The conditions that intensify conflict avoidance by the central administration in making strategic decisions, and the consequences of such avoidance for the management of college affairs, are discussed. The implication of an emerging decision-making style for adapting the organization to changing environments is also considered. Some of the…

Proposals for the adoption of programs to improve the quality of education frequently emphasize the importance of concentrating on the individual school building as the center of the change process. This emphasis has led to increasing support for moving the locus of decision making downward to bring about what is called "school based…

Empirical research pertaining to the relationship between external agencies' decisions and the implementation of these decisions suggests two conclusions. First, the implementors of change are likely to view externally initiated change with apprehension and resistance, and second, when external agencies initiate change, the result depends on…

The concept of consumer participation is discussed as a new basis for the organization of a school and as a general basis of organization for all types of services. A service consumer might be involved as a general consumer around the service, as an active participant in service delivery to other service consumers, and as one directly engaged in…

Illuminates the changes and consistencies in the management system of Tarrant County Junior Colleges during the 12-year history of this multicampus institution. Emphasizes the organization of central administration, the college communication and records system, college stores, and the Centralized Service Center. Underscores adaptability as…

This paper describes and analyzes the political and organizational effects of school consolidation in Arlington. Existing research on consolidation is criticized and new directions for inquiry are suggested. (Author/EB)

Educational organizations must harness forces within their own systems and in the larger environment that could stimulate changes that will make school systems viable learning systems. One way is to adopt organizational patterns and management concepts being developed by business, industry, and government. "Matrix" organizations are also…

This book provides a conceptual basis for viewing the school as an ecology of people and events that goes beyond the school walls. The book argues that everything that goes on in school is inextricably linked to the home--from patterns of thought and behavior to attitudes toward school. The book also provides strategies for parents, teachers, and…

This four-part paper examines formal and informal organizational structures at Selinsgrove Area Middle School, which serves about 1,000 students in grades 5-8. Part I presents a brief history of the founding of the school and the court battles preceding its construction, and the reasons why the initial steering committee chose a middle school…

This volume is part of a series of monographs from Australia devoted to outlining an alternative approach, based on neo-Marxist concepts, to educational administration. The introductory essay in the volume is an argument for the democratization of education by establishing a case for changing schools: by discussing industrial democracy as a…

The first report of an ongoing case study examining the impact of using a laboratory of microcomputers as a tool for teaching science and social science courses in a high school, this paper reports on a sociological investigation of the organizational change in the structure and functioning of the school brought about by the introduction of the…

This digest discusses the issue of school-based management (SBM), defined as a system of administration in which the school is the primary unit of educational decision making. Responsibility for certain decisions about the budget, personnel, and the curriculum is placed at the school level rather than the district level. Several aspects of SBM are…

The origins and early history of a system of regional colleges in Israel are analyzed in the context of an emerging postsecondary system, based on the work of John Meyer and others who look at the institutional side of organization. It is argued that the terms used to define legitimacy, as well as who defines it, are crucial issues in the…

This report describes how a New York school district took advantage of a decline in elementary school enrollment to restructure the district's educational program, reduce staff requirements, and eliminate double shifting at the district's junior high and high school. The district's plan involved closing one of the three elementary schools and…

In this paper, the principal of a high school in Eugene, Oregon, describes the impact of the adoption of collaborative decisionmaking procedures in his school. The collaborative decisionmaking experiment began in 1970 with an organization development (OD) intervention intended to train the school faculty in communication skills, group processes,…