After three months of visiting high schools participating in the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Project on Redefining General Education in the American High School, the author discusses the ongoing efforts of local school faculties to rethink their curricula. (JBM)

Criticizes the survey on social issues described in the previous article on the grounds that it asks the wrong questions and appears to be merely a justification for the proposal that educators should take a stand on social issues. (JM)

The principal can make a fundamental difference in the performance of a school by involving staff members in school improvement planning, specific teacher and program development, and careful assessment. (Author)

The process of "progressive discipline" is one method of improving employee performance by documenting areas needing improvement. Each disciplinary case must be dealt with as though the administrator would be asked to argue it before an arbitrator or a court of law. (Author/MLF)

Draws parallels between a supervisor helping troubled teachers and a teacher helping troubled students, using a fictionalized example. Recommends that supervisors use both professional methods and personal relationships to help teachers become more effective. (MCG)

A review of recent research on personal characteristics of effective principals and on common leadership prerequisites concludes that effective instructional leadership depends on the interrelation between personal style and organizational context. Essential leadership functions identified by these studies include communicating school purpose,…

Change strategies must include informal school networks and norms. Implementation plans must involve teachers and principals prior to training. (Author/JM)

A social studies teacher observes that after 10 years, decision making will probably never be decentralized in Rochester (New York) schools. Contracts, precedents, school board policy, and state law place far too many restrictions on schools' creativity. Maybe hierarchical administrative decision making is best, so long as community members' input…

A fundamental distinction is drawn between competence and excellence in schooling. Competence refers to meeting predetermined objective standards; excellence is multidimensional, holistic, and readily perceived, though not easily defined. Accordingly, five "forces" of educational leadership are presented as preconditions for educational…

According to De Charms' model of Origins and Pawns, some people feel they direct their own lives, while other people feel their fates are controlled externally. Administrators can encourage teachers to accept responsibility and feel greater self-confidence by planning inservice activities that treat teachers as self-directed persons. (PGD)

Summarizes some ways Massachusetts schools have trimmed their budgets in response to Proposition 2 1/2 and offers suggestions concerning how other schools or districts could go about doing the same. (JM)

In 1989, Swift Current Division in Saskatchewan, Canada, initiated the Chalk, Chips, and Children technology project. The project was funded by various corporate partners and developed by a broadly constituted advisory committee. The principal's role changed drastically as he reexamined leadership competencies and faculty developed their own…

Briefly discusses Phillip Schlechty's view on teacher career development with university cooperation, needs for systematic faculty development, appropriate administrator roles, encouragement of professionalism, the use of differentiated staffing patterns, and appropriate attitudes toward reform. (PGD)