Outlines a framework for shaping reform policies on strategies for enhancing teacher capacity, using interview data from a study conducted in California, Michigan, and Vermont. Michigan has developed subject-matter objectives and assessments, Vermont uses a portfolio assessment system to help teachers learn about problem solving and develop new…

In "Board of Education of Boone County v. Bushee," the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld school site councils' power and autonomy in a dispute involving a school improvement plan. Implications of "Bushee" are enormous. School-based decision making presents school business administrators with brave new challenges and increased…

A survey of 290 South Dakota superintendents, principals, and school board presidents examined personal, interpersonal, and institutional barriers to school-based management. Most school administrators, but not school board presidents, were skeptical about changing the management of school districts and implementing school-based management. (LP)

Investigates the role of Boards of Governors in the governance of local high schools in Papua New Guinea. Offers lessons for those who are intending to introduce school governance at the individual institution level. Asserts that training is required for principals and board members to strengthen the boards' effectiveness. (19 citations) (VWC)

Leaders bring to new jobs their values and vision, the authority of their position, and their reputation and accomplishments. How new superintendents conduct themselves during the critical entry/"honeymoon" phase affects their subsequent working relationships and leadership effectiveness. Structured interviews with staff, parents, and…

When Peter Meyer moved to Hudson, New York and placed his child in the local school system, he was shocked at the abysmal quality of education there. He was even more surprised to learn that there was very little movement for reform. He joined the school board with the hopes of enacting new policies, but found instead that it was an ineffecient…

The expression "site-based management" (SBM) has become part of the rhetoric of reform of U.S. public schools. The United States has been involved in school reform efforts for many years now, including attempts at SBM. The case of the Toledo (Ohio) public schools serves as a prime example of an urban school district that, like many…

New Jersey's Higher Education Restructuring Act of 1994 expands and codifies certain authorities of trustee boards, creates a statewide coordinating board called the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, and creates the Presidents' Council which consists of the presidents of the 46 institutions of higher education which receive state funding.…

In 1991, the Kansas Association of School Boards began a program called Quest for Quality. The program is based on the belief that public schools must adjust to changes in children, families, communities, and economic and political conditions in the nation and the world. Quest for Quality also reaffirms the American school system's responsiveness…

This paper reviews the literature and findings of a prior study (Dixon 1997) that described and categorized contrasting elements of different conceptions of democracy: liberal democracy, participatory democracy, and community democracy. A table in the appendix also presents this comparison. These contrasting conceptions of democracy were then used…

This proceedings document includes 11 papers presented at a 1992 symposium on the impact of current educational reform initiatives on students with learning disabilities. Preceding the papers is a summary of the outcomes of the symposium, which are enumerated in terms of questions generated, commonalities, unresolved topics, and next steps. Papers…

Seven principles of higher education leadership may offer state college systems solutions for responding to external pressures to reform and internal pressures to satisfy faculty demands. External pressures on colleges and universities include erosion of the economic base for higher education, increasing public expectations, and criticism of the…

The successful computer program in rural Hillsboro-Deering (New Hampshire) Cooperative School District was the result of a program of excellence in education adopted by a completely new and inexperienced school board in 1978. Supported both by oldtimers and by newcomers, the board acquired new administrators, purged the faculty, and acquired…

The biennial statewide plan for higher education in Virginia outlines the status of the state system and proposes academic and administrative actions to move the system forward through the next two years and beyond. The first section gives a statistical profile of the state system, including private and public college and university enrollment…

EAST CAROLINA COLLEGE'S REQUEST FOR UNIVERSITY STATUS STIMULATED NORTH CAROLINA'S BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO EVALUATE THE STATE'S NEED FOR AND ABILITY TO FINANCE ADDED INSTRUCTIONAL FACILITIES AND PROGRAMS AT THE DOCTORAL LEVEL THROUGH 1975, THE PRESENT ORGANIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION, AND THE INTEREST OF SEVERAL INSTITUTIONS IN BECOMING…