Purpose: This inquiry is the first comprehensive, empirical analysis of the nature and measurement of flow in elementary teachers. The clearest sign of flow is the merging of action and awareness, that is, the degree to which an activity becomes spontaneous and automatic and individuals lose conscious awareness of themselves as they perform a task…

Background: The paradox of relying on routines and standard practices, which protect institutional functioning from the vagaries of personality, often comes at the cost of thoughtful adaptability. Purpose: The objectives are to conceptualize and apply the construct of mindfulness to schools and to explore trust as a school condition that fosters…

Develops a theoretical model of the salient organizational variables related to mathematics achievement in high school. The model is composed of three variables: socioeconomic status, academic press, and collective efficacy. Finds, for example, that collective efficacy is the significant variable in the model in influencing mathematics…

Explored differences between a sample of highly productive scholars and a random sample of more typical scholars. Few demographic or institutional-responsibility differences emerged. Productive scholars were more oriented toward theory and research; more typical scholars focused on issues in the field. Research challenges were discussed. (Contains…

Examines importance of a school climate characterized by high levels of academic emphasis. Drawing on effective-schools research and social-cognitive theory, uses hierarchical linear modeling to show that academic emphasis accounts for differences among urban elementary schools in student math and reading achievement. (Contains 48 references.)…

Although researchers and reformers consider school climate an important aspect of effective schools, the concept is difficult to measure. This paper uses a health metaphor to conceptualize and measure school climate. It examines relationships between school health and student achievement in a sample of New Jersey middle schools. Organizational…

Articulates a pragmatic perspective on theory and practice in educational administration that builds on insights from modern social science (particularly notions of theory and rationality) and acknowledges challenges from emerging criticisms of standard science. Administrative and organizational theories are probabilistic, not deterministic.…

Examines the relationship between two dimensions of organization--centralization and formalization--and two aspects of employee orientation--subordinate loyalty and esprit. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the relationships were somewhat more complicated than originally hypothesized. (Author)

Power and friendship networks in academic organizations are examined to see what effects selected dimensions of interaction have on the work alienation of educators. Findings suggest that interaction with friends and respected coworkers is more important to professional educators than contacts with those in authority. (Author)

The results suggest that principals who exhibit strong Initiating Structure tend to have teachers with a substantial Professional Zone of Acceptance irrespective of the Consideration dimension of leadership. (Author)

The concept of "organizational climate" is described briefly in this article; the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire (the most well-known conceptualization and measure of elementary school climate) is evaluated; and the successful refinement and empirical testing of a revised, more parsimonious questionnaire, are discussed. (PGD)

Research on effective schools is limited by the same weaknesses that hamper research on effective organizations. Examining two competing frameworks for studying organizational effectiveness, this report proposes a general model of school effectiveness. The model was enacted and studied in one school and was found to be effective. Includes two…

A questionnaire survey of 417 teachers in 15 New Jersey elementary schools examined the relationships among four types of objective isolation and three types of alienation, including feelings of self-estrangement and powerlessness. Results indicated limited school interaction, few informal influence structures, and high degrees of isolation and…

Compares two methods of measuring bureaucratic structure, Hall's organizational inventory and the University of Aston (England) approach, and tests them using data from 55 public high schools in New Jersey. Factor analysis reveals four underlying dimensions of school structure, including organizational control, rational specialization, system…

Introduces an issue of "Educational Administration Quarterly" that reviews recent developments in educational administration studies. Summarizes trends since the 1960s and suggests that research in the 1980s will focus on school effects, motivational processes, and social models of organization and will involve greater integration of research…