Looks at the status of women in management and identifies barriers to the upward mobility of women workers, including sex-role stereotyping, hiring biases, organizational procedures, managers' attitudes, and women's own self-concepts. (Author/JM)

Because life is unpredictable and plans often go awry, improvisation can be an important skill for educational leaders. This article explains the importance of improvisation; describes what drives it; and provide five questions to ask for assessing how leader improvisation, or lack of it, can affect a school district. (WFA)

This article recounts the journey of a high school administrator to the concept of feminist administration. It offers a first definition of feminist administering through parallels with feminist pedagogy and makes some tentative suggestions about the application of the concept to the school restructuring movement. (IAH)

Among 462 principals of small rural secondary schools in South Dakota, North Dakota, Kansas, and Nebraska, most perceived themselves as instructional leaders but spent the most time on general managerial duties. The tendency toward a task-oriented leadership style did not vary by gender or experience. Contains 20 references. (SV)

Examines the role of effective leadership in implementing a quality early childhood center. Suggests that through the leaders' work, quality performance is supported, and employees feel connected to both their coworkers and the quality of the improvement process. Suggests empowering the personnel, building a risk-giving environment, and embracing…

About two years into her first urban superintendency, Gerry House knows she cannot solve every problem on-on-one but has created a responsive system to handle parents' complaints. The Memphis school superintendent hopes to boost minority achievement, ensure that all children learn at high levels, bolster community confidence in the schooling…

The article views instructional supervision as the sum of the personal interactions between and among teachers and the principal that lead to the improvement of instruction. As an instructional leader, the principal focuses less on doing things right and more on doing the right things to improve student achievement. (SM)

A study created and compared two composite college presidential leadership styles, based on analysis of the effects of new presidents. The impact of one type's leadership was primarily on satisfaction and morale, the other's on structural and physical features of the institution. Results suggest new presidents should integrate the two approaches.…

Today's superintendents are unaccustomed to sharing significant power with others and are expected to educate all youngsters effectively. Superintendents' responses to differences with their boards can profoundly affect progress in school improvement. By stressing dialog over discussion, superintendents might keep their jobs without sacrificing…

A study of 158 college presidents examined the relationship of eight leadership styles (integrator, net-caster, focused visionary, focused performer, prioritizer, dreamer, implementer, maintainer) and three college outcomes (enrollment growth, resource growth, quality improvement). Distinct patterns are identified and their implications are…

Reports on a broad-scale leadership and gender study, based on research on 400 principals in Victoria, Australia, between 1996-99. Although findings confirm previous claims concerning significant differences in female and male leaders' perceptions and beliefs, they acknowledge the importance of organizational cultures, value systems, and same-sex…

Summarizes a 1992 Wisconsin study exploring relationships among principals' leadership styles, gender, and personality attributes and principals' and teachers' work satisfaction. None of these variables predicted work satisfaction; teachers and principals had different perceptions of leadership. Schools should hire more female administrators and…

Summarizes perceptions of 23 (Australian) senior women in Education Queensland (state education department) on school-based management's effects on their leadership styles and career opportunities. Participants felt that SBM would legitimize their methods, but would not enhance future career prospects in a masculinized central bureaucracy.…

Describes leadership models that evolved during 15 different two-year lead teacher professional development programs in science and mathematics. Analyzes multiple data sources and discusses the views of leadership that emerged from the professional development activities conducted at each site. (Contains 50 references.) (Author/WRM)

As individuals contemplate a new worldview of leadership education, they must step back to reflect on what now shapes and constrains leaders in schools. Their understandings of traditional leadership are rooted in organizational theory that is focused on rationality, effectiveness, and efficiency of bureaucratic institutions, defining the…