Examines the nature of non-decision-making, its empirical operationalization, and practical realization in the school sector. Studies on decision-making fail to consider an integral element: the conscious or unconscious decision to exclude certain areas from formal decision locations and relevant decision makers. Implications are discussed.…

In Prince George's County, Maryland, Superintendent Jerome Clark told staffs of low-performing schools to resign and reapply for positions. New principals were hired, and schools were restaffed. San Francisco has experimented with reconstituting or jumpstarting dysfunctional schools since the 1980s. A Department of Education study shows mixed…

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 synthesis of the research on educational improvement programs of the 60s and 70s provides the framework for this paper. Restructured schools featured the use of team teaching and shared decision making, and changes in curriculum content and delivery. Problem areas centered on role-related issues, ambiguous means of implementation, and lack of…

School site management, a decentralized approach to decision-making and school governance, is intended to help parents and teachers share increased accountability for student learning and provide a broadened leadership base through teacher empowerment. This approach involves a shift of decision-making responsibility from the school district to…

Existing schooling structures cannot produce the changes necessary for substantial educational improvement. Although school-site management literature offers no procedural recipes, experience suggests that a certain configuration of concepts, processes, and enabling conditions can produce substantial and sustained school improvement. This paper…

Parish elementary schools in the United States have a governance structure that often precipitates conflict. The principal is the designated leader of the school, the educational administrator, and the supervisor of the faculty and students. By canon law, however, the pastor of the parish remains ultimately responsible for the spiritual and…

For the past decade in Connecticut, public school students have been tested in the fall of grades 4, 6, and 8, and results have been attributed to the school in which students are tested. Some Connecticut elementary schools end at grade 5 (Type I) and some continue to grade 6 or 8 (Type II). Grade 6 results are reported for Type II schools but not…

The authors examine and evaluate the introduction of mixed ability teaching at Pond Street Comprehensive School and draw conclusions on organizational change. (SJL)

School administrators need to devise a study of administration that can investigate the manner in which fundamental structures influence social relations. Administrators must understand cultural and social conditions and develop a value position to determine and defend their actions. (JN)

Professional educators may be behind the times in their thinking about school size. Many educational leaders mistakenly believe that large schools provide better learning environments at less cost than smaller schools. Actually, there are few conclusive before-and-after consolidation studies, consolidation does not seem to save money, and small…

Explores how metaphors are used to identify and store some expectations that structure schools' interactions and communications. Outlines a systems-theoretical view of schools derived from Niklas Luhmann's social theories. Illustrates how the metaphors identified in an earlier study provide material contexts for identifying and storing structures…

To shed light on appropriate grouping practices for early adolescents, this article presents current data on using between-class grouping and regrouping in American schools serving this population, based on the 1988 Johns Hopkins University middle school survey. Findings show that learning opportunities in the middle grades remain highly…

For almost two centuries, poor children have been seen as a threat to society because neither parents nor existing community institutions could control their unacceptable behavior. Compulsory education for so-called at-risk children has produced another problem: poor academic performance. This article argues for eliminating graded schools and…

The financing of education in Canada involves a trilevel structure: federal, provincial, and local. The extent of governmental involvement at the federal and provincial levels is constitutionally determined, but there is no one accepted input scale between these levels. Particular funding formulae are provided for each province. Includes 11 notes.…