Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce the papers in this special issue and some issues surrounding choosing management as a career. A jointly developed questionnaire is also presented. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is descriptive in nature. Findings: It is crucial for researchers and practitioners to expand their perspectives…

This article reports findings of a mail survey of 519 managers in blindness services on their preferences for management training seminars. Preferences vary somewhat according to management level; there is little or no variation by region, public versus private auspices, education versus rehabilitation, or time in present position. (Author/PB)

An organizational development specialist tells how he prepared a management workshop on conducting effective meetings by first interviewing the managers and finding out what they wanted. Includes his "front-end analysis" questionnaire and the workshop format. (MF)

Results of a five-year follow-up study of training and certification of special education administrators revealed that the greatest change since 1979 was in the number of state offices requiring special education coursework or demonstration of competency in special education as part of the general administrative credential. (Author/JW)

The complete process of initiating and monitoring an evaluation program is presented, noting that the ability to assess the performance of administrators and implement programs to enhance their skills and abilities is essential to the effective management of higher learning institutions. Such field tested resources as evaluation forms, performance…

Describes a study that examined continuing professional development activities, needs, and aspirations of Australian special librarians and information center managers. The extent and nature of organizational support, educational activities and professional involvement of those interviewed, and participants' perceptions of present and future needs…

The views of Georgia school superintendents on leadership preparation and the role of principals are examined to determine future directions and standards for preparing public educational leaders in the state. Data were collected from 182 (97 percent) of the state's total of 187 superintendents. In the first part of the paper, Georgia…

In 1990, a study was conducted to holistically evaluate the activities of the Employee Development Program at Paradise Valley Community College (PVCC) and to determine if employee groups differed significantly in their evaluations of the effectiveness of the activities. Of the 114 full- and part-time board-approved employees of PVCC, 86 (75%)…

The nature and extent of conditions or barriers that inhibit women administrators in their professional responsibilities and careers were studied. A questionnaire mailed to 241 women was completed by 168 women with executive, administrative, and managerial responsibilities in nine universities of the State University System of Florida. The…

This document reports on a study on educational leadership training opportunities and needs in Alberta, Canada. After an overview of study objectives and methodology, a detailed review of the literature on leadership is presented, including various leadership and educational leadership definitions and information on preservice preparation and…

This study examines local, ongoing inservice practices and programs for school board members in Pennsylvania in order to devise a program that local districts can adapt or adopt in response to their own needs. Following a brief introduction, a summary describes how data for the study were gathered by means of a series of interviews and…

The Florida Extern Leadership Training Program for Local Administrators of Vocational Education was conceived to meet the need for trained and certified leadership personnel in vocational education at the local level throughout Florida. During the third year of the project's operation, project staff implemented a training program to meet state…