The open school concept used as an alternative to more traditional forms of schooling in selected elementary and secondary schools in Austin, Texas, includes seven major dimensions: individualized instruction, continuous progress of students, team teaching, multiage and multigrade grouping, differentiated staffing, open space classrooms and…

As part of a longitudinal study of external assistance in school change, cooperative efforts between an external agency and five schools were analyzed to identify characteristics of the social structure of schools that affect change implementation. Data were collected through extensive observations and interviews. The schools evidenced a…

This paper examines the nature of change in educational institutions using a number of sociological variables including: (1) the internal and external environment; (2) organizational goals; (3) hierarchy of authority and power; and (4) professional standards. Each of these factors is discussed and related to one another in order to demonstrate why…

The intervention described led to the creation of a new management structure for a public school system with different decision-making processes, greater administrator involvement, and increased commitment to the total system. A number of propositions for change agents have been formulated. Available from: JABS Order Dept., NTL Institute for…

The authors examine and evaluate the introduction of mixed ability teaching at Pond Street Comprehensive School and draw conclusions on organizational change. (SJL)

Five years ago, the Huth Upper Grades Center in Matteson, Illinois, the only junior high school in the district, began incorporating significant elements of a child-oriented middle school. Among these was the assignment of students to one of five multidisciplinary teaching teams, called clusters. Available from NMSA, P.O. Box 968, Fairborn, OH…

This book provides guidelines for leaders who seek fundamental and lasting school restructuring. Following the introduction, chapter 2 presents an explanation of the core concepts of school restructuring and explains the significance of those disabling habits of mind and practice that dominate most traditionally organized high schools and inhibit…

While the concept of choice is not new to families able to take advantage of the available options, the idea of giving parents nearly total freedom in selecting their children's public school is new. Proponents of choice claim it results in higher test scores, fewer dropouts, and more involved parents. Critics maintain that there is no proof of…

Suggests that the key to organizational change may not always rest in the hands of the holders of formal organizational power, giving an alternative to the usual strategies of re-education or replacement to the top of the organizational hierarchy in systems of rapid movement from entry to high positions. (Author/AM)

Describes that nature of organizational development in this district and provides background information. By the close of the 1975-76 school year the district will have moved from a district centered to a school-based management system. (AM)

This study examines the leadership and management skills needed to improve urban high schools. Information was drawn from a national survey of 178 urban high school principals whose schools had been conducting serious improvement efforts for up to 4 years and in-depth case studies of five large high schools in the following urban areas: (1)…

Refines and clarifies certain concepts having to do with school vandalism and its control; examines the concept of social control as applied to the problem of controlling the young, delimiting it to conscious, social and formal dimensions, and summarily reviews research and theory in the area of school vandalism. (JM)

This article is excerpted from Principals and Open Education, a study of two principals at work in schools making the transition from traditional to open education. These principals, along with many open classroom teachers, view change as a slow process. (Author/AM)

This paper focuses on school-level differences and their implications for educational policy reform. It presents studies of two distinct educational reforms--a local community-based collaborative-services initiative and a state educational-accountability program--to illustrate important organizational features that vary across school levels. Both…

The concepts of the university as an organic whole and faculty structures that further their organic relationship are questioned. Suggestions offered include those concerning flexibility of faculty organizational structure and methods of organizing disciplinary departments to combat fragmentation. (Article originally published in 1959.) (AF)