Policymakers and researchers often talk about "autonomous schools" as if there's a single, agreed-upon definition of what that means. In reality, there's no standard design for autonomous school policies, and school autonomy can mean a lot of different things. The policies that states have enacted vary widely in terms of their goals, the…

Policymakers and researchers often talk about "autonomous schools" as if there's a single, agreed-upon definition of what that means. In reality, there's no standard design for autonomous school policies, and school autonomy can mean a lot of different things. The policies that states have enacted vary widely in terms of their goals, the…

"The Redesign of Urban School Systems" provides a uniquely valuable resource for anyone involved in preparing education leaders for the political and practical realities of district-based school reform. Edited by two leading experts in education reform, this absorbing volume brings together twelve teaching cases on urban school…

This nonexperimental survey research investigated whether enrollment, location, expenditures, percentage of free and reduced lunch and percentage of minority students influenced Georgia's superintendent and board chairperson satisfaction. In addition, this study investigated whether respondents' satisfaction could predict student achievement.…

This dissertation explored the constitutionality of a Georgia law, under both the Georgia Constitution and the United States Constitution, which allows for the removal of elected school board members based on threatened loss of district accreditation. The problem is that elected board members are being removed from office based on district…

There is growing awareness among educators and policymakers that effective school leaders are critical to school success and student achievement. Many studies illustrate the important benefits of effective school leadership for teachers, pointing to the significant influence on teacher satisfaction, development, and retention. This case study…

Leadership is crucial for effective, lasting school improvement. Although research has established that strong, competent principals are vital for high-performing schools (Hallinger, 2003; Leithwood, 1994), attention is turning increasingly to the importance of effective district leadership, including school boards and their contributions to…

This study explored the perceptions of training needs of school board members in Georgia. The study examined perceptions of school board chairs, board members with 1 to 5 years experience, members with 6 to 10 years experience, members with 11 to 15 years experience and board members with 16 plus years experience in the areas of school board…

In elementary and secondary education governance, the need to build an effective system of public education is the driving force behind the selection of a state's key education leaders. This paper provides a snapshot of what state K-12 governance looks like in SREB states. (Contains 7 tables.)

A study was undertaken of the patterns of governance and coordination of higher education in six states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, and New Jersey. The purpose of the study was to develop an overview of the variety of methods used and to draw analyses of commonalities and differences among them. While the trend has been…

The theme of the meeting for which these profiles were prepared is "Coordinating Higher Education: Setting State Policies in the 80s." The profiles of the 14 states covered by the Southern Regional Education Board (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,…

Profiles of the 14 states of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) provide information on the structure of these states for public postsecondary education and budgeting. For each state, the following areas are discussed: state-level coordinating and/or governing agency, institutional governing boards, state board for vocational education,…

This case study is part of a broader research project examining state policies and governance structures that span K-12 and postsecondary education. Oregon has been a leader in K-16 reform through its development of the Proficiency-based Admission Standards System (PASS), which articulated postsecondary expectations and linked them with K-12…