A UK study shadowed and interviewed 32 secondary-school department heads to identify their leadership/management styles; sense of empowerment; and initiatives for and obstacles to improving teaching, learning, and achievement in classrooms. Shared power among senior and middle managers in UK schools is rare; training must change radically.…

Presents a critical discourse analysis of a board of trustees meeting at a New Zealand secondary school. Shows how distorted communication can arise in administrative settings when some stakeholders are not represented. Also describes a group of emancipatory leaders who work in children's best interests. (Contains 37 references.) (MLH)

Investigates the efficacy of the participatory leadership model incorporated at an urban community college. Concludes that the participatory model may operate to exclude people from leadership as much as the traditional hierarchical model. Contains 29 references. (JDI)

People who were president of a state or regional library association from 1985 through 1994 were surveyed. Issues of gender and ethnicity are explored as well as the forms of support available from associations, employers, and families. Recommendations focus on the ways in which individuals can better prepare themselves for a presidential role,…

A group of Edmonton (Alberta) principals developed 10 commandments for developing needed skills for the next millennium. Principals must be goal-directed, light others' way, have high expectations, foster empowerment, provide authentic educational experiences, be team members, value school community differences, encourage others' participation,…

The urban school systems of four nontraditional superintendents (Harold Levy, Roy Romer, Paul Vallas, and Alan Bersin) include the nation's three largest (New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago) districts and San Diego. Some of these chief executives are managing more successfully than others; all four are facing difficult obstacles. (MLH)

Examines whether principals utilized flexible influence strategies under changing circumstances, based on perceptions of 450 Israeli elementary teachers. Principals acted mainly through an informal, less directive orientation of influence both in ordinary times and in times of change. Principals' leaned toward participatory influence approaches.…

Describes one superintendent's behaviors and activities while trying to implement a change agenda (site-based management) in his district. Although the superintendent's leadership style seemed based on theory, it created consternation and fear in many and acceptance in some. Administrators ultimately rejected the superintendent's…

Uses Missouri beginning teacher survey to analyze teacher migration. Develops simultaneous equations model to identify teacher and school district characteristics predictive of teacher mobility and determine predictive relationships between teachers' annual earnings and selected demographic and geographic variables. Findings support conventional…

Petzoldt's "grasshopper" method of teaching was a systematic adaptation of opportunity teaching or using the teachable moment. An excellent example of effective experiential education, it presented small, manageable bites of information which were immediately relevant. His emphasis on the importance of judgment and decision making and the first 24…

Compares self-reported survey data from magnet-school principals to those of neighborhood school principals to ascertain if administrator roles differ in choice environments. Despite market theorists' predictions, findings suggest that magnet schools do little to alter principal roles (as entrepreneurs, middle managers, or instructional leaders).…

School business administrators must be both business managers and educators. As the school district's chief financial officer, the school business administrator must have strong communication and interpersonal skills. Spheres of involvement include working with school staff, parents, the district office, town officials and committees, vendors, and…

Urges addressing leadership demands in early childhood care and education. Identifies new adaptable organizational leadership theories and the need for their growth and development. Redefines traditional leadership, discusses the strength of diversity and change in leadership, and advocates using equity and reality to transform leadership in the…

Styles of leadership which encourage leaders to share responsibilities and authority have been the subject of much recent interest. Initiatives, such as that for encouraging distributed models of leadership, are attracting much attention. Within this movement the head teacher is encouraged to work with staff, utilizing their expertise and…

College or university presidents (or chancellors, depending on the institution) get paid the big bucks to worry about the big picture: capital campaigns, attracting and retaining students, creating and sustaining quality academic programs, shared governance. It's a demanding job even when everything goes well, but when problems arise, challenges…