For the past several years, leaders in middle grades education research have strengthened their call for more methodologically robust quantitative research to address important questions in the field. Recently, two important routes towards addressing this call have emerged: the Middle Grades Longitudinal Study from the National Center for…

Background: Using meta-analytic review techniques, this study synthesized the results of 79 unpublished studies about the nature of transformational school leadership (TSL) and its impact on the school organization, teachers, and students. This corpus of research associates TSL with 11 specific leadership practices. These practices, as a whole,…

Presents an analysis of the concept of "teacher participation in school decision making," a set of empirically based hypotheses concerning the current scope and extent of teacher participation, and an outline for a systematic program of research that could provide information for policy development concerning teacher participation.…

The finding reported previously in this journal (EJ 265 763), that elementary schools conform more to the image of the rational bureaucracy while secondary schools fit that of the anarchy or loosely coupled system, is reinforced and extended using a large sample, more reliable measures, and more elaborate techniques. (Author)

Investigates the possibility that the organizational characteristics and conditions of schools are driving teacher turnover. Analysis of data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) indicates that the amount of turnover accounted for by retirement is relatively minor when compared with that associated with other factors such as…

Presents study results examining recruitment practice differences between coeducational and gender segregated secondary schools in Germany. Discusses the impact of organizational form on teacher judgments, achievement in specific subjects, school subject-related interests, and school commitment. Reports that under conditions of free school choice,…

This study evaluates the opportunities available to women to advance educationally and professionally in Italy. Data from official Italian publications are used to compare the enrollment of males and females in secondary, higher secondary, and university education, and to assess the availability for women of positions at the university level. The…

Reports on a study of student characteristics and the school organization to confirm the findings of previous studies on the importance of individual characteristics to track placement. Concludes that systematic differences among schools suggest that track placement is more complex than previous research has shown. (CFR)

This review is a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness and efficiency of education in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) government high schools, addressing basic questions and making recommendations concerning goals, school structure, provision of resources, curriculum, and educational outcomes. It is divided into 13 chapters covering…

Comparative data from three middle schools, all in one large urban school district in the Pacific Northwest, are used to identify criteria for evaluating student discipline policies and to generate theoretical statements of how school administration affects student behavior. An introduction summarizes the study's goals and assumptions and…

To examine the relationships between the external environment in which a high school exists and the internal structure of the school, a study compared selected resource variables in Connecticut communities and the internal organizational characteristics of the 25 high schools in those communities. The literature suggests external environmental…

A study of the effect of implementing educational innovations in local schools across the country explored several factors affecting successful improvement. This paper provides a general overview of the interrelation among these factors, with illustrative diagrams. Particular attention is paid to innovations requiring major changes in teacher…

Descriptive findings concerning organization and management practices in 16 urban high schools across the United States are reported in this paper. The findings are based on data from the as yet incomplete 3-year District/Secondary School Study. This research effort involved urban comprehensive high schools without special admissions requirements…

This report's central theoretical assumption is that adolescents are in risk of problem behavior if they are not sufficiently equipped with the social and psychological competencies to cope with culturally and socially defined developmental tasks specific to their ages. The first chapter describes the socio-structural factors which have changed…

The environment within which an organization must operate is expected to influence its administrative and program characteristics. Since public schools operate in more complex and conflicting environments than do private schools, it is predicted that they will exhibit greater administrative complexity and less curricular coherence. These…