This paper argues that studies of middle leaders have focused too much on their functions and characteristics, taking insufficient account of the influence of social and political contexts on leaders' choices of actions. Use of the analytical framework of Communities of Practice (Wenger, 1998) can address this oversight, but it pays insufficient…

The poliheuristic (PH) theory of decision making has made important contributions to our understanding of political decision making but remains silent about certain key aspects of the decision process. Specifically, PH theory contends that leaders screen out politically unacceptable options, but it provides no guidance on (1) the crucial threshold…

Evaluators sometimes wish for a Fairy Godmother who would make decision makers pay attention to evaluation findings when choosing programs to implement. The U.S. Department of Education came close to creating such a Fairy Godmother when it required school districts to choose drug abuse prevention programs only if their effectiveness was supported…

Discusses current debates in the field of electronic archiving. Considers the decisions archivists face concerning which content, media, and political or ideological biases will combine to constitute a historical record, and discusses the control of archival content. (LRW)

The stages of the policy process are examined and explained in terms of the decision making framework. The policy process is comprised of four stages; policy analysis, policy formation, policy decision, and political analysis. Political analysis is the performance of the market analysis needed for a decision. The political weight, rather than the…

Uses the systems approach to partially explain the organizational aspects of British universities that implemented a B.Ed. degree. (IRT)

Examines whether decision strategies used in personnel management are related to decision context, why there is congruence between decision strategy and context for some functions as opposed to others, and the implications of congruence/incongruence for an understanding of the relationship between merit and politics. (Author/IRT)

Explicates a conceptual framework for analyzing the politics of personnel evaluation in an educational context. Using several elements of the framework, discusses the politics of teacher evaluation in California in relation to the types of personnel evaluation decisions, the actors, their access to these decisions, sources and levels of power, and…

The fundamental argument of this paper is that sociologists and administration theorists have not yet constructed appropriate intellectual models for analyzing academic administration, and that the lack is hindering research. Two of the dominant models of university governance, the bureaucratic and the collegial, are examined and criticized, and a…

Examines the controversies arising when scholarly associations must decide whether to meet in localities or hotels that have policies or practices, such as racial discrimination, with political implications. Evaluates differing decisions of various organizations (e.g., Organization of American Historians) concerning possible boycotts of specific…

Criticism directed at the quality of UNESCO's education statistics led to the recent restructuring of the Organization's statistical services. This criticism, primarily supported by the World Bank and subsequently confirmed by consultants engaged by UNESCO, does not prove to be completely justified. In fact, a change in the political orientation…

In an experiment designed to assess the relative influence of "objective," social, and political factors upon school decisions, 168 principals read a description of a fictitious school program followed by informative reflections from three sources: tests, peers, and superiors. They then rated their own inclination to adopt the program. The…

This paper develops a theoretical framework for analyzing campus conflict and crisis as a social movement. The authors argue that political frameworks are necessary to understanding the dynamics of interest group activities that are directed toward influencing policy. Using the political framework, a number of propositions are advanced concerning…

The Director of the Program Evaluation and Methodology Division of the U.S. General Accounting Office discusses how evaluators and evaluation sponsors can become more sensitized to the organizational and political influences that shape the use of evaluation information in decision making. Job Training Partnership Act practitioners look at the…