Since the assistant principalship originated as an administrative function, it is not surprising that assistant principals' primary responsibilities have always centered on routine administrative tasks, custodial duties, and discipline. Recent efforts to expand the assistant principal's role to include instructional leadership can be historically…

College presidents and trustees have the opportunity to weave a theme of community service throughout their institutions by setting policy, creating agendas, and allocating new resources or focusing existing efforts. Trustees can pilot projects, encourage and fund centers for public service, and integrate community-building statements in…

The Arts Director of the Model Secondary School for the Deaf at Gallaudet University offers guidelines for recruiting support for an arts program. The importance of demonstrating easily attainable initial goals and positive presentation is stressed. Guidelines include obtaining administrative support, using volunteers, finding creative funding,…

A survey of department chairs at colleges and universities investigated the administrators' perceptions of the importance of 26 administrative duties. Results reveal patterns in perceived importance of functions and perceptions of effectiveness in achieving them. Factors of hiring, discipline, gender, or orientation (manager, leader, developer,…

Meaningful change is possible only when supported by leadership at the classroom, school, district, and state levels. University of Michigan's Coalition Project was designed to change the motivational culture of a middle school by realigning schoolwide policies and practices with desired changes (emphasis on effort, improvement, and mastery) in…

Using the Integrated Practice Perspective model and data from 85 continuing education administrators, working roles in geographically decentralized organizations were examined. The resulting role composite for continuing educators differs from that in the literature. Contingency variables influence role importance and frequency of performance. (SK)

This reprinted 1971 article reports on analysis of a 1968 survey of 221 research administrators in terms of organizational affiliation, duties and responsibilities, titles, and educational background. The paper argues that administration is like the doughnut hole, but research is the doughnut, and points out that research as an activity needs to…

Describes the various roles (monitor, information gatherer, communicator and feedback provider, clarifier, coanalyzer, assister, resource provider, and motivator) played by the supervisor when evaluating administrators. Presents a sample evaluation instrument assessing five major performance areas (management, professionalism, leadership,…

To overcome the superprincipal complex, principals must become expert in processing information and making decisions. To make informed decisions most effectively, principals should employ participatory management, become process consultants, and incorporate the Situation-Target-Proposal (STP) method for resolving problems. Otherwise, change will…

Interviews with 15 presidents of diverse colleges and universities investigated the ways in which the administrators perceived their administrative teams as useful. The presidents had very different approaches to teamwork, using them for utilitarian, expressive, and cognitive functions ("real" teams) or in more limited ways ("illusory" teams).…

School-based management is rapidly becoming the centerpiece of the current school reform movement. Discusses the new roles of the school business official. (21 references) (MLF)

Under school-based management, principals are there to help staff members make the best possible decisions. The principal's job involves six discernable roles: (1) facilitator; (2) trainer; (3) expert adviser; (4) resource coordinator; (5) communicator; and (6) advocate. (MLF)

Principals should focus curriculum development around specific questions mirroring journalistic who-what-where-why considerations. This means striving to clarify definitions, rationale and philosophy, policy origins, procedures, temporal arrangements, learning sites, and value. For example, schools have multiple curriculum philosophies that…

Interviews with 10 beginning principals in rural high schools examined: principals' perceptions of teacher expectations in four areas of instructional leadership; the ways that instructional leadership norms were transmitted from teachers to new principals; and principals' behavioral responses to teachers' socialization "messages."…

Discusses the role of a "basic course director" who oversees the consistency among multiple sections of the same course. Surveys communications departments at representative midwestern universities concerning the methods and functions of such a director of introductory courses. (HB)