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This paper asserts that the growth and maintenance of failed urban school districts that have miseducated minority children in poverty for over 50 years is a predictable, explainable phenomenon. The essay suggests that the extensive resources funneled into these systems are used for increasing district bureaucracies rather than improving education. It notes that the larger society provides institutional and cultural settings that protect, preserve, and enhance these failing urban school systems in order to provide a broad spectrum of constituencies with a set of unearned privileges. The most valuable of these is access to economic and ethnic forms of schooling for middle class Whites that is effective and leads to careers, higher education, and improved life opportunities. Part 1 provides examples of the processes that dysfunctional urban school bureaucracies use to survive and grow despite systematically harming the life opportunities of impoverished children and youth. Part 2 identifies constituencies who derive real benefits from supporting these failed systems. Part 3 analyzes processes employed by failing urban districts to prevent change and maintain the distribution of unearned privilege. Part 4 analyzes the role of teacher education in making urban schools more effective. Part 5 and the appendix propose what states can do to stop the massive miseducation of diverse, impoverished students in dysfunctional urban districts. (Contains 28 references.) (SM)

The evolution of cadre (political elite and bureaucratic functionaries) education in China from 1949 to the present was evaluated in terms of leadership development and the underlying interests of the Chinese Communist Party as it integrates more fully into the world economy. Historic achievements include: (1) increased knowledge about market economies; (2) increased use of management theory and practice; and (3) improved work performance efficiency. In 1998, to correct ongoing cadre problems (such as corruption, favoritism, and lack of civic responsibility) and to improve the governance capacity of cadres (to create greater social stability), the federal government initiated Three-Emphasis Education (emphasizing theory, study, political awareness, and work ethics improvement), an integral part of which was interviews with 1500 cadres. Findings included the following: (1) the hierarchical nature of the program prevented rapid improvements and public access to program evaluation; (2) poor systemization into cadre's daily work caused corruption to resurface once education was complete; and (3) the lack of an educational objective to change the Chinese bureaucracy (the current objective was to change individuals only). Inclusion of the public in the process of cadre political education is recommended in order to strengthen educational outcomes. (The bibliography lists seven references). (AJ)

This innovative session used two "key moments" to interpret an action research case study of the ongoing reorganization of the Belgian Tax Ministry. Both the research and the session used a social constructivist framework. The reorganization consisted of these phases: contracting, exploratory, in-depth, advisory, implementation of the restructuring, and organizational change. The first key moment, the contracting phase, illustrated efforts to develop collaboration between the researchers and the Ministry civil servants. The second key moment, the design and execution of the training process to support the organizational change phase, illustrated efforts to change behavior at every level of the organization. (Contains 17 references.) (YLB)

Data collected from 297 teachers and 7,376 students in 20 urban high schools were used to examine relationships between dimensions of bureaucratic structure and pupil control orientation and behavior. Results of the analyses revealed two distinct patterns of rational organization. Hierarchy, rules, impersonality, and centralization comprised the first set of organizational characteristics, and specialization and expertise comprised the second set. Both pupil control orientation and behavior were positively correlated with the first set of dimensions and negatively correlated with the second set. Also, significant differences in bureaucratization, pupil control orientation, and pupil control behavior were found among the 20 high schools, suggesting that urban high schools can be differentiated based on structural components. (Contains 5 tables and 83 references.) (SLD)

This study of the classroom practice of an elementary school teacher of Aboriginal students in Western Australia demonstrates the way in which teacher intentions are hindered by the sociopolitical context of the school. The teacher had been identified by the school as a successful teacher of Indigenous students and was accepted by Aboriginal parents as such. The situation in which he worked, however, was not conducive to the establishment of effective strategies for communication or better relationships with parents and the community. Findings from observations of classroom events and interviews with the teacher, students, and other key participants indicated that the teacher was unable to translate good intentions into satisfactory outcomes for Aboriginal students because the teacher's own value system differed markedly from those of his students; the principal constructed an environment that reflected the dominant culture and did not welcome Indigenous students and parents; the teacher was also deputy principal, and was identified with the administration by the parents, resulting in parent alienation; the school did not have the infrastructure to support teachers' efforts to provide appropriate schooling for Indigenous students; and conflict among students that arose from outside factors inhibited the teacher's efforts to provide quality schooling for the Aboriginal students. For better education of Indigenous students, change must start at the top; teachers and parents need to cooperate to satisfy student needs, not bureaucratic or parent wishes; and parents must be welcomed as collaborators. (TD)

Principals' support for various approaches to educational planning were examined in rural and suburban schools in Ohio and West Virginia. It was expected that rational approaches to planning would be more prevalent in suburban than rural schools and in a state with more tightly coupled bureaucratic control (West Virginia) than a less tightly coupled state (Ohio). An instrument was developed that reliably measured principals' endorsement of rational and strategic planning ("new technicist planning") and somewhat less reliably measured their support for traditional-consensual planning, incremental planning, organized anarchy, and reactive planning. A mail survey, using the instrument, received responses from 207 West Virginia principals and 441 Ohio principals. Results show that new technicist planning was favored by suburban principals and by West Virginia principals. The traditional-consensual approach was favored by principals in suburban West Virginia and rural Ohio. Only rural West Virginia principals showed somewhat strong support for organized anarchy. Overall, the findings suggest that the particulars of locale (state and locale as they encompass and differentiate prevailing conditions) rather than locale per se (or uniquely) account for differences in principals' approaches to planning. (Contains 24 references.) (SV)

To explore how charter schools will enhance teacher professionalism, this paper provides a theoretical framework for a qualitative study that investigated the role played by Colorado's charter-school policy in teacher development. Based on a review of the literature, the paper provides a baseline for comparison. The text examines bureaucratic conceptions of teaching, the prevalence of educational bureaucracies, and the effects of bureaucratic control and standardization, claiming that such an organization is characterized by hierarchies and centralized decision making. The text also examines professional conceptions of teaching, providing some characteristics and examples from the field and claiming that teacher professionalism develops best in schools with flexible and decentralized organizational structures. The text concludes that charter schools are not immune to bureaucracy and that charter-school policy sends contradictory messages about teacher professionalism. Parents usually hold administrative positions in such schools and usually want the authority to hire and fire teachers, which offers teachers little professional control. (Contains 39 references.) (RJM)

The recent movement to integrate social services into schools to serve at-risk students is hampered by the proliferation of highly specialized human services. Each had different organizational approaches, one bureaucratic and the other communal. A study examined the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools' (CORS) data on 24 restructured schools to assess the impact of school organization (rather than specific restructuring features) on special programs that provide social, health, and career-development services for students at risk. Two schools from the CORS data were selected for indepth study: a middle school and a high school. A conclusion is that simply adding school-improvement services to bureaucratically organized schools is unlikely to prove effective. A focused vision and shared responsibility appear to be essential to building school community. (Contains 11 references.) (LMI)

The call to restructure American education has captured the imagination of reformers across the country, yet it has not produced a coherent agenda for changing schools. This study investigates how the structure of secondary schools affects learning. Using a sample of 9,631 students in 789 U.S. high schools with 3 waves of data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), it extends an earlier study that demonstrated positive effects of high school restructuring not only on learning but also on its equitable distribution by social class. The more recent study addresses two questions: Do the positive effects of restructuring practices persist throughout the high school years? Which organizational attributes contribute to these effects? The study examined achievement in mathematics and science at the 8th, 10th, and 12 grades to answer these questions. Although students learned somewhat less in the last 2 than the first 2 years, the positive effects were sustained throughout high school. More important, particular features of the social, structural, and academic organization of high schools explained the restructuring effects identified in the earlier study. The study identifies larger organizational factors that make some high schools better places in which to learn than others. It recommends that educators and policymakers shrink the bureaucracy; create smaller places within schools (for example, schools-within-schools); develop cooperative social relations within schools; and emphasize academic pursuits. Three tables and six endnotes are included. The appendix explains how the measures used in the study were constructed. (LMI)

A study of 24 elementary, middle, and high schools conducted by the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools (CORS) found that simply adding school-based support services to bureaucratically organized schools is unlikely to prove effective, and does not necessarily produce better student achievement. However, the research linked schools with strong community to better student outcomes. This paper presents findings of a CORS study that investigated whether a student- and family-support program in a communally organized school was more focused, coordinated, and effective than a similar program in a school organized along bureaucratic lines. Two schools from the CORS sample were compared--Edison Middle School, located in a large urban district in the western United States, and Boone High School, which served an economically disadvantaged, racially mixed, student population. Findings show that Edison involved teachers in the Family Support Service (FSS) center, which led to facultywide collective responsibility for students' academic and social well-being. In addition, the vision and organization at Edison established a balance between autonomy and collaboration with other organizations. At Boone High School, the specialized and bureaucratic organization contributed to the proliferation of fragmented programs, which led to a lack of organizational focus. A conclusion is that programs must be integrated into the organization of the school as a whole to create a focused vision and sense of shared responsibility. (Contains 10 references.) (LMI)

This paper summarizes the findings of a doctoral disseration that examined whether control over educational decision making in Saskatchewan (Canada) school systems was becoming more centralized or decentralized. The study also determined whether critical theory, as defined by Habermas, provided a useful conceptual framework for assessing the research results. Data were obtained from a survey of boards of education, directors of education, district boards, principals, and teachers in each school division; historical analysis; and a modified Delphi technique with 11 prominent individuals in Saskatchewan education. A number of trends were identified that would tend to encourage an increased degree of central control over educational decision making in Saskatchewan school systems. However, the data also revealed trends that would encourage a trend toward increased decentralization, such as the consistent trend toward increased parental involvement in education decision making. Findings also suggest that critical theory provided a relatively flexible conceptual framework for assessing research results. Recommendations are made to involve participants in decision making, explore discrepancies between rural and urban attitudes toward decision-making responsibility, and explore linkages between system morale and control over decision making. Three tables and two figures are included. (Contains 39 references.) (LMI)

Lessons learned in the development and implementation of an English language training (ELT) project for Indonesian Civil Service workers are discussed. The project, designed to focus on development of English communication skills, was undertaken in cooperation with the state administration agency. Issues and difficulties discussed include: bureaucratic inconsistencies; the role of the advisory agency; agencies' coordination of efforts; Indonesia attitudes toward language at the personal, institutional, and national levels; differing expectations; and communication and planning styles. Through anecdotal discussion of a number of specific events, developments, and comments, the difficulty of reconciling good intentions with frustrations and disappointments is examined. (MSE)

The principalship was studied from the perspective of newly appointed principals in the highly bureaucratized urban context of New York City. Their attitudes, goals, and role and leadership behaviors and the effects of the school-system context were studied. Interviews were conducted with 12 principals from one Pre-K-1, seven elementary and three middle schools in 9 districts. Seven principals were female, and five were African American. The paradigms of leadership that these principals described included aspects of different approaches to the principal's role. Because their intentions and actions reflected different paradigms, it was difficult to categorize their behaviors. Principals who were most efficacious were distinguished by their sense of efficacy and their success in adopting principles of situational leadership. In terms of context, principals were differentiated by the level of support that they received in the schools. Socioeconomic status and school conditions per se had little effect on sense of efficacy, but those with high efficacy did receive support from multiple sources. Efficacious principals demonstrated the basis for transformational leadership: individual consideration. Two tables and two figures present study findings. (Contains 29 references.) (SLD)

The preoccupation with choice between public and private schools offered under voucher programs obscures the greater problem of a lack of variety in the present educational system. If providing a greater variety of school structures and improving the educational system is the objective, competition between the public and private sectors will not achieve that goal. A comprehensive system of specialized schools is needed that includes cooperative relationships among many types of schools in the public and private sectors. The assertion that competition, or marketplace forces, will lead to a better educational system is invalid. Private schools represent only about 12 percent of all school enrollment and, unlike public schools, can be selective in the students they accept. Successful small, experimental programs tried in private schools may not be effective when attempted on a larger scale. And many private schools are unwilling or unable to participate in a voucher program. Eliminating bureaucracy is also a faulty reason for establishing a voucher system. Bureaucracy provides structure and fairness to the educational system. A system of specialized schools with special focuses that encourages cooperation and collaboration between private and public schools can provide the educational improvements voucher advocates seek. (Contains 63 references.) (JPT)

This paper examines the context of current social policy and analyzes the bureaucratic impediments to achieving greater coordination of programs and services for Australia's Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. Specifically, the paper demonstrates how a "national commitment" involving bureaucratic rationality and imperatives continues to undermine the principles and practices of Aboriginal empowerment, self-determination, and self-management. Aboriginal demands for self-determination and self-management arise from a history of continuous oppression since the European invasion of Australia in 1788. The response of the Australian nation-state to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander concerns about sovereignty have largely been handled through "bureaucratic rationality." Additionally, there exists an unequal relationship that continually places Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the position of having to compromise their prior rights and aspirations in order to take part in the process of negotiation with the Australian nation-state. An example was the development of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (AEP), both created to give Aborigines decision-making power in the formulation of policies and programs affecting them. However, ATSIC and AEP have consistently failed to give Aborigines local control over critical issues. Another government policy that has had a devastating effect on indigenous people was the establishment of government-managed reserves or mission stations and the relocation of a number of distinct language groups from different parts of the country to be concentrated together on the same settlement. This paper concludes by offering strategies that would lessen differences between government policy and efforts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to achieve empowerment and self-determination. (LP)

It is possible to give a concrete meaning to the usually vague concept of decentralization by examining four core components. First, at the crux of decentralization is a downward shift in decision-making power. Administrative decentralization entails shifts internal to the institution. Political decentralization shifts authority to external forces such as community boards. These two strategies are not mutually exclusive. Second, studies of bureaucracies demonstrate that decentralization is compatible with strong leaders provided that leadership is exercised at lower levels in the administrative hierarchy. Third, decentralization requires the rejection of existing reward structures in favor of a system of incentives that establishes meaningful connections between professional conduct and rewards. Fourth, it is important to design a division of responsibility for ends and means among the district and schools that diminishes the role of explicit rules. Most school districts reflect few of these four principles, and their efforts and decentralization are often marginalized and incomplete. Experiences to date with site-based management, the most common attempt at decentralization, demonstrate the difficulty in producing authentic decentralization. (Contains 51 references.) (TEJ)

Despite current interest with the concept of the "New American School" model discussed in "America 2000," school systems continue to approach educational reform and restructuring by tinkering with key organizational components in isolation. The total school organization requires assessment and profiling to determine which key components are drags on efficient and effective increases in the goal of student achievement. Arguments, fighting, interest-group power-plays, and politics do not accomplish discovery and application of already-known ways to improve organizational effectiveness. The path to positive restructuring and reform is through use of the latest available technology and qualitative/quantitative evaluation research procedures. To accomplish organizational assessment from the ground up requires the innovative, validated, and holistic model described in this paper. The process, procedures, and outcomes involved with readiness assessment, profiling, and improvement planning correspond to exhibits A through F and include: (1) adopting an assessment model; (2) identifying key organizational factors; (3) organizational profiling; (4) reporting results of organizational research; (5) improvement planning; and (6) prioritizing factors. Every component and function of educational organizations must be held accountable for the goals of student learning and development. Exhibits A through F are included. (17 references) (MLH)

This special report from the National Commission for Employment Policy on coordinating federal assistance programs for the economically disadvantaged contains two parts. Part 1 includes recommendations for improving public assistance coordination programs in general and employment and training programs in particular. Eight recommendations focus on the following: (1) leadership; (2) an economic empowerment task force; (3) eligibility criteria and technology grants; (4) reorganization; (5) simplifying oversight procedures and committee structures; (6) eligibility criteria and poverty levels; (7) state human resource councils; and (8) public assistance impact analysis. Part 2 is a background paper, "Federal Public Assistance Programs" (Neal S. Zank), that contains information on coordination and eligibility issues. After a program history, the following sections are included: coordination and management in the federal government; coordination and management in the states; and program eligibility criteria. Thirty references and three appendices are included: (1) descriptions of federal programs for the economically disadvantaged--cash assistance, medical assistance, food assistance, education assistance, employment and training assistance; (2) poverty thresholds and other measures; and (3) income eligibility tests used in programs for the economically disadvantaged. (NLA)

During the 1970s, self-determination was institutionalized as official U.S. Indian policy through federal legislation and administrative guidelines. The seeds of this policy date to the Indian New Deal in the 1920s when John Collier's Indian reform movement sought to lessen the autocratic power of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) by institution "indirect administration" through native political structures under the supervision of colonial administrators. The Indian Reorganization Act provided the basis for tribal government, but resulted in standardization of tribal governments and centralization of BIA power. After World War II, the federal government tried to force Indian assimilation by terminating aspects of the special federal-Indian relationship and relocating many reservation residents to urban areas. Heightened Indian consciousness, new intertribal organizational structures, and increased availability of legal representation to tribes during the termination period provided the basis for an Indian movement for self-determination during the 1960s and 1970s. Despite landmark legislation and explicit federal recognition of the intergovernmental nature of the federal-Indian relationship, self-determination policy remains limited by a lack of tribal control over programs and appropriations. Particularly problematic is the organizational structure of the BIA and other agencies responsible for implementing Indian policy. It seems likely that current and proposed public policy will fall short of achieving full self-determination for American Indians. (SV)

This report describes the current spending priorities of the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Public Schools (MPS) and suggests how the same amount of money could be better spent on educating children. The report's major findings include the following: (1) of an average $6,451 expenditure per MPS pupil in 1989-90, only 26 percent finds its way into the elementary classroom; (2) of this $6,451 per-pupil expenditure, only $3,659, or 57 percent of per-pupil costs, is spent in the average MPS elementary school; (3) the proportion of MPS money going to instruction has decreased steadily over the past two decades, from 70 percent of the budget in 1968 to 45 percent in 1989; (4) although the overall MPS budget has grown by 88 percent since 1978, teacher salaries in real dollars have declined; (5) MPS expenditures per elementary pupil include $65 for all supplies, materials, books, furniture, and equipment, compared to $943 for administration; (6) there is an MPS ratio of one person in administration for every four teachers; and (7) total MPS spending for administration is twice as much as for student transportation. An alternative, bureaucracy-reducing budget is proposed. The report includes statistical data in 11 tables and graphs and five appendixes. (AF)