Based on the 1981 seminar of the Leverhulme Programme of Study into the Future of Higher Education, papers are presented that propose an agenda for institutional change in higher education, based on demographic, economic, social, and political forces of the decade. In "The Challenge of Change," Leslie Wagner considers the interaction…

Using ethnographic case study methodology (involving open-ended interviews, participant observation, and document analysis) theories of administrative organization, processes, and behavior were tested during a three-week observation of a model comprehensive (experimental) high school. Although the study is limited in its general application, it…

As an administrator, new or experienced, you are faced with a myriad of administrative, curricular, and supervisory tasks, while at the same time expected to provide ongoing professional training for your staff. How well prepared are you to deal effectively with the day-to-day business of supervising teachers? What specific support and training…

Discusses the use of electronic technologies in scholarly publication. Highlights include problems with traditional media in libraries, including cost and timeliness; benefits of electronic publishing, including ease of searching and accessibility; problems with electronic publishing, including copyright, graphics, and standardization;…

Purpose--The aim of this article is to examine network-based learning and discuss how participation in network can enhance organisational learning. Design/methodology/approach--In recent years, companies have increased their collaboration with other organisations, suppliers, customers, etc., in order to meet challenges from a globalised market.…

This report summarizes a survey of program organizational models used by 50 school districts in Kentucky to provide services to gifted and talented students. Models included: the pull-out model, self-contained classrooms, the cluster model, extra-school or after school programs, advanced placements, mentorships, and academic teams. Following a…

To illustrate the theoretical dynamics involved in analysis of the process of "metasensing," this paper investigates the language of 22 elementary school principals and their strategic actions during school improvement programs. The study's grounded theory approach frames the principals'"epistemology of practice"--thereby…

Dynamics in the education policy arena suggest that, despite two generations of researchers extolling democratic leadership styles and consensus building over autocratic techniques, wide participation in policymaking and the broadest possible consensus are not always productive: American society has not yet agreed on what schools should…

Collected here are symposium reports addressing the dissemination of theory and research to educational practitioners, specifically considering the National Diffusion Network (NDN) as an example of effective information delivery. An introductory theoretical review by C. M. Achilles of the state-of-the-art in dissemination poses questions for…

This paper focuses on the organizational consequences of retrenchment policies emphasizing efficiency (selective cuts to insure long-term survival) and equity (across the board actions). The effectiveness of each of these policies was tested on 59 cases of school district enrollment decline over a 10-year period by means of a…

Conclusions about public school labor relations advanced in this report are based on analysis of data from a two-phase study. The first phase consisted of case studies conducted during entire collective bargaining cycles in eight school districts--four in Illinois and four in California. The second phase of the research expanded the work into 65…

Develops a gatekeeping theory by stepping inside the black box of Harvard university's admissions process. Stresses how political and organizational contexts influence selection (gatekeeping). Analyzes how student merit and social class-based factors mutually determine selection. Links an understanding of the organizational field with process…

This article suggests that it is time for sociologists to redirect their focus from critiques of policy makers' unrealistic visions for information and communication technologies (ICTs) to the more generic issues that consistently mobilise resistance to ICTs within schools and education systems. There is an extraordinary difference between young…

This paper proposes a model of a democratic paradigm for educational researchers and practitioners. It attempts to explore the kinds of thinking that would be required to create such a system, to determine what principles and curriculum theories are involved and how they would work. It seeks to relate this model to the new National Council for…

The 23 chapters in this yearbook provide a review of existing theory and research in the field of school management; offer accounts of how administrators in different countries are coping with problems; and report on the progress being made in developing school management training experiences. Each chapter has been specially commissioned by…