Asserts that achievement and cost measures of school districts' effectiveness are useful but insufficient performance critera. Focusing on British Columbia, Canada, this paper demonstrates a surprising negative relationship between cost and achievement and seeks a third element--school ethos or goodness--as a potential predictor of school…

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)

The experience of middle-school reformers during the past 30 years has shown that administrative/organizational changes are more easily achieved than changes in people. Using teaming, block scheduling, and other middle-level approaches to personalize high schools and make them more relevant may help today's adolescents regain feelings of purpose,…

The common assumption that Japanese students do well academically because their schools are more academically oriented than American schools is misguided. Results of a study comparing middle-school teachers in Japan and the United States indicated that American teachers allocated a greater proportion of their time to academic work than did…

Ackoff's circular structure has been successfully used to combine hierarchy and democracy in various industries. This paper argues that this structure is the most appropriate democratic structure for public schools' internal governance. A circularity of power relations between administrators and teachers would create genuinely empowering teacher…

It is argued that the basic means-ends analysis of systemic educational policy may be mistaken in the current national context. The author agrees with the basic premises of systemic educational policy but thinks that a mandatory system of strong instructional guidance from the state has basic problems, as discussed. (SLD)

Explores the influence of micropolitical factors on school organization and management, drawing on Ball's idea regarding the inevitability of micropolitics in school settings. Using Edgar Schein's small-group perspective, shows how micropolitical analyses of school cultures and teacher behavior can be used to increase school leaders'…

Explores ways to reduce funding fragmentation and develop a conceptual funding framework based on inclusive schooling tenets. Instead of targeting specific program units or categories of students, the inclusive school-finance framework provides more adequate support by targeting specific students. Tensions among equity, efficiency, and choice must…

Three articles in this special issue explore the people/school organization interrelationship in England, Canada, and the Netherlands. Two articles discuss learning organizations' change capacity. A third article examines tensions occurring when people/organization interactions clash with desired outcomes. Chaos theory and improvement programs are…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 has focused the attention of educators, policy makers, and the public on accountability for performance in public education. Yet many of those who will be responsible for improving school performance lack guidance on how to proceed in the brave new world of NCLB accountability. For the most part, state…

The latest model for educational reform emerging in the US vocational-technical delivery system is the employer linked charter school (ELCS). This emerging concept is viewed as a partnership between constituents in the regular school organization and employers who are directly involved in the school's design, governance, and delivery of learning…

In 1973-74, the school board, faculty, and students in Buena Vista, Virginia, with the support of the Virginia State Board of Education, approved a single-track, four-quarter extended school schedule that provided year-round education at the high school level. This paper presents a review of the literature on year-round education and describes the…

Many school districts and states are examining parental choice as a means of improving public education. This document identifies various forms of school choice and describes existing programs across the United States. Within the public school system, choice programs fall into two basic categories--intra-district and cross-district. Intra-district…

This report summarizes the findings of a 1985 study of the Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) summer school program. Statistics, charts and survey results provide a picture of the student population, school financial situation, course offerings, participant attitudes, etc. The APS summer school is self-supporting, but tuition is rising rapidly and…

The difficulties faced by Chicago's public school system have prompted two state-level investigative bodies to recommend the breaking up of the system into smaller, locally controlled units. Without exhaustively reviewing all of the factors involved in making the transition from a centralized to a decentralized school governance structure, this…