This article traces the development and rationale of the School Improvement Program proposed by the new Labor Government of Victoria (Australia). The program would be based on school communities, each voluntarily developing a long-term project improving the school as an educational entity. The design assumptions, funding criteria, and implications…

A principal is often judged on his ability to resolve problems at the school level without appealing to superintendents and board members. Techniques for accomplishing this task include (1) clear and specific position descriptions for employees, (2) printed handbooks for employees and students, (3) fairness and consistency, (4) positive and…

This lesson on managing a business, the 11th in a series of 18 units, is part of the first level of a comprehensive entrepreneurship curriculum entitled: A Program for Acquiring Competence in Entrepreneurship (PACE). (Designed for use with secondary students, the first level of PACE introduces students to the concepts involved in entrepreneurship…

This collection of 10 essays is the outgrowth of a 1983 Accrediting Commission meeting which examined the implications for accreditation of the "Green Chair Group" report entitled "Predicting Distant Education in the Year 2001," an earlier document containing the predictions of 25 educators and executives concerning…

An anecdotal account is provided of Lee John Betts's first year as the president of Frederick Community College (FCC). The first sections cover the application process, his first visit to the college, issues involved in relocating, administrative tasks accomplished during the first week, and Betts's first meeting with FCC's board of trustees. The…

In Canada, the traditional purpose of compulsory, free schooling was to mold ethnic immigrants, enlightening them about the dominant Anglo society. This philosophy continued through the mid-1960s when Canadian immigration was opened to developing nations. At the same time, a change in national perception emphasized the multicultural nature of…

In order to assess some of the major problems and frustrations faced by beginning administrators, a study investigated nine first- and second-year public school administrators in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Questions asked the principals centered on their recollections of the most challenging problems faced and what was hardest for them as…

This study was the third in a series of national studies of the high school principalship dating back to the early 1960s. Its major purpose was to analyze and describe high school leaders and their schools. This volume describes the characteristics and behaviors of high performing principals (type "A") and typically performing principals ("type…

This book champions the importance of chairing an academic department (or division) and focuses attention on the strategies "excellent" chairs use in building a positive work environment for faculty and releasing individual faculty potential. The framework is based on human, organizational, and career development; systems theory; and interpersonal…

Designed to begin a feminist "unthinking" and rethinking of educational technology, this paper begins by examining some definitions of what that technology essentially is. Three characteristics of a feminist approach to science that can inform a rethinking of educational technology are then identified: (1) the theorizing of gender as a…

This document summarizes a study examining perceptions of supervision by teachers in small, isolated Alaskan schools. The study was conducted to provide information for improving rural teacher supervision, for assisting teacher development, and for improving teacher-supervisor relationships. The study, based on a mail survey that gathered 156…

In this discussion of managing continuing education credit programming units, three themes emerge. The first theme is that unit administrators must rely upon leverage, or influence, to coordinate programs effectively and to gain the institution's acceptance of policies and procedures that support the credit programming unit and the adult learners…

In this national survey, local changes in primary and intermediate schools are examined in response to radical administrative restructuring of the New Zealand educational system. Recent administrative moves toward decentralization are based on the assumption that such changes will improve educational quality. The study focuses on the relationships…

The process of the implementation and institutionalization of change is examined in this training module for school leaders. Based on a combination of theory and practice, five activities are conducted at two levels: an awareness level to introduce concepts; and an action level for more experienced participants. Activity modules include indicators…

This guide is designed for reform-jaded superintendents who, in spite of everything, still want to promote excellence in their schools. After a brief introductory chapter, chapter 2 reviews nine well-known national reports, most of which offer little help to superintendents. The guide recommends three books "High School: A Report on Secondary…