The 13 chapters of this book are written by scholars who have made significant contributions to school administration and to their own disciplines. After an introductory chapter on what research has to say about commitment, performance, and productivity, the discussion is presented in four parts: (1) empirical issues; (2) theoretical issues; (3)…

Comparisons of writing instruction to therapy often focus on the teacher and student interaction, yet the analogy is necessarily more extended and complicated. Compositionists should be paying attention to issues of affect and providing teachers and program administrators with a course of study that includes introductions to personality theory,…

Project LIRO (Leadership for Improved Restructuring Outcomes) was an attempt to influence student outcomes and school change through a year-long work experience and training of department chairs and administrators. The project used Teacher Collegial Groups (TCGs) to encourage collaboration between personnel from Institutions of Higher Education…

Most superintendents experience high levels of stress associated with their school administrator role. This paper reports on a survey conducted to help Maine superintendents better understand the stressors inherent in their role. The Survey of Superintendent Stressors was distributed to all 1989-90 Maine public school superintendents and a…

This paper investigates the elementary school principal's role in helping to sustain implementation of a complex math and science program designed to foster the development of higher order thinking skills, particularly for language minority students. The study predicted a positive relationship between coordination and program continuation; if the…

Leadership styles based on Bass's model of transformational and transactional leadership are explored in this report. Questionnaires were administered to staff and faculty at 45 private secondary schools in the southeast United States to determine the headmasters' leadership qualities. Factors of transformational leadership include charisma,…

The ways in which a Hispanic female superintendent led her school district toward stability and excellence are described in this report, with a focus on four elements that differentiate the work of urban school superintendents from that of others. Four years of data were collected through interviews with the superintendent, observations of group…

Ways in which the application of positivistic, phenomenological, ethnomethodological, and critical theories affect educational administration theory and practice are explored in this paper. A review of literature concludes that positivism separates practice from abstract theory; phenomenology offers a different view of reality; ethnomethodology is…

Findings from a study investigating and comparing differences in problem-solving approaches between novice and expert elementary school principals are reported in this paper, which focuses on the interview phase of the data collection process. Interview questions were designed to explore and compare the ways in which principals perceived…

A survey of and interviews with 259 college and university presidents and their spouses (65 percent response rate from 400 distributed) sought to understand their role as "living logos" of their institutions. Results found that the position of president is a way of life which involves the entire family; that presidents and their spouses represent…

One of a series of practitioner-oriented newsletters, the document provides elementary school principals with strategies for stimulating greater community involvement in the schools. In light of the increasing numbers of community members without children in school (now about two-thirds of the population), the article describes an Ohio campaign…

Lengthy abstracts of two journal articles and two Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) microfiche documents on the principal's role in educational innovation and change are presented. The introduction lists eight points on the principal's role which are suggested by the articles and documents. Summaries are provided for the following:…

Schools which have successfully implemented mastery learning (ML) programs show many similarities in their plans for ML development. These similarities stand out so strongly that knowledge of them can help all schools in planning for ML. The following program commonalities observed during visits to several schools in New York, Washington,…

This three volume study presents the results of research which examined working conditions and their possible relationship to stress among faculty in six schools (two elementary, two middle, and two high schools) in two major U.S. cities. Information about the schools was obtained through ethnographic case studies. Data were synthesized to…

From a sample of over 1,000 advertisements for school superintendent positions, this study compiles a list of qualifications and tasks required of most superintendents and indicates the trends in school board expectations of superintendents. The author first notes the degree of education preferred by school boards in their superintendents and then…