Research verified that school business administrators generally agree with the Association of School Business Officials International and Danforth Foundation model curriculum for school business administrators. Samples of 466 school business officials, 100 superintendents, and 100 representatives from educational administration programs were…

In a recent survey, 70 effective middle-level administrators describe what qualities make them and their schools successful. Many mentioned superior teaching staff, liking for students, supportive parents, high expectations and commitment, delegation of leadership responsibility, focus on change, personal characteristics, professional activities,…

Measuring the school administrator's productivity based on the existence of effective school characteristics can be misguided. There are no magic bullets or answers to linking effective schools to leadership productivity, but the "smoke and mirrors" assessment approach is easier to achieve than seeking the real truth. No single assessment…

Defines leadership and answers nine questions that routinely come up when practical decisions are made about leadership (e.g., whom to appoint, how to evaluate them, when to terminate them). The authors also address the question of why flawed leadership is so often chosen. (GLR)

If teachers perceive their principals as "closed"--inaccessible, unsupportive, and insecure--they are wary of efforts toward increased collaboration. With closed principals, teachers resort to micropolitical strategies, including avoidance, excessive rationality, ingratiation, confrontation, coalition-building, and deliberate noncompliance.…

The training of school principals must be motivated by a desire to serve U.S. society. University preparation programs are ethically bound to act as a gatekeeper for school districts; focus on principal quality, and examine the motive, means; and product to ensure high program standards. (four references) (MLH)

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.…

School performance is as closely tied to competent administration, effective supervision, and dynamic management as it is to aggressive leadership. Transformational leadership arises when leaders are more concerned about gaining staff cooperation and energetic participation than accomplishing particular tasks. (MLH)

Of 75 small-district educational administrators identified as successful, a significant number displayed intuitive and thinking psychological types and preferred visionary rational leadership styles. This was particularly true for female administrators and was contrary to the traditional rational leadership style seen in earlier studies of…

As schools become increasingly decentralized, the professional bureaucracy will be replaced by a boundary spanning organization (a school council or governing body) based on participative decision making. If state schools are to satisfy the emerging Third Wave Society's educational needs, school management must be characterized by high levels of…

Cross-disciplinary similarities and differences are apparent among various conceptualizations of decision making. This article isolates several decision theories outside education traditions and reports the application of social judgment theory to improving educational administrators' ability to identify high-risk students. (42 references) (MLH)

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)

Presents Paul Salmon's old-fashioned, common-sense guidelines for success in practical school administration. The maxims advise on problem ownership; the value of selective neglect; the importance of empowerment, enthusiasm, and effective communication; and the need for positive reinforcement, cultivation of support, and good relations with media,…

Discusses a study which sought to discover the traits and characteristics of exemplary school administrators, especially principals. Identifies the 11 qualities and characteristics necessary for principals to become effective leaders, as most often mentioned by the leaders themselves. (HB)