The structure of US public education is changing. Rather than exclusive district management of schools with standardized programs, new types of systems have emerged. In the case of "portfolio" systems, advocates argue that choice, performance-based accountability, and autonomy challenge traditional schooling and foster a diversity of…

The author's dissertation, summarized in this presentation, was primarily concerned with the question, "Are public schools like Max Weber's conceptualization of bureaucracy?" From a survey of the literature discussing the nature of organizations, a taxonomy of organizational facets was used, first, to identify and classify the features…

The outcome of this study is the construction of a model which gives clearer understanding to the ramifications of the bureaucratic/professional interface and the role it plays in the processes of governance and decision-making in the schools. (Author)

With new developments taking place in planning strategies for change in schools, new schemes and tactics are needed. Minneapolis Public Schools have developed the kind of organizational plan needed to find entry points into schools, systems for data gathering, and employment roles for research specialists. The Model for Local School Evaluation,…

To establish a context for envisioning the school counselor of 2021, it is first necessary to envision the public school of the future. In this chapter, a trend in which schools move away from large institutional educational structures, with an emphasis on redesigning them into small learning centers within the larger establishment is predicted.…

This paper attempts to lay a general framework for analyzing credibility gaps in evaluative information at various levels of organizational structure. The CIPP model is chosen as a point of reference in order to identify the type of evaluative information to which the concern of this paper is addressed. Credibility gaps are classified as personnel…

Oaklea (Oregon) Middle School provides an innovative program of instruction to district students in grades 5-8. To facilitate this individualized approach, the school is divided into four smaller schools in which teachers and students spend four years together as students proceed through the instructional program. An important feature of this…

THIS STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO DESCRIBE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT OF AN URBAN PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM USING THE MURRAY NEEDS-PRESS MODEL. A BROAD MEASURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PRESS WAS ADAPTED FROM AN EXISTING MODEL AND USED TO--(1) DESCRIBE THE ENVIRONMENTAL PRESS PERCEIVED BY TEACHERS, (2) FACTOR ANALYZE THESE DATA, (3) DESCRIBE THE PERSONALITY (NEEDS)…

Technology is viewed as a significant independent variable of the organization, affecting the organizational task structure. Viewing the classroom as the unit of observation, a technological change is introduced in the form of electronic computers to teach mathematics. Organizational task structure is defined in terms of teacher-pupil interaction…

The U.S. public education system, encumbered by an organizational structure developed at the turn of the century, is in trouble. This document presents a culminating discussion of the need to restructure the educational system. A strategy is suggested for examining the paradigms that maintain our educational system. A set of questions is provided…