The impact of decentralization and devolution and its implications for principals in the state of Victoria (Australia) were investigated. Interview data documenting implementation problems and the effects of these reforms on the influence of principals and the future of the principalship in Victoria are presented. (MD)

This paper examines how leadership from the Reagan Administration has galvanized a national effort to improve school performance in pursuit of excellence and economic growth with a minimum of federal expenditures and no direct intervention in state and local educational affairs. (TE)

Responds to an earlier comment by R. Jean Hills regarding the correct use of Parsonian concepts. Notes the difficulty of presenting Parsons' theory and quotes several sources supporting his interpretation of the functions of a system's managerial level. (RW)

Case studies of three suburban school districts in a large northeastern city examined the concept of neighborhood and the effects of neighborhood school closings. Three variables found to affect school-neighborhood relationships included residential mobility, neighborhood boundaries, and the congruence of school attendance areas with other local…

Reviews literature in political economics that analyzes schools' organizational performance problems and the current decline in public school support. Discusses schools' institutional frameworks, public (or collective) choice theories of political economy, citizen decisions to voice grievances concerning school system expenditures or exit the…

Since 1980, most English-speaking nations have experienced a sea change in how people think about educational policy and school management. This article argues for scrutinizing both paradigms or theories influencing our thinking and consequences of built-in biases. Drawing on the British and U.S. experience, the article examines dramatic…