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…

The view that peer review and faculty self-government are detrimental is expressed. Peer review, a procedure in which the conduct of faculty members is subject to review by other faculty members, is used primarily in personnel and research decisions (e.g., tenure, promotion, and/or salary increases, and to assess grant or contract proposals).…

In educational settings, it is becoming common for members of groups to be forced to choose among more than two candidates, programs, or objectives. When no majority favors any one of three or more alternative choices, there are several rational, although arbitrary, ways to proceed. The first attempt at making the choice ought to adopt the…

In shared decision making (SDM), principals collaborate with teachers and sometimes parents to take actions aimed at improving instruction and school climate. While research on SDM outcomes is still inconclusive, the literature shows that SDM brings both benefits and problems, and that the principal is a key figure. This brief offers a sampling of…

The purpose of this Bulletin is to clarify the intent of shared decision making (SDM) and explore its benefits, drawbacks, and implementation. It looks at how the principal's role changes in SDM, stresses the need for training, examines conditions that affect successful implementation of SDM, and offers ideas on how schools can concentrate on…

Many recent school-reform efforts have called for increasing decision-making power at the local school level. This report examines state differences in the amount of control that public school teachers believe they have over establishing curriculum; selecting textbooks and other instructional materials; and selecting topics, content, and skills to…

After describing the nature, promise, and reality of school-based management, this document discusses delegation of authority to the school site and distribution of authority among site participants as critical issues in the implementation of school-based management and reviews the importance and benefits of shared decision making. Eight major…

This paper explores the question of who should be involved in strategic decisions that affect a school, a cluster of schools, or an entire school district. It discusses the common problems that hamper effective participation: such as workgroups that are too large or too small; selecting the same roster of persons to serve as team members; choosing…

A survey of National Education Association (NEA) higher education members examined opinions about governance issues, factors that affect quality education, and attitudes about the "new unionism." Characteristics of respondents are summarized and illustrated by characteristics such as median faculty income, length of time in higher…

This paper argues the importance of not only understanding how "cultural editing" may limit our images and those of our children for creating non-violent futures, but also of the need for quality responses by teachers and teacher educators to such editing. Cultural editing is a term futurists use to describe processes both within formal and…

This pamphlet offers an overview of five larger reports in order to facilitate the process of locating contributions originating from five peace conferences between 1990-1994. The Peace Education Commission (PEC) arranged five conferences in Groningen (The Netherlands), Firenze (Italy), Kyoto (Japan), Budapest (Hungary) and Valletta (Malta). A…

This issue of the Australian Early Childhood Association Research in Practice Series provides staff management strategies for directors and others involved with the management of early childhood settings and suggests ways to effectively delegate authority and tasks in order to reduce administrative pressures and workload. The booklet presents…

Part of a 13-volume series designed to help Lutheran communities assess the feasibility of starting a Lutheran elementary school and to assist ongoing schools in current operation, this volume is intended to help Lutherans clarify why they might want such a school and its effects on the congregation. Most of the publication discusses reasons for…

This pamphlet presents brief abstracts of selected English language reports and papers from the activities of the project group "Preparedness for Peace." For several years this project has carried out research and development work on peace education and related issues. The tasks have also included editorial work and publishing related to…

School-site management embodies the concept that decisions should be made at the lowest possible level in organizations and intends that no decision be made without the input of those affected by them. The concept also suggests the empowerment of individual units of the system, particularly, the teachers. Centralization versus decentralization is…