Educators recognize that parental participation is a critical factor in the success of children within a school setting. This is particularly true for parents who have children with disabilities or who are from a culturally or linguistically diverse background. However, reaching out to these families can be a difficult task even for the most…

This article focuses on the role of think tanks in education governance in Portugal. We are interested in contributing to a literature that discusses the emergence of new intra-national spaces of policy, and examines how the actors operating in those spaces work and influence education policy. This article is based on an empirical study conducted…

Systems thinking (ST) is a holistic leadership approach that puts the study of wholes before that of parts. It focuses attention on how organization members act together in networks of interactions. This is done by researching organization members' mental models, which are deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even mental pictures or…

Together with Teach to Lead, a project guided by teacher leaders at the U.S. Department of Education and ASCD, we took a look at the first-ever family engagement summit, which provided a structured model for actively engaging families alongside educators, administrators, and community partners. This report highlights the voices of summit…

As teacher educators, we want our research to be influential in contributing to educational policy and practice, but there remains little understanding about ways in which teacher educators might more productively engage with each other and policy-makers so as to maximise their research impact. Drawing on an empirical study and policy document…

In December 2014, the Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren (CFDS) was formed to make sweeping educational reform recommendations regarding the provision and governance of public education in Detroit. Spearheaded by community organizations, labor unions, and business interests representing an array of stakeholders in the Detroit area,…

Examines the premise that increased research provides important contributions to decision making. The study counterplan assumes that information can be developed in a way manageable to the policymaker, that study can assist in choosing from a variety of competing values, and that thoroughly researched decisions will be procedurally superior. (JMF)

Following a brief presentation of Harold Lasswell's model of the social process, the authors discuss problems of policy formation and meaning determination, describe the "decision seminar" proposed by Lasswell as a technique for facilitating collective problem-solving, and provide illustrations of the seminar's successful application to…

Transformational leadership, an innovative learning model, grows out of the recognition that the learner's coordinate system is influenced by a variety of time, place, and person variables. The concept of a tetradigm, which graphically illustrates this model, is symbolized by an equilateral triangle within a larger equilateral triangle with the…

Decisionmaking in organizations is examined from the perspective of open systems organization theory. Employing this perspective, this paper represents a critique of the views held by planners and systems analysts and the conflicting assumptions of their critics. The conclusion reached is that neither the assumptions held by planners, nor those of…

This paper presents an overview of research in the field of decision theory, with a focus on problem and identification. The goal is to make the decision-making process as rational as possible in order to maximize the rational administration of the organization. The decisions associated with educational administration can be categorized as…

Describes modern principal as team leader who shares responsibilities by involving parents, pupils, teachers, department heads, and vice-principals in policymaking decisions. Outlines five modes for teacher involvement in decision making. Discusses administrator-teacher relationship in the collective bargaining process and applicability of…

Offers a viewpoint that, in the decision-making process, historical junctures related to the decision at hand should be reviewed where alternative decisions were considered. An example is provided with the Individual Criterion Referenced Test (ICRT) program. (CS)

This manual was developed to provide an overview of participative planning for community improvement and to suggest when and how to use games to achieve desired results. It is intended as a tool for the development of relevant activities which will result in innovative solutions to community problems. The manual is organized in four sections. In…

One of the most persistent dilemmas faced by practicing educational administrators is choosing an appropriate model for decision making. This paper presents findings of a study that investigated the appropriateness of Cohen, March, and Olsen's (1972) Garbage Can Model of decision making. The case study examined the decision-making behavior of the…