Education leaders know that they should use research when choosing interventions for their schools, but they don't always know how to read the research that is available. David Steiner explains some of the reasons that reading research is a low priority for educators on the front lines and offers some guidance for determining whether research…

School district leaders are responsible for managing million-dollar budgets, but many have received little or no training in education finance. Marguerite Roza discusses a recent analysis of administrator preparation programs that revealed startling gaps in content, including a tendency to focus on revenue in their finance education, instead of on…

Continuous improvement is "an embedded behavior within the culture of a school that constantly focuses on the conditions, processes, and practices that will improve teaching and learning." The phrase has been part of the lexicon of school improvement for decades, but real progress is rare. Based on its observations of about 5,000…

School leaders desperate for strategies that will improve student learning have often opted to embrace strategies that they have observed being used successfully in other districts. Sometimes, this works; sometimes, it does not. This article presents two vignettes about districts that made similar decisions to implement learning walks. The…

In this article, the author questions why the resegregation of U.S. schools into two systems--one poor and urban and one well-off and suburban--has remained unnoticed by the public and policy makers. As for state and national policy makers, they have diverted attention away from the deep political, social, and economic forces that have conspired…

It is clear that the system we have relied on to produce school leaders is not up to the task. A redesigned system will have a better chance of succeeding if it follows the basic principles Mr. Elmore offers here. (Contains 1 endnote.)

In this article, the author discusses the power of videotape in educating leaders. He asks leaders to go on videotape so they can confront the sharp discrepancies between how they see themselves (their self-images) and how they actually behave. He believes that carefully structured use of videotaped role-playing can bring that power to leadership…

While Mr. Hess does not advocate the universal adoption of any single philosophy of management, he feels quite strongly that preparation programs for school leaders are doing their students a disservice by not exposing them to the ideas of the most influential thinkers in management and business. (Contains 7 endnotes.)

Considers variations among concepts of leadership, reviews efforts to provide leadership training, and describes seven leadership skills for the future: maintaining simultaneous awareness of the present and future; bridging gaps between interest groups; keeping abreast of change; appraising situations; enhancing intuition; managing symbols; and…

Profiles 75 young leaders in education--men and women who exemplify the Phi Delta Kappa ideals of research, service, and leadership in their professional lives. (Author/IRT)

Profiles four educational leaders: Gregory Anrig, head of the Educational Testing Service; Ernest Boyer, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; Louis (Bill) Honig, Jr., superintendent of public instruction for California; and Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers. Considers educational…

Essay on school reform argues that quality teachers are key to successful reform, not reform rhetoric by state governors and U.S. Presidents. Asserts that primary mission of schooling is to provide students an educational apprenticeship in democracy. Qualified, caring, competent teachers are essential to accomplish this mission. (PKP)