Performance conversations are a critical and necessary part of performance management. Feedback is most effective when it is constructive and when it involves a dialogue rather than a monologue, but people often struggle with this skill. This activity includes an experiential exercise that applies a five-part process for performance feedback,…

Purpose: Isolate the voice of recently retired educational leaders to better understand the essential elements of educational leadership from individuals who spent a career supporting schools and leading people. Research Methods: This qualitative study used snowball sampling to identify 10 recently retired educational leaders who were willing to…

University-based executive education programs continue to expand across the country, but program directors are unclear about how to articulate the impact and effectiveness of their programs. To help identify possible measurements for future studies, we conducted an exploratory case study of a university-based executive education program for higher…

Women continue to be underemployed in leadership positions in educational settings, both in K-12 and in higher education. Early attempts to include women in leadership have proposed that women shape their behaviors to conform with male-oriented management models. This paper describes the success of a seminar called Women in Leadership, which was…

Using a survey of 442 school administrators in eight districts in Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, and Texas, researchers developed a psychometric scale, entitled "A.C.T. Administrators-For-Change-Training Instrument," to assess administrators' desires for administrative training. An original 76-item A.C.T. scale was drafted…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the effectiveness of professional-development programs for school administrators in Yap, as perceived by Yap principals. Data were gathered from: (1) a survey of 31 principals who participated in the programs over a 2-year period (1992-93 and 1993-94); and (2) a discussion with a focus group…

Findings of a study that examined Colorado administrators' perceptions of the adequacy of their administrator preparation programs are presented in this paper. The primary purposes of the project are to provide feedback to institutions from former students regarding their administrator preparation so that they may continue to improve their…

Maine's 1985 Administrator Certification Law crafted new preservice, induction, and professional development expectations keyed to 12 competency areas. Between 1986-1988, three pilot sites were established to assess the efficacy of the competencies and test a new procedure linking renewal to an administrator support system based on three…

This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of one element in the academic preparation of school administrators in Montana: the administrative internship. The paper begins with a review of relevant studies. As school districts demand more skills and abilities of administrators, especially in the techniques of collaboration and…

An investigation sought to ascertain the characteristics of preservice administrator graduates of the New York State Department of Educational Leadership and Administration (DELA) master's degree and professional diploma programs on the bases of their demographic traits, their career status and expectations, and their perceptions of their program…

This paper reports on a study designed to investigate the perceptions of conflict and coping by superintendents in Western Pennsylvania. Twenty-eight superintendents (13 former superintendents and 15 currently active superintendents) were interviewed. Triangulation was utilized to determine the credibility of the interview data. Common themes of…

The results of a study of the market for university-based education programs for executives and managers is presented. Study objectives were to profile corporate use of various executive and management education programs, profile characteristics of university-based executive education programs currently offered, and identify trends and unmet needs…

In spring 1995, a study was conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) in Illinois to determine the characteristics and perceptions of students enrolled in WRHC's Institute for Supervisory and Management Development from fall 1993 through spring 1995. Surveys were completed by 27 currently enrolled estimated for this study used K. S.…

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…

This report focuses on the field test initiated to substantiate the utility and application of previously developed staff development needs assessment instruments and their use. These instruments were intended for use by practicing and pre-service vocational education administrators. (A preliminary report documenting instrument design and…