Principal leadership has been widely regarded as a powerful catalyst for school improvement and student learning. This article presents a multivariate meta-analysis of 42 empirical studies, published between 2000 and 2020, that examined the effects of principal leadership on student achievement in the United States. The focus is on the conceptual…

Suggests a framework for structured observation using a psychosocial approach to describe work styles, differences in performance, and outcomes of behavior patterns. (JW)

Highlights the conceptual importance of defining administrative processes as units of analysis when conducting case studies of educational administration, identifies methodological advantages of a systematic approach to stratified cluster sampling, and suggests that information management is an important aspect of the school administrator's job.…

The background essay introducing this special issue on leadership describes potential initiatives aimed at educational leadership research and development. The research supporting the invited journal articles was conducted at two national education leadership research centers. (MLF)

Reviews the history and conclusions of school effectiveness research, which focuses on student achievement, and of school improvement research, which emphasizes educational innovation per se; analyzes the methodologies of these two lines of inquiry. Distills from both bodies of literature seven school characteristics that constitute excellence.…

Briefly describes the development and objectives of the leadership center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Campaign; then describes the rationale and activities of an in-service training program for principals. (15 references) (MLF)