Given that current redefinition of the principalship emphasizes instructional leadership, this document begins with a summary of previous research findings on effective school characteristics related to school improvement planning, program development, staff development, school assessment, and organizational culture with emphasis throughout on the…

This handbook is designed as a tool and resource document for school and agency personnel involved in the school-to-work transition of persons with disabilities. It includes forms, checklists, and sample documents. After a brief overview describing why transition has become a national priority, an individualized 4-year transition process is…

Preliminary findings of a study that matched the theoretical concept of facilitative power with the activities of principals and teachers involved in site-based management are presented in this paper. Purposes of the study included: (1) the development of more precise definitions of the concepts of restructuring and site-based management; (2) a…

Principals are middle managers. Board members should have a superintendent who has a high regard for the principalship and who believes in the total team approach to school administration. They should allow principals to do the job they were hired to do--parental or citizen complaints should be referred to the principal instead of being personally…

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between teachers' perceptions of instructional evaluations by principals and their attitudes toward the supervisory conference. It also sought to determine whether teachers' attitudes are affected by six different variables: race, age, sex, years of teaching, level of assignment, and…

This paper summarizes research on teacher attitudes and performance under clinical supervision. The literature for comparative studies of inservice personnel (not student teachers) in elementary and secondary schools was extensively searched. The 19 complete and 4 in-progress studies reported are grouped as follows: (1) attitudes toward…

This paper presents alternative ways microcomputers can be utilized in the educational process. These uses are: (1) learning from, with, and about computers; (2) learning about thinking with computers; and (3) managing learning with computers. Each of these uses is discussed as to its applicability to current educational practice and possibilities…

The methodology, results, and implications of a study of instructional leadership styles of principals of four unusually successful inner city schools are outlined in this general summary. The principals studied were selected with the help of expert opinion and student test scores. Data comprise ethnographic observations and interviews of the…

Research-based strategies for improving educational quality with limited resources include: (1) leadership by school administrators in making better student performance in the basic skills a goal for schools, (2) increased time on academic tasks, (3) redesign of the instructional program to focus on basic skills, (4) improved teaching practices,…

Following the rules and regulations of compensatory education programs requires the use of objective measures in selecting students for programs, assessing their progress, and monitoring the program's quality. Administrators must remember the following four points when they use test scores for compensatory education students: (1) test scores alone…

This paper reports the results of a qualitative evaluation of the Chapter 1 Program Improvement Workshop Series--Level II, funded by the Educational Testing Service, Technical Assistance Center (TAC), for Region 3. Focus is on the role of commitment in influencing change. The methodological approach, advocated by M. Q. Patton (1986), focuses on:…

The superintendent's role may be difficult to manage simply because of the existence of a school board. To identify critical incidents that superintendents experienced in their work with boards of education, the superintendents of all 310 K-12 districts in Nebraska were mailed letters asking if they had experienced a critical incident with a…

This ethnographic study describes the relationships involved in the Partnership for Family Reading, a collaborative project between Montclair State College and a low-income urban school district to promote parent involvement in children's literacy development. Participant observation and other ethnographic research methods were used to produce…

The public relations studies section of the proceedings includes the following seven papers: "Ethical Inclinations of Public Relations Practitioners" (Cornelius B. Pratt); "Losing Control: An Examination of the Management Function in Public Relations" (Martha M. Lauzen); "Shifting the Public Relations Paradigm: A Theory of…

A review of recent literature and commission reports identifies persistent problems in two areas of educational administration: research and preparation programs. The two problems are linked in that they are often supervised by faculty who direct but do not themselves perform research. Two areas of research needs are the poor research skills of…