Elements of California's Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program, which provides new teachers with one-on-one mentoring and professional support in their first two years of practice, are being applied to UC Santa Cruz's pilot project for beginning principals. Principals need intensive coaching and support when assuming their duties. (MLH)

Supervising administrative interns for university credit can be challenging unless principals understand their role is critical, make work plans, establish an evaluation form, explain interns' role to staff, involve interns, explain decisions, provide frequent feedback, discuss interpersonal skills, create supportive conditions, and help interns…

Uses a model of job change gains and losses to underpin research on new (British) headteachers and deputies, examining gains and losses accompanying the deputy-to-headteacher transition, the degree these were anticipated, and seriousness of their effects. Many of the 87 deputies were deterred by headship burdens; 37 new, well-prepared principals…

This case was developed to use in leadership courses with specific implications for school law and supervision of instruction. Varied data are presented about the school and district for students to analyze. School instructional policies of inclusion of special needs students and supervision of teachers play a role in the course of events at…

This text offers guidelines, checklists, advice from other principals, and reflections intended to make a principal's day on the job run more smoothly. Several themes are stressed throughout the book: school administration as a human-relations enterprise; increasing awareness of the principal's socialization process; the leader as a lifelong…

This study identifies the factors leading to the socialization of new principals. The study examined the identification of new principals, the socialization or learning processes that lead to the principal's professional development, the extent to which other principals (peers) play a part in that socialization, the extent to which the selection…

This study examined the impact of external influences on beginning headteachers in England. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to 50 beginning headteachers who started their positions in September 2000. The research was part of a larger study on the experiences of beginning headteachers and principals in several countries. This paper…

Most administrator training programs focus on what educational leaders should do rather than what they should not do. To help administrators in their roles, an overview of mistakes to avoid is offered in this ERIC digest in Spanish. The emphasis on the negative stems from the belief that undesirable behaviors are far fewer than desirable ones. The…

Mentorship programs are a promising approach to the professional development needs of new principals. The Southeastern Regional Principals' Academy provides professional development and collegial support for early-career principals in the primarily rural schools of southeast Ohio. For its 1999-2001 pilot program, 19 principals were organized into…

Results of a survey examining Missouri superintendents' perceptions of successful beginning principals, based on ratings on six Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium standards, were compared with another study rating unsuccessful Indiana principals by the same standards. School culture, instructional program, and management are essential…

In a study investigating principals' career life cycles, five urban secondary principals were interviewed. When analyzing interviewees' perceptions of their leadership, different role perceptions emerged that appeared to be influenced by length of time in service. Experience may lead to a lessening of creative tension via intrusion of current…

Purpose: This paper aims to contribute to the literature and practice on beginning principal socialization by identifying the features of post-industrial work that create a more complex work environment for the practice and learning of the principalship in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: Based on recent literature on the changing nature of…

This qualitative case study describes the transitional experiences (first 4 1/2 months) of four school leaders. The "life cycle" of leaders is often short, necessitating job changes with resulting transitions, when new leaders must simultaneously learn their positions and make changes to improve schools. Using previous leadership…

Most administrator training programs focus on what educational leaders should do rather than what they should not do. This digest offers an overview of mistakes administrators should try to avoid. The emphasis on the negative stems from the belief that undesirable behaviors are far fewer than desirable ones. The digest reviews the types of…

Suggestions on how to navigate the difficult transition from teacher to administrator are presented in this book. Chapter 1 discusses the stages of change that translate into the stages of grief and loss and the sense of unpreparedness new administrators face. New communication patterns are explored in chapter 2, followed by a discussion of time…