Until very recently, ethical issues were given little attention in administrator-preparation programs. This digest outlines the ethical responsibilities of school leaders and the dilemmas that they face. It offers the following suggestions for resolving ethical dilemmas: (1) Leaders should have and be willing to act on a definite sense of ethical…

Metaphors are useful for creating new meanings and making assumptions explicit. This paper describes the metaphors that four female principals used to conceptualize their thinking about leadership and power. Data were derived from observations and interviews with the principals, who had been identified by their school boards as outstanding…

A study examined the effects on elementary school climate that result from a change of principal. Data were collected over a 12-month period at 12 schools in an urban school division. Six of the schools were scheduled to have principal changes in fall 1994 and six were not. Teachers completed Hoy, Tarter, and Kottkamp's (1991) OCDQ-RE survey in…

This paper asks: Which of the alternative views that women bring to the position of superintendent have the potential to change the nature of the position itself? The paper examines the classical "feminine" definition of power in light of its potential to support an ethical practice not often attributed to superintendents of schools, namely, an…

Within the research on teacher planning and decision making the principal is seldom mentioned as a key shaper of teachers' curricular and instructional decision making. This paper presents findings of a case study of two elementary school principals. The study examined the congruence between principals' aims and teachers' decisions; the statements…

Despite burgeoning literature that acknowledges the importance of the principalship in achieving and maintaining school effectiveness, principals have been depicted unfavorably in film and television as insecure autocrats, petty bureaucrats, and classic buffoons. This paper presents findings of a study that not only catalogued images of principals…

This guidebook presents practical, everyday applications of effective school leadership principles. Chapter 1 describes the roles and responsibilities of school leaders today. Chapter 2 presents a litmus test of school leadership, which is described in terms of vertical and hierarchical models. Problem-solving techniques are presented. The role of…

Findings of a study that investigated teachers' perceptions of the most desirable characteristics of principal behavior are presented in this paper. An instrument used to measure employees' perceptions of business manager characteristics (Kouzes and Posner 1987) was adapted to the educational setting and completed by 1,225 teachers in 4 states.…

The role of the principal as an educational leader for the 1990s is described in this keynote address. The first part discusses the roles and responsibilities of principals and supervisors as administrators, managers, and leaders. The second part examines educational issues of the 1990s, which include: (1) the importance of education to all…

Common views of the assistant principal (AP) as the "Marine Corps sergeant type" with nowhere better to be are outdated. Career APs have diverse roles in school administration, often including, but not limited to, discipline. Many career APs find rewards in working with children and put high value on having a balanced personal life. Two…

Atlantic Baptist College (New Brunswick, Canada) has adopted a faculty evaluation program based on the work of a committee of administrators and faculty representatives. The program was initiated out of the administration's desire to foster academic excellence and faculty development through a more systematic evaluation procedure. The committee…

This paper presents findings of a study that explored how principals "enacted" and "structured" the environments of their schools. Weick's theoretical framework is used to understand the cognitive process by which managers selectively construct and attend to certain features of their environment while ignoring others. Data were obtained from…

This paper describes the recurring behavior patterns exhibited by first-year schools in the Louisiana Accelerated Schools Network during the evaluation process conducted during the years 1992 and 1993. These patterns are viewed through the lens of one of the three guiding principles of the accelerated schools process--empowerment coupled with…

Today, prevailing views of leadership suggest that the principal's role should not be to direct others but to create a school culture in which decisions are made collaboratively. Such "facilitative" leadership exercises power through others, not over them. The basic question is whether or not these two leadership styles are mutually…

Findings from a study that described the responsibilities and characteristics of Kentucky school district instructional supervisors are presented in this paper. Instructional supervisors are those district personnel who are responsible for the professional development of teachers. Questionnaires mailed to 184 Kentucky instructional supervisors…