Anecdotal evidence points to the importance of school principals, but the limited existing research has neither provided consistent results nor indicated any set of essential characteristics of effective principals. This paper exploits extensive student-level panel data across six states to investigate both variations in principal performance and…

Management educators have been advised to cultivate their students' character. Yet they lack the instructional resources they need to do so. We were inspired by the principles and techniques of the Jewish spiritual practice of "Mussar" to put students on a personalized path of continuous character improvement. According to…

Research indicates that principals play a significant role in schools influencing student achievement and teacher effectiveness. This is particularly true in times of educational reform. Qatar has been engaging in a significant educational reform since 2004. This study examines the knowledge and skills needed for effective principals from the…

Teachers have the greatest school-based effect on the achievement of any child in their classrooms, but highly effective principals can positively affect the achievement of every student in their schools. The difference between a highly effective principal and an average one is equal to two-to-seven months of extra learning per year for each child…

Purpose: Research in the field of early childhood education (ECE) demonstrated the association between skilled directors and high quality programs. Still, most state licensing requirements do not delineate the requisite knowledge or experience necessary to be an effective director. Many ECE directors advance to their position directly from the…

Counters the following myths: competence has been defined; managerial effectiveness can be identified; management is generic; effectiveness can be measured; management is composed of skills, behaviors, or traits; and only maximum performance counts. (SK)

Findings from a study that explored the training/development opportunities desired by secondary school heads in Negara Brunei Darussalam are presented in this paper. A questionnaire administered to 22 national secondary school college heads who attended a workshop in July 1991 elicited 16 completions. Information was gathered about those aspects…

In 1991 the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) launched its LeaderLab program, with the goal of helping executives take more effective action in their leadership situations. This publication presents findings of a program evaluation that explored whether program participants took more effective action in their leadership situations. Data were…

This monograph on the issues of leadership, power, and influence summarizes information gleaned from working with and interviewing administrators at Canadian colleges and universities. The study notes, first, that decision-making environments in Canadian postsecondary organizations are multidimensional, characterized by interdependence, diversity,…

The Management Profile is an appraisal measure that examines the actual job performance of a manager to ascertain relative strength in six management functions and three leadership roles. The management functions examined are administration, technical competence, influence/control, persuasion, training/development, and forecasting/planning. The…

Executives with a track record of success are sometimes fired, demoted, or plateaued. This publication presents findings of a study conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), which compared contemporary derailed and successful executives in the United States and Europe. Results are compared to those of earlier CCL findings. Data were…

Argues that systematic study of school administrators' activities could be valuable in refining development models. Reviews North American, Australian, and British research on elementary school management. States organizational demands on leadership increase as schools become more complex. Observes that British primary school heads lack a reliable…

In three parts, this book intends to present and illustrate a way of understanding the field of school administration and the work of administrators as craft within the context of how administrators function daily. Part 1 argues for school administrators to perceive their work as craft. Part 2 describes administrators' work as craft in action and…

Research has provided an increasing amount of information about the work-related behaviors associated with effective school administrator practices. Considerably less is known about the factors that bring individuals to pursue school leadership positions and enroll in principal preparation programs. The focus of this paper is research on the…

This book, intended to be a hands-on guide and training tool, contains basic principles for new principals. Following an introduction, each of the book's 10 chapters focuses on one of the essential components of personal effectiveness. A highly effective principal is: (1) a communicator; (2) an educator; (3) an envisioner; (4) a facilitator; (5) a…