Since 1997, parents' rights of participating in children's education have been recognized in Hong Kong. Parents have been consulted and invited to participate in PTAs, manage the school, organize school activities, and assist in school functions. However, implementation of parent-school partnerships signifies the notion of parent empowerment that…

The difficulty in education to determine causality between means and ends brings various issues and variables to the discussion about the antecedents of school effectiveness. Although teachers' level of professional development is clearly among the factors influencing student outcomes, little is known about the extent to which teachers connect…

Explores British and American policy analysts' disparate perceptions about utility of major educational reforms (school-based management, school choice, and national standards). The Tories got carried away with their ideological agenda and have alienated teachers and the public. American educators are debating centralization/decentralization, but…

To succeed in the new educational marketplace, British schools must change their teaching and administration focus to one of strategic planning, policy formation, and implementation. Unless schools develop a strategic marketing approach that shapes a coherent change program and educates client perceptions of need, they will be driven by a…

Presents excerpts from two interviews, conducted in 1979 and 1995, with John Coe, a British primary education specialist and advocate for child-centered education. As primary education has veered toward a national curriculum and assessments, school choice, locally managed schools, and a strong, politically charged accountability element, teachers…

Presents results of a retrospective investigation into a Vancouver (Canada) school district's adoption of school-based management, using Fullan's triphasic model of change (adoption, implementation, and incorporation) as a framework. During the change process, Fullan's overall factors were apparent, and the environment was unobstructed by…

Reviews four areas of change (resource allocation, organizational framework, governing systems, and market structure) providing a framework for understanding dynamic schools and their leaders. Today's principals must become resource mobilizers capable of forming business and private foundation partnerships, linking with social-service agencies,…

Discusses implications of adopting an online curriculum as part of a school's information-management system, using an outcomes-based education perspective. Describes a new generation of software tools to illustrate how curriculum alignment can be accomplished and applied to monitoring student performance. IMS technology should be integrated into…

Analyzes the School Autonomy Project in Israel (1988-92) in the light of the theoretical literature on school-university partnership, as an example of academe/practitioner exchange. This project was a major innovation in a country with a highly centralized educational system. Such partnerships must include the highest field level (supervisors and…

A school improvement project in Turkey included 208 schools as Curriculum Laboratory Schools (CLSs). To evaluate the effectiveness of these schools, data were collected from 13 principals, 22 assistant principals, and 306 teachers from 7 primary and 4 high schools in 1 province. Findings indicated that the project provided some technical…

Following a review of the literature on parental involvement in school decision making, examines the background of current educational restructuring and parental involvement in school decision making in Western Australia. A case study of attitudes of primary school teachers in Western Australia about parental involvement is reported. (SLD)

Focuses on a model of school-based management (SBM) and on generalities that can be drawn from recent research on SBM in several southern states. A case study of SBM in Kentucky, where the Kentucky Education Reform Act mandated SBM, illustrates issues in its implementation. (SLD)

Describes a teacher empowerment project implemented in one middle school from the perspectives of individuals who were expected to lead teachers into leadership: an administrator, a middle school specialist, and an evaluator. Their different perspectives emphasized the personal nature of the project and the importance of enhancing communication.…

Although 1988 Chicago Reform Act mandates changes in decision-making structures to empower teachers, parents, and community members to make financial, hiring, and curriculum decisions, many teachers are opting out of change process. Interview data from 30 Chicago teachers describe principals as "powerhouses" or "benevolent…

Gives a brief historical background of education in England and describes the effects of the Education Reform Act of 1988 to undermine the powers of local education authorities. Cites open enrollment, local management of schools, grant-maintained schools and city technology schools, teacher performance appraisals, and the national curriculum as…