Designed as a resource guide for a school district's governance team, this publication provides descriptions of 20 best district practices and 11 national demonstration projects on academic-vocational integration. It enables board members and superintendents to envision how the curriculum integration of academic and vocational education occurs on…

A review of literature indicates that relations between entry-level, female superintendents and school boards have been problematic. This paper presents findings of a study that identified the major issues faced by four female entry-level superintendents, how they handled these situations, and the strategies they used during their first year as…

Although empirical research in the area of educational administration is plentiful, often it seems to be of little practical use. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the usefulness of a framework of collective solutions, or strategies for success, for women superintendents. A single-case qualitative study of one female…

Superintendents who aspire to lead rarely find clear explanations of what to expect from their constituents or about what they should do. This book presents findings of a study that explored superintendents' approaches to leadership, constituents' responses to their superintendents' initiatives, and the resulting changes in practice. The book is…

Despite passage of affirmative-action legislation in the United States, the percentage of women school superintendents has increased at a very slow pace. This paper identifies the major challenges faced by four female entry-level superintendents and the strategies they used to deal with them. Data were collected during a group interview with the…

This paper presents the findings of a single case study of a particular board of education's decision-making process in a crisis situation, and explores interpretation of those findings from two theoretical perspectives. The crisis resulted from the charges against and conviction of the superintendent for a sexual assault on a 17-year-old female…

Naturalistic case studies of three rural Saskatchewan school districts examined how directors of education managed multiple educational innovations arising from provincially mandated curriculum change and a voluntary school improvement program. School divisions were viewed as comprising three dimensions (political, technical, and cultural) that…

A study examined the criteria used in hiring "first-time" technology education teachers. A survey questionnaire was mailed to a stratified, paired random sample of 652 administrators from 302 school districts in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Illinois. A total of 248 questionnaires were deemed usable (38% return rate). Five general…

This paper explores the ways in which gender may lead to conflict between women superintendents and members of their elected boards of trustees. The report draws on the perspective of three female former superintendents. A qualitative case-study approach was used that relied on indepth interviews and a focus-group interview with all three…

Reviewing the history of rural education reform, this paper argues for a policy of improving rural schools on their strengths, rather than a policy of consolidation. Since the late 1970's, rural school reform has placed greater emphasis on developing policies and educational strategies that allow rural schools to be different from urban schools…

This report includes three papers on longstanding questions in educational administration. In chapter 1, "The New Realities: The Social and Economic Context of Administrator Preparation," Thomas A. Mulkeen outlines the changes that have immediate impact for public education and preparation programs. A shift in the U.S. economy from an…

The School-Based Improvement Project (SBIP) is a joint venture of the Office of Community Education of the Massachusetts Department of Education and the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (MASS). SBIP is a multiyear professional-development initiative designed to help public school superintendents become effective leaders in…

The concept of superintendent "vision" as a key element of effective leadership is discussed in this paper, which develops a framework for understanding the creation of vision, its implementation and articulation, and organizational impact. Vision differs from strategy in that it represents a set of beliefs about the school district's aspiring…

Publications summarized in this annotated bibliography address critical issues on the restructuring of school governance and organization, curriculum reform, and the professionalization of teachers. Included are articles on specific schools and school districts that have made significant progress in their efforts to improve student achievement…

School choice legislation initiatives and their impact on school choice at the local level are compared in this survey of over 1,000 superintendents in Minnesota, Iowa, and Arkansas. Provisions of state statutes for school choice implementation in Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska are briefly described. Survey findings indicate that school…