This study examines three veteran urban school superintendents who were highly respected by their colleagues but who came under intense pressure from forces outside the school systems in the 1960's. Chapter 1 explores the context of the desegregation controversy and the furor over an independent evaluation that faced Benjamin C. Willis in Chicago.…

Schools are experiencing pressure to integrate into school programs the educational concepts that society demands. Other factors affecting educational administration are (1) conflicts over control of schools, (2) lack of confidence in decision-makers, (3) reduction of the separation between policy-making and day-to-day administration through…

This investigation focused on two basic areas: (1) administrators' ratings of their institutions, job roles, and educational problems and issues, and (2) the perceived effects of collective bargaining on schools and colleges. The study sample included high school principals, school superintendents, and community college presidents within the…

School boards should recognize that school administrators steer away from boards that (1) are consistently divided, (2) do not respect confidentiality, (3) are close-minded, and (4) do not adhere to the line between setting school policy and administering policy. (MLF)

Describes findings from a study of 20 school superintendents, their background characteristics, and the elements in organizational structures around them related to their success in becoming superintendents. The purpose was to determine predictors of access to superintendency, particularly access for women. Some data reveal that discriminatory…

Desribes the case of Carlos Bueno, a fictional elementary school principal who transforms a racially troubled school into a model of cooperation and excellence. Bueno is later appointed principal of an unruly junior high school, with disastrous results. Readers are asked to study Bueno's failure and decide the beleaguered superintendent's best…

School superintendents and schoolboard members in three states were surveyed to ascertain the sources of conflict and frustration associated with their respective roles. Among them were declining enrollment, decreased financial resources, and demands of special interest groups. Differences between states were evidenced. (KH)

Leonard Britton became superintendent of Dade County Schools (Florida) in 1980, when the system was on the brink of disaster. He successfully strengthened and improved the system. (MD)

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama," as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about…

The position of public school superintendency in the U.S. is the most powerful position in schools. Yet research has shown that women who hold the position have difficulty talking about power (Brunner, 2000). A survey designed to measure perceptions of power was sent to 210 women school superintendents in four Midwestern states during the…

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to gain an understanding of how senior school administrators define inspired public schools; and (2) to discern the characteristics of inspired schools to guide meaningful school improvement efforts. Twenty-nine senior leaders--school superintendents and assistant superintendents--from across New England…

This book introduces the new principal or potential principal to an awareness of how the leadership role of that position is different from that of the teacher. Each of the 12 chapters begins with an incident in the life of a typical first-year principal as a way to discuss leadership concerns. The book closely examines the history of the…

This book explores the dynamics of power among racial groups in the local community as they struggle for the fulfillment of their unique and joint goals through public education. Case studies of two educational issues are analyzed in this book. One has to do with the hiring and firing of the first black superintendent of the Boston (Massachusetts)…

This report documents a study of women superintendents. Specifically, the study identified professional and personal characteristics and styles of leadership to develop archetypes of six outstanding female superintendents in Texas. The intent of the research was also to reveal similarities between and among these superintendents that could provide…

A study examined the extent to which demographic factors predict rural values in Kentucky public school district hiring officials. Among the demographic factors considered were school district metropolitan classification, school district size, community racial composition, decision makers' position in the organizational hierarchy, and decision…