Most principals today are hard pressed to find time for the multitasking they are expected to do, from overseeing the daily operation of their schools and interacting with parents to evaluating teachers and providing them with professional development to do their jobs at a high level. What these principals have frequently been lacking, say experts…

Women are underrepresented as leaders in most facets of American work life. While present in fields that are traditionally feminine, there is a scarcity of women leaders in all other occupations including business, government, science and technology, agriculture, education in general and higher education in particular. While women currently…

Several longitudinal reports predicted a potential crisis in the nation's community college system: a leadership gap due to a sizeable number of retirements of presidents and other high ranking college leaders. First reported at the beginning of 2000, the gap continues to grow, and recent research highlights the continuing trend. In the near…

Sigmund Tobias came to the United States in 1948, after his family had fled to China from the Holocaust in Europe. His Memoir ("Strange Haven: A Jewish Childhood in Wartime Shanghai") describes that part of his life. He settled in New York, where he completed his B.A. and M.S. in School Psychology from the City College of New York, and a…

This paper investigates how key elements of school culture are associated with teachers' capacity to find and act on new information. We analyzed survey data from 3,579 teachers located in 117 schools which were a randomly selected sample from 9 states in the US. We found that school cultural components such as academic press, student support, and…

Orienting and welcoming first-year students to campus and to honors programs are often key components of program development. At an institutional level, successful orientation programs can positively affect retention rates from the first to second year. The greater a student's involvement and integration into the life of the university, the less…

This study investigated a system-wide change strategy in a South African school district, which sought to build the leadership capacity of principals and district officials to improve instruction. The three-year venture was called the Leadership for Learning Programme (LLP). A distinctive feature of the LLP was that it was based on a partnership…

Sometimes, education leaders are so intent on getting their message out that they neglect the other side of the equation--listening. In this article, Jean Johnson of Public Agenda describes the conditions that make "messaging" a perilous undertaking today. "These are skeptical times," she explains, in which Americans are…

Across the education field, there is unusual consensus that strong teacher leaders are key to improving our nation's schools. Unfortunately, clear expectations for what teacher leaders should do, and strategies to prepare them to do it, are few and far between. One recent survey found that while 86 percent of schools have teacher leader roles,…

Building relationships is the essence of the community college. Higher education administrators learned long ago that building rapport with businesses, state and local government, and constituents is the best way to represent the interests of the community. But that does not make it easy. Board members come and go and the shifting dynamics of…

This project explores collaborative efforts involving the United States Forest Service and the communities it serves. By contributing to our understanding leadership dynamics within collaborative groups in this setting, this project provides resource managers and communities with a more refined insight into how collaborative groups are maintained…

Many books have been written about various leadership characteristics, styles, outcomes, and purposes in schools. Much less has been written about followership. But, in order to have leaders, we must have followers. Understanding the leadership-followership dynamic in the school may promote inclusivity, transparent interaction, and authenticity…

Many people think there is a quick road to leadership success. Those who want to become IT leaders--that is, "aspiring leaders"--often think: "If I just do my job well, I will rise to a leadership position." Those who are already IT leaders--that is, "residing leaders"--often think: "If I just do my job well, I will leave a lasting legacy." Doing…

In this article, the author talks about his career that has included positions in government and higher education, with the last 25 years having been spent working at four postsecondary institutions in the United States and Canada. In all cases, he has been blessed by having a caring and supportive mentor (sometimes more than one). Looking back…

Two "philosophers" on leadership have had great influence on the author: Warren Bennis and John W. Gardner. She cannot speak or write about leadership without referring to one or both of them. She regards their perspectives as timeless. In this article, the author discusses her interpretation of Bennis's (1996) "guiding vision, passion, and…