A case study outlines a structured approach to executive-level development that works from the individual's own experience. The process involves analyzing the job, identifying the competencies required to do the job effectively, establishing development needs and priorities, and creating an achievable plan and a system for monitoring progress.…

Self-directed work teams need coaches, not managers. The process of turning middle managers into coaches involves sensitivity, negotiation, and training in adjusting to the new role. (SK)

To address the social challenges facing schools, administrators must revitalize the work culture. Borrowing from successful business practices, the School Management Institute has implemented a 25-day Managing Productive Schools leadership training program in Florida, Minnesota, and Virginia. The program is based on the cultural conditions,…

Mentoring, a powerful tool for developing and training school principals, must be managed wisely. Drawing on the experiences of a mentoring program operating in Singapore since 1984, this article discusses three major issues influencing success: mentor selection, program preparation and development, and program operation and organization.…

The United Kingdom's recent Management Charter Initiative to promote management development is discussed, focusing on the initiative's emphasis on program design to meet varied needs. A program leading to management certification is outlined. The initiative features 3 options: credits for prior learning, 30 weeks of open and experiential learning,…

Summarizes results of a project examining to what extent middle managers in education and industry have received job training and identifying the common principles underlying effective training. Although a higher proportion of industrial middle managers receive training than their secondary school counterparts, this training seems no more…

If school leaders are to resolve the unique administrative problems that educational reforms, greater parental involvement, new legislation, and a continuously changing society will generate, existing professional development experiences must be improved substantially. School councils will expect administrators to assess complex situations,…

Reviews management-competence and school-effectiveness research, explores similarities, and discusses each area's contribution to education management. A major problem for both approaches is finding a balance between general descriptions of good practice and the particular needs of specific schools at particular development stages. General…

In Dade County (Florida) the Executive Training Program and its Educational Leadership Appraisal seminar help aspiring and practicing educational leaders develop reflection, self-analysis, and growth. Participants learn to view the work setting as an arena for their own growth and a place to perform the work of helping others grow. (SM)

Recently, the National Center for Educational Leadership surveyed 35 Kentucky superintendents about changing roles since passage of the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act. Results showed that superintendents were learning to lead from the background, enhancing all stakeholders' participation, and working hard to manage reform requirements. Many…

To comply with Britain's 1988 Education Reform Act, school governors (elected or appointed advisory bodies of parents, teachers, community and local political party representatives) required new training. This article examines training in one shire county during the mid-1980s, compared with improved, "unitary" development services in…

Through a structured "grow your own" model, the Capistrano Unified School District in California is focusing on developing leaders from within. Strong teachers with leadership potential are actively recruited to enter the administrative arena as elementary-teaching assistant principals. Assistant principals are given principal-level…

A veteran principal shares his gleanings about leadership. Administrators are advised to lead from the heart, understand their school's culture, learn to lead and develop staff leaders, garner staff commitment, make friends in high places, ensure adequate resources, make time for themselves, and share important lessons with others. (MLH)

Offers information from the ERIC database regarding midlevel managers and their training needs. Includes research findings, advice for chairs, and descriptions of professional-development programs. (VWC)

Defines the questions that are the basis of developmental-action inquiry. Outlines the type of theory and practice that supports and reflects such inquiry, and highlights how different such integrated research/practice is from empirical positivism. (Author/CCM)