Efforts to change the role of principals over the past 30 years typically reflect a leader-centrist perspective of schools illustrated by the metaphors of a marching band or the slightly less hierarchical classical orchestra. In these conceptual systems, policy (score) is generated (composed) by policymaking bodies (composers) with principals…

A theoretical framework for mapping school political life is developed which distinguishes elite, bureaucratic, coalitional, and participant types of school political organizations. The framework provides tools for analyzing and comparing patterns of political behavior within and across school political behavior settings. Definitions and…

Data generated from three studies in twenty-two urban secondary schools indicate that the role of the secondary school administrator has been and is undergoing a steady attrition in terms of domain and scope of influence, sources of organizational power, and bases of authority to effectively lead a professionalized organization. One series of…