The aim of this book is to bridge the widening gap between ongoing educational reforms and the lack of advances in knowledge, research and practice. Included is a description of new mechanisms in fields such as leadership, staff development and curriculum change.

This book explores the connections between school-based management, school effectiveness and school improvement, bringing together studies completed in Australia and New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the USA. It describes and analyses how effective principals and teachers perceive and undertake educational change and school-based management; how a sense of values, vision and school culture can improve leadership; ways in whcih delegating financial management to schools may lead to improved teaching and learning; and the contribution made by school development planning through reviews and evaluation to school improvement. Finally, it suggests future directions for study and research in school effectiveness, school improvement and school-based management.

"Mohrman and Wohlstetter have written the most important volume on school-based management to date... a significant contribution to the school reform literature." --Joseph Murphy, professor and chair, department of educational leadership, Vanderbilt UniversityThis book examines the school-based management strategies that hold the most promise for increasing organizational effectiveness.

This popular book has been thoroughly updated for its fourth edition, and is even more directed towards the leadership demands on managers, both within the school and in its community setting.

This volume explores the influence of students' background on educational outcomes, ways of contextualising school performance, and current issues and developments in school effectiveness research. Also investigated is how the research contributes to understanding of school and classroom processes.

This book presents guidelines for implementing school-based management practices. Chapter 1 describes the growing interest in and rationale for school-based management (SBM). The second chapter discusses essential characteristics of good schools, and the third chapter describes 13 elements necessary for effective SBM. Pros and cons of SBM are discussed in chapter 4. Chapters 5 and 6 examine necessary organizational elements and participants' roles and responsibilities. Chapter 7 offers suggestions for initiating the process, and chapter 8 offers guidelines for developing the school-site committee and identifying its role. The ninth chapter discusses how to develop the school plan and the school budget. Chapter 10 deals with two main questions: (1) How much of the school system budget will be set aside for the schools? and (2) How will funds be allocated to the schools? Several sample budgets are included. Guidelines for beginning a pilot SBM program are provided in the 11th chapter. Ways in which the effects of SBM on student learning and employees can be evaluated are described in chapter 12. Chapter 13 lists common mistakes to avoid. The final chapter contains a list of dos and don'ts. The appendix contains a sample survey for determining the extent to which SBM is practiced in a school system. (Contains 95 references.) (LMI).

This book considers a number of key epistemological, ontological and methodological questions exploring the effectiveness of school leadership and management development training programmes for school leaders in a range of settings and for a range of people. Consideration is also given to practical concerns associated with this topic, such as the importance of management and Leadership Development programmes supporting school leaders to become effective leaders supporting school effectiveness. Effectiveness of School Leadership and Management Development in Cameroon addresses key methodological issues including the rationale for adopting a qualitative mixed-methodology research approach with elements of literature and documental analysis; surveys; ethical considerations and challenges with sampling techniques in considering the impact that school leaders in Cameroon have on researchers’ findings; and the production of knowledge. In addressing such topics, it answers important questions about how reliability can be ensured, how rigour can be safeguarded and what impact documental analysis and school leaders’ views have on the validity and interpretation of research findings. This book is the first of its kind to combine practical leadership theories in developing leadership development frameworks reflections with clearly presented recommendations about how the approach can be used. It will be invaluable to academics, practitioners and other agencies wishing to adopt participatory research methods which place school leaders and their schools at the centre of this research. This book is also an essential read for academics and students with an interest in qualitative mixed methodologies on leadership development of school leaders, and will become a key text for school leadership research methods courses, given its concern with practical leadership models as well as more complex leadership development theories.