While most rural special education leaders agree on the universality of certain problems (funding inadequacies, personnel recruitment/retention, transportation, low-incidence handicapped populations, staff development needs, resistance to change) in rural areas, no agreement exists regarding generalizable solutions which will work in all rural…

Troop ideology as defined by the scoutmaster and other involved adults radically altered the learning experiences of boys in two Boy Scout troops, even though both adhered to the official program. Using observation and interviews, researchers studied all aspects of the troops over 7 months. One troop, whose scoutmaster was benevolent and…

An examination of the impact of principals' administrative styles on school climate and culture to explain the discrepancy between observed and quantitative analyses in principal evaluations is the purpose of this study. A 3-year study of four secondary school principals utilized qualitative methodology (observation and interviews) and…

Women wishing to promote themselves into the educational leadership positions for which they are qualified should concentrate their energies in three major directions--planning, presentation, and perseverance. This report recommends steps women can take in finding a satisfying administrative position in education. Accompanying comments include…

Theoretical concepts about situational management decisions are incorporated in an investigation of school administrators in Tennessee to determine (1) whether administrators can be identified who possess specified leadership characteristics and (2) if those leaders consider employee maturity criteria when selecting employees for tasks. The study…

This handbook for school board presidents and members offers information on policy, procedures, law, leadership, and communication relevant to board meetings; each chapter features page margins for notes and a "backup materials" section for practical use. Chapter 1, "The Role of the Board President," focuses on balance of power, presidential…

A regional workshop was held in which educational researchers and practitioners shared their innovations, successes, concerns, and progress in using research and development to promote excellence in their state and local education agencies. This document reports its proceedings. "School Improvement: What the Research Says," by David P.…

The nature and extent of conditions or barriers that inhibit women administrators in their professional responsibilities and careers were studied. A questionnaire mailed to 241 women was completed by 168 women with executive, administrative, and managerial responsibilities in nine universities of the State University System of Florida. The…

This module discusses the theory and practice of school improvement and outlines a nine-step systematic problem-solving process for developing an action plan addressing school improvement goals. The first section describes a general model for the study of the school as a social system, as developed by Getzels and Thelen (1960). The second section…

Female and male higher education administrators in Texas and New Mexico were compared in terms of their sex role orientation, motivational factors, and administrative styles. In addition to individual interviews of the 68 administrators, a questionnaire was developed that included items from the Bem Sex Role Inventory, Work and Family Orientation…

The collection of five monographs focuses on the idea of reciprocity as expressed through an informal "contract" between the individual and the organization, and examines specifically that portion of the contract that involves the individual leader, his superior, and his subordinates. The basic idea is that the individual leader at any…

An analysis of the literature dealing with the responsiveness of public institutions to their clientele constitutes the main body of this interim project report. The analysts adopted Dahl and Lindblom's classification of political decision-making processes for summarizing the range of governing systems possible in public education. These four…

The 1973 seminar focused on improving administrative activities of State vocational education agencies, and emphasis was given to the processes and innovative concepts related to the maintenance and improvement of administrative activities. Guidelines and position papers were presented in the following areas: (1) The Role of Vocational Education…

Middle level educators can't always define it succinctly, but they know courageous, collaborative leadership when they see it. Examples of courageous leadership can range from a cancer-stricken teacher who inspires a whole school, to an educator who makes little strides by modeling the art of "hanging out" for students for whom social interaction…

A study looked at knowledge and theory on vocational education and training (VET) leadership in a range of diverse sites in Australia. Twelve chosen sites fell into these three broad groups: technical and further education, other public providers, and private providers. Researchers gathered documents, survey responses, and individual and group…