The Maltese islands consist of Malta, Gozo, and Comino and two tiny uninhabited islands, strategically located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. This handbook contains a brief description of secondary education in Malta. Following the introduction, section 1 provides an overview of the mission of the Ministry of Education and Human…

A learning team comprises two or more teachers of any two or more subject areas who seek to create a small, cohesive learning community. Interdisciplinary learning teams are vehicles that can empower school community members. This first part of this handbook introduces the learning team concept, discusses issues to consider in implementing…

A good deal of evidence now suggests that a strong sense of community in schools has benefits for both staff members and students, while providing a necessary foundation for school improvement. This digest provides an overview of the literature on schools as communities. The digest identifies the elements of community schools, the effects of…

Austin Community College (ACC) is undergoing reorganization in an attempt to create a "single college" organizational structure to replace its current "campus with five competing colleges" model. By doing so, ACC hopes to create an atmosphere in which short and long range planning efforts are aimed at the overall good of the…

At a time when school leaders are trying to move from educational fads to transforming schools into effective learning communities, strategies to accomplish this end continue to elude many administrators even though they may be familiar with the desired results. School transformations, which are long-lasting and fad resistant, require all…

The inclusion of diversity in the teaching of undergraduate psychology, as is presented here, can transform both the discipline of psychology and the larger society it influences. Details of why the lack of representation is a problem are outlined. These problems include exclusion, misrepresentation, methodology, disengagement, stagnation, and…

This publication, part of a series entitled "Guide to Secondary Education in Europe," contains a brief description of secondary education in Bulgaria. Chapter 1 offers a general overview of Bulgarian education, including educational policy and innovation, research and development, and information delivery services. The second and third…

School-based management refers to a form of educational administration in which the school becomes the primary unit for decision-making. The book is structured into five parts. In part 1, international developments in school-based decision-making and management are documented and analyzed. Described are developments in Australia, Canada, France,…

This book, in three parts, presents a set of studies that: (1) explores some significant questions about mathematics teaching and learning and (2) illustrates new methodologies for the analysis of new kinds of questions about mathematics education. The data from the Second International Mathematics Study (SIMS) are the starting point for all of…

State legislative policies for educational restructuring are examined in this handbook, with a focus on restructuring from the perspective of state elected officials. Following an executive summary and introduction, the second and third parts explain the need for restructuring and features of the restructuring movement. Problems and obstacles are…

The paper draws on findings from three case studies on the changing role of Local Education Authorities (LEAs) in England and explores the degree of LEA effectiveness, their contribution to school improvement, and the nature of their leadership. The context for the study is one in which, over the years, the powers and responsibilities of LEAs have…

This book is based on a review of the literature on decentralization and teacher management. The focus is on basic formal education, mainly the primary and junior secondary levels of schooling, and on presenting a rationale for decentralizing teacher management. The book presents three models of decentralized teacher management, explores the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of administrators of small rural districts hold about school-based management (SBM) and to compare them with the perceptions of administrators in larger, nonrural districts. Administrators' perceptions of what should occur in SBM were compared with what they perceived does occur. Responses…

Based on a review of recent research on school effects and workplace psychology, this paper hypothesizes that three core concepts comprise teacher organizational commitment: (1) belief in school goals and student learning ability; (2) intention to remain an active member of the school; and (3) willingness to exert extra effort on the school's…

A study was done to determine the extent to which effectiveness among a nationally representative sample of two-year colleges differs in terms of their dominant type of organizational culture. The study was based on a survey of 1,332 faculty and administrators in 30 colleges. Of these, 662 usable responses were received. Analysis yielded the…