ERIC Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (4th, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom, January 1991). ericd.

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the perceptions of educational stakeholders in two regions of the Victorian Ministry of Education toward effective-schools issues. Data were obtained from a survey mailed to a total of 1,060 principals, school councillors, teachers, parents, and students in 100 schools--50 schools each from the southern and northern metropolitan regions of Melbourne, Australia. A total of 583 questionnaires were received from 81 schools. Overall, respondents perceived no dominant role for an effective school, but rather, a wide range of academic, citizenship, and personal-development functions. Staff and schoolwide decision-making processes were viewed as more important in the development of an effective school than were the specifics of classroom activities or the overall organizational system. Finally, school personnel perceived their schools to be effective. Follow-up visits to five diverse schools from the survey confirmed the latter finding. School personnel said that the most important element of an effective school is a dedicated and cooperative staff that utilizes effective communication and teamwork. Two tables are included. (Contains 22 references.) (LMI)

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