This paper presents the results of a two-year qualitative inquiry, carried out in Spain, on a rather neglected side of external support to schools: the personal and professional experience of external support agents when they go back to teaching. These ex-advisers are career teachers who return 'home' to school after having left it to serve for…

This article describes a new supervision model conceived to help a school system redesign its anatomy (structures), physiology (flow of information and webs of relationships), and psychology (beliefs and values). The new paradigm (Knowledge Work Supervision) was constructed by reviewing the practices of several interrelated areas: sociotechnical…

The major purpose of this report is to present information about the organization of middle schools in the school district of Philadelphia. The report includes: (1) summary information on rostering/scheduling practices; and (2) comparisons of promotion/retention rates, average daily attendance, and suspension rates in middle schools with different…

Presents findings of a study exploring teacher leadership roles in a metropolitan K-8 school district. Results show that the development and performance of these roles are mediated by their organizational contexts. Teacher leadership should be approached as an organizational development issue rather than solely as an individual empowerment issue.…

The theory-driven Organizational Health Inventory was compared to the empirically derived Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire in predicting student achievement and teachers' commitment to the school. After controlling for the socioeconomic status of the sampled 58 schools, only academic emphasis contributed significantly to student…

Most reform movements do not fundamentally alter the prevailing organization, scheduling, curriculum, or structure of teaching. The time has come to view teachers as the solution to, rather than the source of, school problems. Empowerment reform raises questions and allows school practitioners to work toward their own answers. Includes 22…

In comparing and contrasting the year (horizontal) and house (vertical) systems of pastoral (guidance) organization and management in British secondary schools, this article examines a model combining pastoral and academic concerns by establishing a vertical system. This system is proposed as the most effective way to integrate these two concerns.…

Four secondary teachers, long accustomed to working in isolation, joined forces to provide an interdisciplinary program with flexible scheduling and common planning periods. This article describes their school-within-a-school program, its acceptance by the Coalition of Essential Schools, and the program's benefits. A sidebar provides restructuring…

Educational administration must abandon its focus on organization, based on hierarchy, legitimacy, and self-interest and develop its own identity. Families, communities, and friendship networks constitute alternative collections of people. To understand schools as communities, educational administration would need to address new questions,…

Defines postmodernism and explores underlying philosophic assumptions. Ponders the usefulness of postmodern considerations for educational administration. Examines implications of postmodern thought for educational practitioners, highlighting "harmonious" practices such as reflection, conversation, affirmation, invitation, and commitment…

Explores how Dutch secondary schools can provide supportive working contexts that promote teacher learning, focusing on integration of two substructures (subject departments and student guidance units). Analyzes tensions between the substructures, summarizes insights into teacher learning communities, and discusses integrated teacher teams'…

Understanding facilitative aspects of power is necessary for analyzing processes and outcomes in today's schools. Facilitative, interactive power has become commonplace when no single individual or role commands decision-making control without dependence on expert knowledge and collegial cooperation. Examples include individualized educational…

The continuing interest in standardized testing alternatives suggests that the make-a-better-mousetrap mentality still flourishes in education and employment assessment circles. Some promising new testing technologies might broaden the range of human talents assessed. However, educators must refuse to accept bondage to any single technology, no…

American charter schools feature a dual reform strategy that combines state-initiated reform with local flexibility. In Britain, as in the U.S., charter school reform has been accompanied by centralized curriculum and student-assessment policies and decentralized implementation strategizing. Policymakers and practitioners must collaborate to…

Emphasizing factual knowledge undermines educators' attempts to engage students in meaningful activities. Students involved in process work are more deeply engaged, retain more, and perform better on achievement measures. Teaching methodology, types of knowledge, and school structure are intertwined. Methodology drives structure, and structure…