Two years prior to a 1995 comprehensive evaluation visit by the North Central Association, Iowa's Hawkeye Community College initiated a self-study process and began developing a strategic plan to effect a transition from a technical institution to a comprehensive community college. Staff involvement and open communication were identified as…

This book suggests the adoption of a critical pragmatic approach to the problems of educational change. It offers a set of criticisms by which theories and reform proposals may be judged and tested, and proposes the reconstruction of schools in place of school restructuring. A primary question to be asked is, "How shall social institutions be…

As a result of the 1988 Chicago School Reform Act, a number of powers previously exercised at the central administration or board level have devolved upon the Local School Councils (LSCs) and principals. The cooperation of 14 representative schools was enlisted for an ongoing qualitative study of the dynamics of reform at the local level. To date,…

This paper presents organizational strategies and implementation methods for conversion to middle school organization (scheduled to take place in 1988) in the Johnson City, Tennessee, school system. Carried out by the district in partnership with local institutions of higher education, the study focuses on what is educationally best for the child…

A participant-observer case study of a school controversy, written by the superintendent involved, describes the shifting of students among several elementary schools in St. Boniface School Division, a French- and English-speaking district in Manitoba (Canada). The story begins with the closing of two schools in 1974 because of declining…

TRENDS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM, SCHOOL ORGANIZATION, TEACHING METHODS AND MATERIALS, STAFF UTILIZATION, AND SCHOOL-COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS REFLECT THE NATION'S GROWING CONCERN FOR EDUCATION AND, PARTICULARLY, FOR THE EDUCATION OF DISADVANTAGED LEARNERS. NOW, INSTEAD OF THE TRADITIONAL EMPHASIS UPON THE STANDARD…

The 15-year effort to decentralize New York City public schools and thereby implement basic changes in the school system is briefly sketched in this study. The structure of the school system, powers of local boards, central board, and chancellor, school board elections, keeping the public informed, educational impact, and effect on truancy and…

The analysis of the planning for an implementation of an alternative high school in a large urban school system is the focus of this study. Interview data are used. This investigation draws on, and compliments, the previous literature on implementation. While most of the earlier studies look at failures, this one is based on an instance of…

This book describes two different strategies of organization development consultation and analyzes their application in six elementary schools that were attempting to adopt differentiated staffing and multiunit structure. In two schools, the entire staff received a week or organization development consultation before attempting any structural…

This paper describes the development of an inclusive special education program in 12 elementary schools in an urban Colorado school district. Specifically, the study examined the role of leadership in program implementation. Leadership is defined as a reciprocal, multidirectional, noncoercive influence that involves multiple leaders and followers…

This report discusses the conceptual framework and the decisions involved in the development of the directions and organizational structure of the Research and Public Service (RAPS) unit at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock (UALR). Fundamental considerations, such as the official authorization for UALR's public service role and questions…

An historical account of the creation and development of the University of Iowa is presented. Organized by presidental administration, this institutional history concentrates on the period when the university established its place among the major U.S. universities, and follows the school's struggle to establish (through three distinct stages) a…

The role of institutional self-evaluation is considered in the context of transition from central regulation to self-regulation in various higher education systems in Europe. A distinction is made between external steering, where regulations and decisions are made by a central state authority, to self-steering, where decisions and regulations are…

A new theme in the old tension between centralization and decentralization in the governance and administration of Australian higher education is explored. The argument is that the various major attempts to restructure Australian education systems both in centralizing and decentralizing forces have gained new strength, and that the recent stated…

Reductions in resources and increases in external demands place schools under pressure that can be relieved to some extent by organizational changes. When resources are sufficient, these changes may take the form of technical rationality--that is, decisions concerning policy and practices are made on the basis of neutral, measurable data rather…