Administrator succession can have varied effects on organizational performance. Although most studies have focused on performance outcomes, this paper reports the personal sense making of a successor to the principalship. The successor found that leadership validation and attribution influenced her transformation from an interloper to an effective…

Argues that theory in educational administration is not theoretical but comprises descriptions of ideological perspectives. Ties this argument to patterns of thinking revealed in theory debate and in descriptive statements of theory. These thinking patterns possess an identifiable psychological mechanism called a personal construct. Suggests how…

Conceptualizes and develops the OCDQ-RM, a measure of middle schools' organizational climate. Generates a typology of school climates based on openness and tests the relationship between openness and authenticity in teacher and principal behavior. Finds that openness in the school climate is related to authenticity in both teacher and principal…

Examines interorganizational behavior patterns that may beset project establishment, drawing on the experiences of an anonymous developing nation struggling to initiate an educational project approved by the World Bank. Results show that the behavior of participating organizations can influence the decision-making process during project…

A two-year study of four effective secondary school principals suggests that a principal's actions can be represented by a value-based model (or Markov chain) in which beliefs and values lead to goals, activities, and outcomes. Findings show that no one value set brings about more effective leadership than another. (27 references) (MLH)