To bring students up to internationally benchmarked standards, high schools must abandon the ineffective general curriculum and focus resources on a narrower, academic curriculum. Professional and vocational education should be provided in postsecondary settings after students receive certificates of initial mastery. A 12-point school redesign…

Within the Scottish educational system there have recently been significant moves towards devolution of decision taking and the expressed intention that schools must be more responsive to changing community requirements and expectations. We focus on two aspects of those organizations considered successful within changing external contexts: their…

In October 1989, the government of New Zealand responded to results of a 1987-88 study on school management by passing legislation that shifted control of education from a central bureaucracy to local boards of trustees. Using a question-answer format, this document presents a model of the decentralization process as it analyzes the 1989 plan in…

Findings from a study on the curriculum and organization of Dade public high schools are presented in this report. An honor student mentor group conducted a literature review and held discussions with assistant principals, English department heads, teachers, and students. From this research they concluded that problems in the schools are…

This four-part paper examines formal and informal organizational structures at Selinsgrove Area Middle School, which serves about 1,000 students in grades 5-8. Part I presents a brief history of the founding of the school and the court battles preceding its construction, and the reasons why the initial steering committee chose a middle school…

This volume is part of a series of monographs from Australia devoted to outlining an alternative approach, based on neo-Marxist concepts, to educational administration. The introductory essay in the volume is an argument for the democratization of education by establishing a case for changing schools: by discussing industrial democracy as a…

The past 30 years have been a busy time for Catholic school researchers. Once focused almost exclusively on historical research, Catholic school research in recent years has diversified and multiplied to include new descriptive and comparative studies. This article summarizes the findings of the most significant studies from 1966-2002 concerning…

An inquiry concerning art, craft, and design education in Western Australia that was undertaken by the Western Australian Post Secondary Education Commission is considered, as are the resulting recommendations. Attention is directed to the existing system and the need/demand for art, craft, and design education, as well as issues affecting the…

An institutional analysis of Kalamazoo College written by an Intern in the President's office is presented. Examined are such aspects of the college as the board and its major committees; the operations of the President's office; students, faculty, administration, and staff; community involvement; institutional data; budget data; institutional…

This book examines the effects of reforms in some countries' national education systems, noting that far from improving education, they have often made it more difficult for teachers to do a good job in the classroom. It focuses on how teaching has changed and continues to change in England's educational reform climate. The book argues that many…

The transition of the Czech school system from a centralized system to one where schools enjoy greater autonomy has not been smooth. Educators and administrators need to learn new skills in interacting with parents, community, and each other in an educational system that is becoming more decentralized. Several surveys were conducted to…

Laboratory experiences as a part of most U.S. high school science curricula have been taken for granted for decades, but they have rarely been carefully examined. What do they contribute to science learning? What can they contribute to science learning? What is the current status of labs in our nation s high schools as a context for learning…

Explores potential changes in the power relationships among teachers and principals. Describes and analyzes the following models of teacher decision-making: (1) Instructional Leadership Teams; (2) Principals' Advisory Councils; (3) School Improvement Teams; and (4) Lead Teacher Committees. (FMW)

In the late 1970s, Yugoslavia instituted extensive reforms of the structure of its secondary school system. Surveys of high school upperclass and graduate students before and after reform suggest that reforms had little effect on the relationship between socioeconomic status and type of school enrollment or on student attitudes toward work,…

Current federal efforts to reform U.S. education overemphasize competition, measurement, and the education-work relationship; distract educators and educational policymakers from tackling structural inertia problems besetting schools; and engender cynicism and passive resistance in already overworked teachers. America 2000 fails to use serious…