An annotated bibliography of 40 articles on participative decision making (PDM) published from 1968 through 1975 is presented. The following categories were used in summarizing each article: description, sample, type of study, variables, PDM variables, results and discussion. An introduction to the bibliography discusses some issues related to…

This publication is one of five training manuals that present plans and materials for use in instructing school administrators in some of the concepts, principles, and techniques of educational management. They were developed as part of the Educational Management Project for presentation at weekly inservice meetings for administrators in the…

This paper discusses the financial crisis facing public education in the United States today and argues that the most effective response to this crisis is to improve the decision-making skills of educational administrators. Based on a review of the literature on administrative decision-making and organizational change, the author examines several…

This paper unites theory and practice in examining the concept of "theory in practice." It contends that good administrators are theoretical about their work and that they construct categories using common, essential characteristics across similar situations so that few situations are viewed as unique. Two school superintendents were interviewed…

Modern management theory, based on the reduction of uncertainties, demands the collection and manipulation of large amounts of information. School Administrators choke in the process of trying to digest a proliferation of data, only some of which are useful. The aims of the study were to explore the extent to which large amounts of data could be…

In order to identify more precisely the extent to which building principals adhere to participatory managerial practices, a study was conducted to assess their attitudes toward selected policies of participatory managerial practices. (Author)

Few administrators fail to become leaders because they lack technical skills. The problem is lack of people skills and inability to exercise good judgment. Administrators can minimize failure by valuing honesty, objectivity, delegation, and feedback and by respecting chain of command and the limitations of power. Other potential pitfalls are…

Study of 16 principals in Chicago, Illinois, reveals that in the investigation of ethical-choice behavior, the corporate-incentives model proves to be inadequate as an explanation of principality. What is referred to as counter-bureaucratic behavior is a survival mechanism for beleaguered principals--a balance weight to seemingly anti-educational…

As a matter of survival, we need to educate current and future generations to live sustainably. We need to ensure that future generations have access to quality environmental education. This paper provides guidelines for educators and managers to use to better understand and manage the learning environment in which environmental education,…

This guide for managers of programs for people with developmental disabilities outlines key principles and issues in the decision-making process, and offers tips for building coalitions and negotiating the interests of consumers, families, board members, employees, and community leaders. Ten to 25 guidelines are offered for each of six…

The practices of program budgeting, costing, and strategic planning in higher education are examined. It is suggested that many postsecondary administrators and other groups have viewed a particular technique as the answer to their problems and converted a valid management technique into a management fad. Program budgeting, a system whereby the…

A professor and an administrator joined forces to provide answers to two basic questions: What is needs assessment, and how does one do it? Discussion of the conceptual framework of needs assessment is based on experiences in the design and implementation of needs assessments in many states at levels ranging from state departments of education to…

Given that management can be defined as the activity that allocates and utilizes resources to achieve group or organizational goals, anyone who is in a position to assign and use a group's or organization's human or nonhuman resuources may benefit by making use of selected readings from this bibliography. The editor has divided the bibliography…

A school administrator is influenced by the roles and expectations of the school, the school district, and the clientele, as much as the school is influenced by his personal style as administrator. This notion necessitates a reexamination of the so-called administrative leadership tradition which presumes that the power, authority, and influence…

This study attempts to develop a decision framework to aid project directors in planning change under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Literature on change, the change process, decisions, and the decision process is reviewed and a framework within which to study planned change is constructed. Decision making, in the change…