This phenomenological study of school consolidation is an investigation of how education policy that dictates the reorganization of schools and districts impacts educational choices, learning environments, and school culture. Although quality studies of optimal school size for promoting student achievement and cutting costs have emerged in the…

Besides setting the tone for accomplishing student learning goals and effecting improvement, school climate serves as a determinant of teacher attitudes toward personal and professional growth and development. Bureaucratization of schools decreases teacher effectiveness through rules, controls, and reduced autonomy and authority. The formal…

Despite the tendency of researchers to assume all schools share a common organizational form, analysis of thirteen elementary and secondary schools provides evidence that elementary schools exhibit characteristics of the rational bureaucracy, while high schools tend to be more loosely coupled. Over 600 classroom teachers and nonadministrative…

The examination of school organization from a cultural perspective focuses on value orientation and commitment in elementary and secondary schools, and relates the predicted cultural differences to specific organizational and demographic attributes. A cluster-sampling procedure first selected schools as the unit of analysis, and then selected…

Considering the science teacher's role in the implementation of environmental issues in school, a survey was carried out (Benetti, 1998) to identify science school teachers' perspectives regarding environmental education-related activities in fundamental schools (11 to 14 year-olds). The interviewees' statements were divided into four categories…

This paper examines transformational leadership, defined as follows: an influencing relationship between inspired, energetic leaders and followers who have a mutual commitment to a mission that includes a belief in empowering the members of an organization to effect lasting change. The article presents the results of a qualitative and quantitative…

Examination of the relevant literature indicates that most studies of school structure and interpersonal relations have either been too narrow in scope, too theoretical, or too tied to the individual as the unit of analysis to support any conclusive generalizations. A search of the literature for appropriate variables to include in a more complex…

This paper offers reflections on the collaborative development of a school/university partnership so as to provide insights into the inherent challenges and successes of such work. It focuses on The Learning Connections Lab (LCL), which began in 1997. The LCL was a partnership between St. Cloud State University and two elementary school sites. To…

Magnet schools strive to draw students voluntarily to racially mixed settings by offering diversified educational opportunities. The impact of magnet schools on the political and organizational processes of a school system are discussed. (DF)

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the effect of school organization on teachers' attitudes toward their work environments. The study compared the attitudes of teachers who work in schools with an interdisciplinary team organization (ITO) with those of teachers who work in schools with a traditional departmental organization…

This research examined the overlap of four key domains of schools according to multiple perspectives. The four domains (the macro-framework) were leadership, teaching, organization, and social contexts (B. Rowen, 1995). The "micro-framework" emerged from the paradigm theory and consisted of three perspectives, were the functionalist,…

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development/reliability/validity of a teacher instrument to assess the organizational coupling structure (OCS) of schools. A secondary purpose is to describe the implications of this work for understanding school coupling structure as a complex, "paradoxical" measurement and theoretical…

This paper addresses the long-term impact of a school improvement effort of the Milwaukee public schools known as Project RISE (Rising to Individual Scholastic Excellence). Each school replicated the following characteristics of effective schools: (1) strong leadership by the principal; (2) high expectations conveyed by the entire staff; (3)…

Most of the middle schools in Belgium are 2-year schools that form a link between the 6 years of elementary education and the last 4 years of secondary education. In Flanders they are regarded as an example of the more global reform of the secondary educational system in a comprehensive sense. First, this document outlines the new system of…

Two major studies reported in 1970 reached similar conclusions regarding the effect of team teaching in elementary schools on collegial decision making, faculty communication, and teacher sentiments. Among other things, teachers in team-organized schools were found to have higher levels of work autonomy and job satisfaction than those in…