This guidebook is designed to help educational leaders in the transformation necessary to restructure and empower schools. Chapter 1 outlines major structural problems of the current educational system. Chapter 2 explains specific management techniques for restructuring a school system, from the level of the school building to the level of the…

Findings of a study that determined the benefits of mentoring as part of an administrator preparation program are discussed in this paper. In-depth interviews were conducted with nine practicing administrators, who worked directly with aspiring administrators who served as candidates in one cycle of the Danforth Foundation Program for the…

Outcomes of a mentoring-based preservice training program for educational administrators, the Danforth Foundation Program for the Preparation of School Principals, are described in this paper. Components of the program included field-based experiential learning, educational collaboration, and mentoring with experienced administrators. Phase 1…

Various organizations in Oklahoma that had an interest in administrator preparation, certification, and professional development pooled their efforts and worked collegially to apply for and use the state Leadership in Educational Administration Development (LEAD) grant for the professional improvement of state school administrators. The LEAD…

In response to the need for professional growth opportunities for principals, the Indiana Principal Leadership Academy (IPLA) was founded in 1985. The IPLA was created to be a national training model for principals, as leaders of instructors, empowered with effective behaviors and practices. The academy's focus is on four proficiencies: (1)…

Improving educational quality at the primary level is a major goal of Thailand's sixth 5-year Education Development Plan (1987-91). There is a special commitment to improve quality in rural areas and among economically disadvantaged groups, handicapped children, and linguistic minorities. Inservice education is one vehicle for training teachers to…

The results of a statewide survey of the professional preparation and current leadership practices of middle and intermediate school principals in relation to reading programs are described in this paper. The first section of the paper describes the survey questions in the areas of professional preparation of middle school principals, current…

This planning guide is designed to assist vocational education administrators in preparing for a 1-week tour in industry/business. Its intent is to help the administrators maximize the tour experience that will (1) expose them to private business and industry, thereby increasing their understanding of how managers in the private sector manage…

This annotated bibliography reviews some of the leadership development training programs currently being offered to business, industry, and educational personnel. Section 1 focuses on programs for corporate personnel. Section 2 reviews both preparatory and continuing professional education programs for top college and university administrators.…

An investigation sought to ascertain the characteristics of preservice administrator graduates of the New York State Department of Educational Leadership and Administration (DELA) master's degree and professional diploma programs on the bases of their demographic traits, their career status and expectations, and their perceptions of their program…

The staff development program of the Elmira City School District, New York, is designed to assist teachers in teaching to the specific objectives of the curriculum, and to ensure that teachers have the requisite knowledge and skills to accomplish this. The plan provides an opportunity for every teacher, building administrator, and the…

To help vocational education administrators produce a personal plan for professional development, this manual describes how to use needs assessment instruments, prepare the feedback, and interpret the feedback. An introduction briefly reviews the project that developed the process and defines potential users and needs assessment. The needs…

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,…

The writer of this paper was invited to act as a consultant to Minnesota's Independent School District 196 to generate a plan and program for the inservice education of school principals within the district. The paper presents an analysis of the problem; a discussion of the organizational context and the client system; a description of the methods…

The great paradox of school reform, according to the author of this short speech, is that, on the one hand, states mandate that student performance must improve; on the other hand, states do not act to improve the performance of educators. Even when the policies are the most progressive and the standards of the state are of the highest quality,…