Rural students face many challenges in gaining a sound education, but one of the advantages they have is that their schools are set in a community context that values a sense of place and offers a unique set of conditions for building social capital. A school-community partnership model of school renewal might be an appropriate means by which…

A quantitative and qualitative study examined three leadership strategies found in performance-based management (human resource, scientific management and political strategies used in public sector management); a framework by which performance measurement (PM) supports leadership strategies; and how the strategies impact PM. It examined leadership…

This study explored the role of leadership, especially that of the college president, in the application of continuous quality improvement (CQI) principles in higher education. The life history method study focused on William Troutt, president of Belmont University (Tennessee), who has been successfully guiding CQI initiatives at the institution…

Report of a study of the leadership competencies of rural principals in Missouri who were prepared through the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Standards. Findings indicate that a standards-based program and collaboration between the training institution and public schools results in well-prepared leaders. (Contains 1 table and 17…

Discusses challenges to traditional views of school leadership posed by many school reform initiatives, curriculum innovations, and teacher incentive plans. Examines teacher leadership structures in light of the purposes and goals they seek to advance. Uses nonhierarhical theories of leadership from the general leadership literature to examine…

Identifies a set of change leadership functions including sustaining a vision for change, encouraging staff, modifying standard operating procedures, and monitoring progress. Suggests that these functions do contribute to change, but are also performed redundantly by persons in a variety of overlapping roles, including central office personnel,…

Analyzes cultural dimensions of Calvin College's Bridenthal Internship in Teaching program for improving the quality of public school teachers; explores how problems encountered by interns as classroom teachers relate to cultural dimensions of the program's industrial leadership orientation and style of leadership modeled by mentor John Wright.…

Most of us started our superintendency committed to keeping our eye on the higher purposes of education, vowing not to get bogged down in the managerial details. John Wiens shares his quest for an intellectual understanding of the role, a meaningful theory of leadership, and the creation of an environment that helped others pursue similar quests.…

In U.S. public schools, a limited number of women have attained the position of superintendent. Consequently, there has been limited research focusing on understanding the position from a woman's perspective. The purpose of this study was to add to the body of literature focusing on women's ideas and beliefs about leading schools. A survey that…

School structures need not be rigid, controlling, and coercive; in fact, they can be just the opposite. Enabling school structures are centralized and formalized in ways that promote problem solving, collaboration, flexibility, change, and professional judgment. The current research demonstrates the importance of "both" collegial…

The perspectives of 84 African American students attending a predominantly White institution (PWI) were qualitatively analyzed to identify the conditions under which African American student organizations were perceived as assets and liabilities to academic success. Results indicate that involvement in African American student organizations can…

The current paper reports the findings of a study that sought to identify Israeli prospective teachers' perspectives about educational leadership in relation to "masculine" and "feminine" leadership orientations. The first purpose of the study was to expose prospective elementary teachers' conceptions about the…

Based on input from practitioners at 42 two-year colleges in the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education region, this document outlines the research agenda of the Western Center for Community College Development (WCCCD) for the next century. Introductory sections describe the role of focused research, the WCCCD, methodology used in…

The gender validity of the Strong Interest Inventory's Personal Style Scales (Work Style, Learning Environment, Leadership Style, and Risk Taking/Adventure) was examined through a study of 458 female and 282 male college students at Iowa State University. The students completed the Personal Style Scales and the Adjective Check List (ACL), which is…

This paper focuses on the role of the school leader as motivator. In particular, attention is given to what those in school leadership roles can do to enhance the personal investment of students in learning. A conceptual model is outlined which suggests that school leaders affect not only the degree, but also the quality of student motivation by…