Findings of a study of independent school heads' needs for and attitudes toward professional development are presented in this paper, with a focus on contextual problems and perceptions of management and leadership. A survey mailed to all 988 member schools of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) in 1989 elicited 500 responses.…

This chapter, from a guide for designing, implementing, and evaluating instruction and services for students with disabilities, acquaints the education administrator with the what, why, and how of interagency collaboration. System-level interagency collaboration involves joint planning, joint implementation, and joint evaluation between…

At Miami-Dade Community College (M-DCC), in Florida, a committee was formed to define administrator excellence in the context of teaching and learning and to develop a performance review process. During the second pilot-testing of the resulting Performance Review Feedback Survey process, over 1,200 surveys provided information on 283…

This study attempted to identify workable strategies for use in helping students develop greater confidence in their ability to learn and achieve in school. A sample of 82 graduate school students (primarily school teachers and administrators) studying school leadership completed an opinionnaire. The opinionnaire was designed to measure the…

School volunteers come from many sources and provide a wide range of services at both the elementary and secondary levels. Senior citizens have discovered that volunteering offers an avenue for exercising skills and talents gained through a lifetime of experience. In schools across the country, older adults are being brought into classrooms, to…

Research on leadership for change should focus more on what leaders do and less on who the key leaders are. This study identifies a set of change leadership functions, including providing and selling a vision of change, obtaining resources, providing encouragement and recognition, adapting standard operating procedures, monitoring the improvement…

This position statement, coauthored by a joint committee composed of members of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) and the National School Boards Association (ASBA), outlines a new cooperative relationship for superintendents and school boards. In light of the challenges that today's superintendents and school boards face, it…

The study reported in this document was conducted to measure the impact of the New Zealand Fire Service's new fire safety program on elementary school students. Firefighters in each fire station and voluntary fire brigade in New Zealand were responsible for arranging a visit to every elementary school within their area to present a learning…

Findings of a study that examined how information is used in schools that have adopted shared decision-making practices are presented in this paper. The study focused on how first- and second-year principals access, use, and value various kinds of information. A total of 24 out of 29 Louisiana LEAD schools responded to a questionnaire, an…

A freshman writing director's first year of teaching was worse than anything she had experienced as a graduate student, although she was trying to be exactly the same kind of teacher she had been as a graduate teaching assistant. Her realization was that she needed to know more about the abilities of her students and adjust her standards or…

This document presents findings of a study that investigated the roles and functions of school-personnel administrators in the United States and Canada. Surveys were mailed to four groups--Canadian school district superintendents, county office of education superintendents, superintendents of educational service agencies, and American school…

This case study presents findings of a year-long ethnographic study of a principal of a suburban elementary school. It concludes one of seven studies conducted in elementary and intermediate schools in urban, suburban, and rural settings that investigated the instructional management role of principals. Data collection involved hundreds of hours…

Drawing from a national survey of 9,000 community and technical college department chairs in the United States and Canada, this book offers insights on the personal characteristics, responsibilities, challenges, and strategies of chairs. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the study, including information on its rationale and purpose, instrument…

Caught in the midst of flux and the ensuing pressures and conflicts, an administrator needs a well-developed ethical code governing his or her exercise of power and authority. Ethical concern in this study centers around self-prioritizing values inherent in personal ego and service to the common good; those chosen principles and their…

The role of the college president as one of the chief actors in academic fund raising is examined against the background of today's period of financial caution and increased competition for philanthropic support. The paper first provides an overview of the state of the art of fund raising and some ways in which college and universities have…