This volume presents the 2008 Yearbook of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (National Council of Professors of Educational Administration). The theme for this year's address, yearbook and convention is "Leadership on the Frontlines: Changes in Preparation and Practice." This Yearbook contains six parts. Part 1,…

This article describes a survey of the characteristics of new-to-site superintendents in Kansas in the last three school years, focusing on the methods by which these administrators are evaluated and their own view about their evaluations.(Author/TE)

Suggests areas to be included in administrative training, including administrative evaluation, implications of the changing nature of secondary education, ways in which schools and their structures can influence pupils' social development, and organizational theory. (Author/WD)

A case study outlines a structured approach to executive-level development that works from the individual's own experience. The process involves analyzing the job, identifying the competencies required to do the job effectively, establishing development needs and priorities, and creating an achievable plan and a system for monitoring progress.…

Administrators in the Marblehead Public Schools in Massachusetts were asked to rate 48 administrative skills in terms of their importance for administrators in the local district, the need for improvement in these skills among district administrators in general, and the need for improvement in the skills by the survey respondent in particular. Of…

This document is a compilation of role and competency statements derived from the literature on competency-based educational administration, and was prepared as a working paper for Project ROME (Results Oriented Management in Education) at the University of Georgia, Bureau of Educational Studies and Field Services. The statements included…

This report is designed for use by those specializing in the preparation of elementary and middle school principals and by those whose focus is on the inservice aspects of professional development. The paper identifies the proficiencies for K-8 principals and groups them into four major categories. The report elaborates on these categories,…

Assistant principals are important people, reminds this principal, who asks his colleagues to probe how they use their assistants. He follows with several suggestions about how to improve the situation. (Author/TE)

This document considers several aspects of the use of assessment centers for the evaluation of school principals. Citing the literature, the document defines the assessment center concept, and describes the operation of a typical four-day assessment program. The paper also recounts efforts to ascertain the reliability of assessment results,…

It is argued that administrators cannot increase their administrative capabilities in isolation from the rest of the institution. The motivation to achieve a high level of competence must be supported at the institutional level. An approach to the simultaneous development of administrators and institutions is outlined. (Author/JMD)

This paper addresses the need for a strategic focus on the improvement of the principalship. Whatever technical changes are made in a school district's formal system for selecting, training, appraising, compensating, and certifying principals, there are predictable consequences for the political and cultural dimensions of that district (that is,…

This paper briefly describes the rationale, aims, and proposed activities of an instructional management academy conducted by the Instructional Management Program at Far West Laboratory. The first academy, conducted during the 1983-1984 school year, allowed participating principals to analyze their management behavior, receive support and insight…

This article summarizes the School Management Model discussed in the author's book, "Improving School Performance." Effective communication, staff evaluation, and performance information are presented as keys to building teamwork and upgrading performance. Teacher merit pay is analyzed in light of the model. (MJL)

This paper reports on findings of a research study on the district-level control of principals in 12 effective school districts in California. Primary research objectives were (1) to expand knowledge on the nature of administrative control, (2) to develop a better understanding of the processes and activities in effective school districts, and (3)…

Most systems of administrative control include both formal and informal, explicit and implicit evaluative mechanisms that sense deviation from standards and activate corrective actions to return subordinates to acceptable levels of performance or to correct beliefs. A review of prior studies showed, however, that few school districts have specific…