Loosely coupled educational organizations exhibit structural similarities to preliterate societies in their lack of formal leadership and control. The identification of social outsiders as "witches" to explain disasters affecting preliterate societies may have its counterpart in educational organizations when nonconformists are…

The Holmes Group proposals for reforming teacher education are evaluated by looking at the effects on teacher knowledge and competence, attraction and retention of talented teachers, organization of schools and the teaching profession, and cost effectiveness. (MT)

Presents a strategy for reconceptualizing the role of the high school assistant principal in order to: (1) make the job more professionally satisfying; (2) better prepare assistants for subsequent responsibilities as principals; and (3) develop a capacity for problem-solving activities, pursued cooperatively by teachers and administrators, to…

Assistant principals primarily police and control and prepare for a future principalship. Yet schools could benefit if the job also include instructional leadership, close teamwork with teachers and colleagues, and integration of community groups and parents into the school. Such changes would require shifts in the sociopolitical agenda for…

Twelve recent books by business-oriented authors are reviewed and translated directly into the educational context. Productive environments and leadership are discussed. Recommendations for education are made. (MT)

Presents highlights of the Seventh International Conference on Chemical Education as reported by a high school chemistry teacher who attended the conference. Tables showing the secondary school structure in Belgium, China, England/Wales, France, Kenya, South Africa and Switzerland are included. (JN)

Offers a systematic critical response to the values-oriented, nonpositivist conception of administration and philosophy of administration recently advanced by Christopher Hodgkinson. Argues that Hodgkinson's theory is much closer to the positivism espoused by H. A. Simon. An alternative, nonpositivist basis for values in administrative theory is…

The structure of schooling has been accepted as a given, and demands for reform have centered on changes within the structure rather than on the structure itself. The workplace shapes the behavior of teachers and students in significant ways, and therefore cannot be ignored in the councils of reform. (MT)

This article reviews synonyms for the concept of organizational effectiveness and criteria for measuring organizational effectiveness used in the literature and derives an eclectic taxonomy of organizational effectiveness variables. Application of the taxonomy to assessing the effectiveness of educational organizations is discussed and a checklist…

Makes the case for developing closer contact between students and teachers. (RK)

This paper describes the organizational culture and structure of five accelerated schools in the Clark County School District in Nevada, focusing on the similarities and differences among these schools. The cultural aspects of the schools under comparison included the guiding principles, the central values, and the learning philosophy, whereas the…

This document explores issues of leadership for accountability and reviews five resources on the subject. These include: (1) "Accountability by Carrots and Sticks: Will Incentives and Sanctions Motivate Students, Teachers, and Administrators for Peak Performance?" (Larry Lashway); (2) "Organizing Schools for Teacher Learning"…

Sweden is undergoing a school decentralization process from a formerly centralized system. This report examines how school personnel are adapting to the changes. Schoolteachers, administrators, and staff members were interviewed, and, where appropriate, responses were coded for numerical assessment. Additional data include school-reform plans for…

This guidebook provides evaluation assistance to district and school staff. It was published in response to the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) Program, passed by Congress in 1997 to provide incentives and support for low-performing, high-poverty schools. CSRD is an attempt to ensure that schools conduct evaluation of whole-school…

This paper examines the construction of time in education, emphasizing the development of the 180-day school year. A 1991 study showed that schools throughout the United States follow a distinctive time pattern that the report labeled dysfunctional. The norm for required attendance is 180 school days, stretching across a school year that begins in…