Elsewhere, the authors have unpacked instructional leadership and have documented that such leadership is associated with more effective schools. Indeed, there has been for a considerable time nearly universal acceptance that learning-centered leadership should provide the central platform on which leadership is enacted. In this paper, a less…

The Disadvantaged Schools Program (DSP) has been an important and integral part of education for many Australian students for over a decade. After reviewing eight school effectiveness variables, this paper argues that adding a new emphasis on academic success and cognitive skills will enhance the DSP program. Includes 3 tables and 20 references.…

High-stakes testing and accountability implicate failing schools more frequently and more precisely than ever before. Consequently, efforts to turn around these schools have become paramount for educators, policy actors, and community members. Through a synthesis of research on failing schools, this article unpacks the constructs of school failure…

This article reviews the school effectiveness movement from inception to its current state, analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of research and implementation literature, and discusses the appropriate role for state and federal government in fostering school effectiveness. (MT)

Presents a conceptual model for administrative promotion of school effectiveness by identifying activities, processes, and functions necessary for successful instructional leadership. (JW)

Vague goals, unmanaged technology, minimal accountability, and little contact among staff members are characteristics that many schools share with other loosely coupled organizations. Effective schools do not share these characteristics. Some strategies for eliminating these traits are suggested. (PGD)

Presents results from a study examining the instructional management behavior of 10 elementary school principals in a single school district. Discusses the development of an assessment method for this behavior, findings of principals' curriculum and instructional management, and tentative findings regarding personal and organizational factors…

Investigates the nature of administrative control in 12 instructionally effective school districts in California. Nine control functions are assumed to affect student outcomes by influencing curriculum and instruction. Findings from interviews with superintendents revealed more district-level control of principal behavior and site activity than…

Examines the nature of administrative control of school principals in 12 especially effective districts in California. Supervision and evaluation of site level administrators were rational and meaningful processes in these districts. The supervision and evaluation functions appeared to form important linkage mechanisms between schools and…

A conceptual framework is presented, based upon a review of relevant literature sources, as well as upon preliminary impressions from a study of effective schools in California. This framework involves 14 variables that are discussed at length. (CT)

Data from seven California elementary schools suggest that effective instructional leadership is both multidimensional and sensitive to school socioeconomic status (SES); in low SES schools, it involves direct supervisory activity and attention paid to school climate. Twenty-six reference notes are appended. (MLF)

A study of the 18 "most effective" high schools in California uses analysis of questionnaires completed by administrators of the schools to identify eight recurring general factors of effectiveness. (DCS)

An analysis of ratings by 104 teachers of the instructional management behaviors of 10 elementary school principals in a district where the superintendent has implemented policies to promote instructional leadership. (MLF)

The recent research on school or educational leadership is reviewed in an attempt to define some of the major recurring research problems. This paper outlines and describes both methodological problems and organizational perspective problems so that future research efforts can be strengthened. (BW)

This article reports an exploratory study of 12 instructionally effective school districts which were identified on the basis of high student achievement. Seventeen characteristic themes were identified and are discussed, including curricular and instructional characteristics and organizational dynamics. (JL)