To best train and support school leaders in their evolving roles, they require high-quality preparation and in-service pipelines that both address the changing demands on their positions and acknowledge the cascading effects that well-prepared leaders have on both student outcomes and in school culture and retention. Including school leaders in…

This paper sets out to examine the role of middle leaders and their quest for effective appraisal and leadership development online--the two towers. Research that focuses on the role of middle leaders, in terms of their appraisal and leadership development, suggests there is a crisis in the "middle." Currently, middle leaders do not have…

Research suggests that there are substantial (albeit mostly indirect) relationships between school leadership and student achievement. However, it is challenging for practitioners and policymakers to determine whether and how school leaders are making a difference in student achievement. Through its Education Research Grants Program (84.305A), 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…

Effective leadership programs have a clearly defined belief structure and a teaching team that provides direction for both the students and the program. Leadership can be learned, but it is a process, not a position. Like dart throwing, leadership skills can be taught if individuals are coached, have a chance to practice various skills, get…

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Assessment Center Project expects to have 53 comprehensive centers in operation by June 1986. Behavior modeling is the training strategy for professional development, and research has confirmed that the process can help predict who will be a successful administrator. (MLF)

This paper reports on a study conducted for the Alabama State Department of Education. The study's purpose was to provide a clear perspective on the current abilities of school leaders to provide technology leadership in schools and school districts. All district superintendents and school principals who attended (N=341) the Alabama Renaissance…

The Dayton (Ohio) City School District initiated a very successful pilot induction program for entry-year administrators in January 1987. Nine special workshops were planned to train both volunteer mentors and entry-year administrators in such areas as personal development, conflict management, problem identification and solution, time management,…

This paper presents an overview of literature and research on the effective preparation of school leaders. Recent research has called for greater collaboration among stakeholders and effective internships. Another way to deliver performance-based preparation is through the use of assessment centers, a validated process for measuring an aspiring…

This publication contains five chapters that focus on individual perspectives of reform in administrator-preparation programs. In "One Person's Links Between Administration and the Academy," Ann Weaver Hart offers a self-study that views administrative leadership as an ongoing process of social validation and socialization. Diana G. Pounder, in…

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 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 proposal calls for the establishment of an independent, freestanding, voluntary system of advanced certification for principals and superintendents that would recognize highly accomplished practices in these two educational fields. The proposal spells out why such an initiative is needed and how an American Board for Leadership in Education…

Conversation focusing on the review process used by the Educational Leadership Constituent Council as part of the National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education program review. Also a criticism of some of the current practices in the standards movement. (WFA)

This paper summarizes research regarding the changing role of the principal and methods for assessing school-communication skills within a competency-based educational administration program. It examines the leadership-competency areas of the principalship and describes how expanding school-communication skills may enhance the principal's…