The Harvard Principal's Center was established to improve the quality of schools by encouraging different ways of thinking about common problems, by offering opportunities for shared problem solving and reflection, and by providing a context of mutual support and trust in which personal relationships may develop. The center is described. (MT)

This article advances the premise that the collegial support model for professional development has the potential not only for changing the behavior of principals but perhaps even for restructuring the ways schools are run. The Institute for Development of Educational Activities Principals' Inservice Program is reviewed. (MT)

This article explores some of the major limitations, problems, and concerns with current practices in professional development of principals and examines the kinds of changes necessary to put into practice that are known to be effective. Long-range development, incentive issues, and diversity of principals are addressed. (MT)

Interviews with proteges regarding their perceptions of their significant mentoring relationship revealed several common characteristics, including mentors' responsiveness to proteges' needs, proteges' appreciation of the mentoring relationship and admiration of their mentors' personal values and character traits, and proteges' tendencies to…

This article looks at the problems and issues characteristic of the beginning years of principalship. Recommendations for strengthening the potential leadership contributions of incoming administrators are proposed. (MT)

The most accessible measure of success of local and regional inservice providers is participation by principals. This article discusses various incentives for attracting participation. (MT)

A collaborative research project to investigate a principal's roles and how those roles affect instructional leadership is described. The principal and a doctoral student worked as coinvestigators for three months. The principal found the research to be a way to engage in meaningful professional development. (MT)

This definition of mentoring, focusing on its application to the teaching profession, points out the paradoxes and conflicts in the mentoring process, viewed as a transcendental experience for the mentor and a transformational experience for the protege. (CB)

The possibilities of the use of case literature by mentor teachers to convey theoretical knowledge to beginning teachers and to promote reflection and analysis are explored through a review of the advantages for mentor teachers, beginning teachers, and the school, as well as some obstacles and topics for cases that master teachers could develop.…

Mentor teacher programs counter the organizational defects that hinder effective practice and are critical first step in helping all teachers to foster a working environment of collegial assistance in the interest of improved instruction and student achievement. (CB)

Describes a collaborative mentoring relationship between a graduate student and the director of a university laboratory school, which grew as they became college professors. The mentoring relationship provides opportunities for them to develop dispositions and abilities that are important in strengthening their capacities to grow personally and…

This article discusses the unique situation of foreign language teachers in public schools and the programs that prepare these teachers. It is argued that generic teacher education programs inadequately speak to the needs of future foreign-language teachers and that conventional inservice programs offer little. Recommendations are offered. (MT)

This article focuses on two questions: (1) What experiences shape the norms, values, and skills of principals? and (2) How can these experiences be enhanced through formal and informal training and development activities? The article is concerned with school district-level activities and programs. (MT)

The roles of mentors in entry-year teacher programs are explored, with particular emphasis on the Ohio experience with entry-year and mentoring programs. Entry-year programs have the potential for addressing several perspectives on the development of teachers that inform the nature of mentor leadership. (CB)

This article examines state-level initiatives, directives, policies, and programs that may influence conditions for instructional leadership in schools. Emphasis is placed on the state's role in training and developing elementary and secondary principals. (MT)