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Involving subordinates in decisions may improve the quality and acceptance of decisions when participation fits the constraints of the situation. A theory of participative decision making (PDM) is developed that suggests under what conditions subordinates should be involved in decision making. The model describes not only when teachers should be involved but also the appropriate role for the administrator, which depends on the decisional situation. The analysis concludes with three specific school applications.

Although there are many models of decision making, there are few attempts to match the appropriate decision strategy with different situations. After reviewing and comparing six contemporary decision‐making models, a framework and propositions are developed that match strategies with circumstances. The article concludes with a discussion of theoretical and practical application of the proposed contingency model decision making.

The concept of organizational justice is defined, and, based on a review of the literature, ten principles of organizational justice are elaborated. Similarly, the elements of faculty trust are conceptualized and discussed. Then, a model of organizational justice and trust is proposed and tested using path analysis. The results underscore the symbiotic relations between trust and justice. The paper concludes with a few suggestions for future research and recommendations for practice.

An open social systems model is used to frame and test a series of hypotheses. The socioeconomic status of the environment and four internal system elements (structure, individual, culture, politics) of the school are used to explain two sets of school outcomes: student achievement and teachers' assessments of overall school effectiveness. A typical sample of 145 elementary schools in Ohio is used to test the relationships. The model and results are useful in understanding how this set of key variables as a whole defines quality elementary schools.

The aim of this article is to examine the empirical literature on irrationality and identify a set of concepts to help administrators cope with irrationality in decision making.

This analysis is a synthesis of the selected research literature on irrationality.

A set of seven concepts and propositions was indentified that are critical in understanding the influence on irrationality on decision making.

The propositions proposed are ways to deal constructively with irrational behavior in decision making, but it is only a beginning.

The concepts, propositions, and their application to practice are not well‐known in educational administration and are useful tools for educational leaders.

The paper discusses the power of seven concepts: perception; simplification; decisiveness; deadlines; norms; ownership; and emotional expectation.

The purpose of this research is twofold: to test a theory of academic optimism in Taiwan elementary schools and to expand the theory by adding new variables, collective responsibility and enabling school structure, to the model.

Structural equation modeling was used to test, refine, and expand an organizational path model of student achievement first developed in the USA.

The proposed organizational model was supported in Taiwan and was consistent with the initial studies done in the USA. Further, two concepts were added to the model, enabling structure and collective responsibility, both of which had significant indirect effects on student achievement through academic optimism. Moreover, the theoretical foundations (efficacy, trust, and academic emphasis) of the latent construct of academic optimism were confirmed again in this sample of schools in Taiwan.

The findings support an organizational model of student achievement, which has application in both the USA and Taiwan. The original model was supported, refined, and extended. Academic optimism is at the center of the model and explains student achievement for all students. Collective responsibility and enabling school structure both predict academic optimism directly and student achievement indirectly.

The review of food consumption elsewhere in this issue shows the broad pattern of food supplies in this country; what and how much we eat. Dietary habits are different to what they were before the last War, but there have been few real changes since the end of that War. Because of supplies and prices, shifts within commodity groups have occurred, e.g. carcase meat, bread, milk, but overall, the range of foods commonly eaten has remained stable. The rise of “convenience foods” in the twenty‐five year since the War is seen as a change in household needs and the increasing employment of women in industry and commerce, rather than a change in foods eaten or in consumer preference. Supplies available for consumption have remained fairly steady throughout the period, but if the main food sources, energy and nutrient content of the diet have not changed, changes in detail have begun to appear and the broad pattern of food is not quite so markedly stable as of yore.

The factors which influence costs of production of food and the prices to the consumer have changed dramatically during this century, but especially since the establishment of trading systems all over the world. Gone are the days when the simple expedients of supply and demand alone governed the situation. The erosion of these principles began at the turn of the century, mainly as a result of the introduction by the rapidly developing industrial power of the USA to protect her own industries against the cheaper products of European countries. They introduced the system of tariffs on imported manufactured goods; it grew and eventually was made to apply to wide sectors of industry. European countries retaliated but the free trade policy of Britain's Liberal government was making the country a dumping ground for all other country's cheap products and surpluses.