An analysis of three research studies which examined the movement towards comprehensive schooling in Great Britain shows that the answer to the question "has it worked" can be yes or no, depending on the selection of data and of statistical techniques. (RM)

Numerous attempts have been made to improve the effectiveness of decision-making in organizational settings. Some of the historical and contemporary organizational trends regarding these efforts, both in business and in school settings, are presented in this paper. The focus is on the related expectations and outcomes that are evident in diverse…

Commenting on Donna Kerr's ideas for improving teaching (Teachers College Record, Spring 1983), Goodlad points to three factors that discourage able students from becoming teachers: (1) salary structure; (2) job dissatisfaction; and (3) lack of opportunities for promotion. Goodlad compares his own proposals for educational improvement with those…

This paper falls into three parts: a description of the current French educational system and the groups influencing it; presentation of the more pressing educational problems of the 1980s; and a draft of developmental modifications likely to occur if liberals or, alternatively, socialists win political power in the early 1980s. (Author/SJL)

Recent research shows that students at all grade levels, especially at-risk youngsters, learn more in small schools; small schools are more violence-free; and bonds created in small schools are likely to influence students' post-high-school behavior. Success is attributed to small schools' human scale, more willing students, more committed…

This report is an excerpt from the National Education Commission On Time and Learning Final Report, "Prisoners of Time," published in April, 1994. In it, the Commission concludes that the reform movement of the last decade is destined to founder unless it is able to harness more time, and better management thereof, for learning. The…

The effects of large-scale improvement projects and the trend toward decentralization on the principal's role in primary and secondary schools in Belgium are explored in this paper. Particular focuses are on the ways in which sociopolitical change influences the nature of school-level leadership and on strategies that principals use in response to…

Although direct supervision of teachers is rare and most teachers are relatively free to exercise considerable control over their own work, schools generally manage to function without organizational or curricular chaos. The unseen force maintaining control appears to reside in the organization and culture of the school, and may affect teacher…

Educational organizations, this paper asserts, are best described using a neorationalist model, which analyzes organizations as social instruments, acknowledges structural conflict, and views individuals as active participants. The paper examines traditional and modern rationalist organization theories and contrasts these with systems theory; it…

Prepared for a meeting of the Northwest Regional Exchange (NWRx) Advisory Board and its staff and consultants, this document first reviews nine reports' findings on nine hypotheses concerning the institutionalization of educational change or innovation, especially as institutionalization relates to the dissemination functions of state…

This monograph presents information on North Carolina middle grades schools: (1) organizational patterns of middle grades schools from 1968 to 1980; (2) reasons for establishing middle grades schools; (3) number and size of middle grades schools; (4) curriculum opportunities; (5) accreditation of schools and professional training of faculty; (6)…

This article presents a conceptual framework for examining the design and implementation of teacher evaluation processes in school organizations. Research on teaching, organizational behavior, and policy implementation suggests that different educational and organizational theories underlie various teacher evaluation models. (Author/BW)

Reviews literature in political economics that analyzes schools' organizational performance problems and the current decline in public school support. Discusses schools' institutional frameworks, public (or collective) choice theories of political economy, citizen decisions to voice grievances concerning school system expenditures or exit the…

Discusses the application of the marketing concept in higher education. Defines the marketing process as an internal and external process. Outlines the role of administrators in this process. Considers marketing and college admissions, organizational development for marketing, financial aid, and student needs. (RC)

This article discusses the comprehensive secondary schools which have so far been created in West Germany. It points out the ways they differ from English comprehensive schools, summarizes research results, and looks at teacher training needs. (SJL)