of a survey of library and information studies (LIS) departments in the United Kingdom that investigated computer methods currently in use in the teaching of LIS courses. Highlights include the Computers in Teaching Initiative (CTI), where LIS departments fit within academic institutions, and the software used. (16 references)…

Discussions about educational productivity need to recognize that students are producers of their own learning. Equating students with workers, intensifying curriculum requirements, and professionalizing teaching are insufficient. The best strategies involve treating students as capable persons, capitalizing on their knowledge and interests, and…

Questionnaires sent to principals of 10,363 public and private high schools elicited 3,380 (33%) responses. Discusses responses to 36 indicators of change in 5 broad areas: (1) curriculum and teaching; (2) school organization; (3) community outreach; (4) technology; and (5) monetary incentives to improve performance. (MLF)

Provides background information on the Hudson Institute's "Charter Schools in Action" project that studied 50 charter schools in 10 states. Examines innovative ways charter schools organize and support themselves, and presents five lessons from the charter-school movement. Public schools would benefit by becoming more consumer-oriented,…

Explores whether and how teachers' communication behavior varies within and between schools, based on a sample of eight Dutch primary schools. Also examines how teachers' network participation is related to their perception of different types of tasks. Teacher isolation at least partly results from individual teachers' behavior. (42 references)…

Advocates a stronger comparative emphasis in the study of educational administration and management while acknowledging comparative educational administration's weak knowledge base. Clarifies the potential import of a comparative, cross-cultural perspective embracing five societal/cultural dimensions: individualism versus collectivism, power…

Presents the results of a 1991 survey of 118 community college presidents, which elicited details about how their colleges were organized five years prior to and in 1991, as well as their preferred organization structures for the future. Reports variations in structure by three college size categories (enrollment levels) and indicates significant…

Argues for a model of university organization that is based upon problem areas rather than upon the traditional departmental structure that is itself based upon strict disciplinary delimitation. Asserts that the shift is made difficult by the bookkeeper mentality of university administration, but that it must nevertheless adapt to the new…