This article presents the concept of "identity education" (IdEd) referring to the "purposeful involvement of educators with students' identity-related processes or contents." We discuss why educators may consider identity important to the realization of educational goals and choose to target aspects of students' identity in their pedagogical…

Without feasible integration strategies, the institutional researcher and decision maker remain isolated from each other, to the ultimate disadvantage of the higher education institution. Practical and achievable strategies for the researcher include knowledge of the institutional climate and norms, developing communication skills, and practicing…

The key to the success of decision support systems will be the way that institutional researchers integrate the variety of specific and personal systems into a viable and coordinated institutionwide system. (Author/MLW)

Perceptions of college institutional research directors concerning the quality of executive decision making at their institutions were studied. Perceptions were assessed using a theoretical model of Groupthink developed by Janis, who postulates that a high amount of environmental stress should lead to a greater degree of…

To improve secondary school organization, operation, and outcomes, a research report presents major results from 13 studies of leadership, decision-making, and change conducted by Project on the Administration and Organization for Instruction staff at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in cooperation with over 100 schools. National and statewide…

Because of a fundamental shift in the way decisions are being made in colleges and universities, institutional researchers in the twenty-first century will no longer merely collect, analyze, and disseminate information to support decision making. They must also become information architects, change agents, and consultants of choice within their…

In light of growing concern for the measurement of educational effectiveness, this paper advocates institutional research at the community college level in California's community colleges to answer crucial questions concerning students, programs, and communities and urges trustees and administrators to use research results to inform decision…

The design of a University of Hartford (Connecticut) decision-support information system for college advancement programs is detailed, specific research and management applications are examined, and the analyses and reports generated by the system are discussed. Early collaboration between institutional researchers and advancement and alumni…

This case study of a central office school improvement initiative in an urban school system examines instructional leadership practices of two junior high school principals. The school-based research focuses on correlates of school effectiveness in "low achieving" settings and the principals' capacity to "reflect-in-action," an ability to make…

Efforts focused on improving quality processes based upon the Malcolm Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence may hold promise for fundamentally improving K-12 education. This policy report examines the information available on improving school quality through implementation of the Baldrige criteria. It provides a snapshot of what…