High-performing schools, it is noted, share an organizational culture in which administrators, staff, and students agree on a common purpose for educational outcomes and undertake cooperative team efforts to reach these goals. A Virginia high school transformed its culture by providing comprehensive professional development and teacher-leadership…

Discusses areas of agreement among science education reformers and addresses fundamental problems if real reform is to emerge. Suggests the science-technology-society (STS) approach for improving the teaching and learning of science. (KHR)

Describes a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded project in which hands-on science became the predominant mode of instruction in a school district. Explores the effectiveness of the program and its implications for the future and the science supervisor. (KHR)

Discusses differences between university departments that focus on teacher leadership and educational administration, respectively. Both use the literature on leadership to inform theory, but the translation into practice is very different. An overview of how this dual track is institutionalized conceptually and practically is provided. (Contains…

Although democratic school administration offers great promise, U.S. education cannot reach its full stature through intraprofessional advancement only. As transmitters and sifters of our cultural heritage, teachers have serious community obligations. To stimulate social progress, counteract antischool forces, and widen children's learning…

UCLA's laboratory school is experimenting with the teacher-leader role as a way to provide ongoing learning opportunities for teachers. Teacher leaders serve as in-house experts who provide information, modeling, and assistance to other teachers. Choosing appropriate leader roles and teachers with credible leadership skills helps. (MLH)

To prepare their students for successful futures, teachers must be willing to learn continuously, expand their own abilities, and assume ever greater leadership roles. Principals must create an environment that supports teacher collaboration, facilitates professional development, and recognizes the concept of teacher leadership. (MLH)

According to National Center of Educational Statistics data, principals perceive that their influence on schoolwide issues has increased slightly (from 75% in 1987-88 to 85% in 1993-94). Teachers perceive their own influence as remaining the same and primarily confined to classrooms. Only 35% of teachers said they had considerable influence in…

Most principals believe their job includes identifying and developing future school leaders. Expectations for principals as teachers of adults are increasing. The 4MAT instructional model provides a user-friendly, research-based structure for principals to design powerful retreats and workshops aimed at increasing leadership behavior among all…

Explores how the social reconstructionist tradition in teacher education provides insights for developing teacher leaders. Describes three other historical traditions (academic, social efficiency, and developmental) guiding teacher education, identifies primary features of social reconstructionist programs, and discusses five specific domains that…

Teacher involvement in decisions may detract from teaching. This article presents three case studies (concerning a teacher-owned program, teacher involvement in selecting a new principal, and an autocratic principal's failed experiment with participation) that examine pitfalls. Sunset clauses, a good centralization/empowerment balance, and an…

From its base at National-Louis University, the Best Practice Project aims to develop teacher and parent leadership in a network of 12 elementary and secondary schools in Chicago. Focused on instruction only, the project is trying to generate genuine teacher-parent partnerships that support learning in student-centered, constructivist classrooms.…

Examines empowerment issues involved in pursuing shared administrator/teacher professionalism. Arguing that all educators have role expectations grounded in moral ideals and commitments external to their current and historic roles, substantiates the call for greater teacher autonomy and empowerment, while establishing the need for and authority of…

A study used survey data from an achieved sample of 1,818 elementary teachers and 6,490 students in a large Canadian school district to explore teacher and principal leadership influences on student engagement with school. Principal-leadership effects were weak but significant; teacher-leadership effects proved insignificant. (Contains 59…

Examines effects of corporate practice on schooling and teachers' professional development. The struggle over who owns educational knowledge has profound implications for professional identity formation. As schools are reshaped into corporations, administrators and teachers are pressured to improve their productivity and develop into enterprising…