Collective negotiations in public education is a relatively recent development that has tended to erode the principal's options, managerial authority, and professional status. The recent introduction of the "management team," an attempt to ameliorate this situation, has placed principals in the "management" camp in an…

After recognizing the accomplishments of Paul B. Salmon and other great U.S. superintendents, this paper describes the current media image of school superintendents, reviews current research, explores essential new developments in preparation and renewal programs, and sketches a profile of the 21st century superintendent. Superintendents have an…

This booklet proposes a 10-year plan for restructuring local school districts entitled "Education by Charter." An introductory section cites current demands for educational reform and cites proposed remedies in order to suggest that nothing short of fundamental change in the internal organization of the school district will sustain and incorporate…

Evaluating and offering assistance to school prinicpals is a school district responsibility that is not being adequately performed in many cases. Organizational goals will be greatly enhanced when districts become committed to evaluating and providing staff development for principals to enhance personal and professional skills. This paper…

The characteristics of a state-mandated principal evaluation system are presented based on a survey of 149 principals and 121 superintendents in North Carolina. The means by which satisfaction with the evaluation process are related to the means for assessing performance, the criteria applied to principals' work, and the type and sources of…

The purpose of this study was to collect data from 40 school superintendents who were newly hired in Washington school districts just prior to the 1986-87 school year, assess the conditions within a school district when hiring a superintendent; and evaluate expectations placed upon a new chief executive by the board of education. Thirty-eight…

Effectiveness ratings of principals by researchers have frequently been hampered by relying on teachers' one-dimensional, research-triggered "global" ratings. This paper reports a 1979-80 British Comumbia superintendents' study geared toward multidimensional subjective assessments of 266 administrators, and concentrates primarily on ways…

The feelings that superintendents have about the methods used by school boards to evaluate their effectiveness may influence their motivation, relationship with the board, and organizational success. National studies reveal that 46.9 percent of superintendents have positive feelings, 18.3 have negative feelings, and 34.8 percent have neutral…

One of the most significant changes influencing school board policy-making over the last dozen years has been the advent of politics. The advent of politics in educational organizations is best demonstrated by the emergence in the 1970s of interest groups. Schools and school boards have become highly targeted by such groups in part because of…

This study of the career paths of 147 Tennessee school superintendents sought to determine to what extent coaching and principalships are routes to that office. The majority of respondents were white males; only one was black, and 10 were female. The data were analyzed by group, race, sex, years in office, and method of selection (elected or…

The superintendent of Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Community School District discusses school improvement in light of several basic assumptions. The superintendent of schools can be the most influential person in the district. A handful of management techniques or processes can influence teaching and learning. Keeping highly effective schools is an…

Chapter 2 of a revised volume on school leadership, this chapter reviews theories of leadership style--the way a leader leads. Although most experts agree that leadership style is important, they disagree concerning style components, leaders' capabilities for changing styles, the effects of personality traits on style, and the desirability of…

The Vermont Outcomes-Based Network, consisting of educators from 10 school districts and the University of Vermont, is a loosely linked organization designed to improve instruction by sharing resources, especially for staff development. Network members have formally adopted an outcomes-based, mastery learning instructional philosophy holding that…

Designed as a concerted effort to control the paperwork and reduce the number of data collection reports required by the Connecticut State Department of Education, this report lists the forms the department will use in the 1988-89 school year to collect data on the condition and the progress of education in Connecticut. An introductory section…

Under the superintendent's guidance, the Riverside (California) Unified School District underwent decentralization between 1960 and 1978. The process involved seven stages: (1) conceptualizing and actualizing a "cooperative community" committed to educating every child, (2) communicating these concepts to key individuals, (3)…