To help new principals succeed, school districts are capitalizing on senior administrators' expertise by adding mentor programs to the practical training programs for beginning principals. This ERIC Digest in Spanish examines the nature of mentorships and discusses how they can prepare principals for the next stage of their careers. Although…

Self-ratings on the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire were completed by 101 vocational administrators, who were also rated by 262 teachers. Predominant leadership style was transformational; females rated higher as transformational leaders and their self-ratings of effectiveness were higher than male self-ratings. No significant differences…

Examines professional vitality (passion, vigor, facility, and satisfaction) among Maine elementary school principals. Finds three variables related to level of principal vitality: Tenure in the same school (longer tenure results in lower vitality), gender (women have more vitality than men), and support (more faculty and staff support equals…

Profiles five college presidents (Henry Tisdale of Claflin University, David Carter of Eastern Connecticut State University, Jimmy Jenkins of Edward Waters College, Dorothy Yancy of Johnson C. Smith University, and Luns Richardson of Morris College) who have brought success to their once-languishing institutions. (EV)

Investigated the competencies that principals perceived they had to manage special education programs, comparing their self-perceptions with estimates of those administrators' competencies made by special education directors. Survey data indicated that principals had little formal academic training in this area and tended to consistently and…

Investigated the effectiveness of Seventh-day Adventist boarding high school principals as perceived by school staff, superintendents, and principals. Survey data indicated that respondents perceived principals to be highly effective in maintenance and integration and moderately effective in adaptation and goal attainment. Respondents' perceptions…

Surveys of 38 managers identified critical components in their effectiveness in performing a teaching role with subordinates: acceptance of the manager/teacher role, effective teaching methods, and the acceptance of the teaching by learners. Influences on the role were perceived performance pressures and rewards, ability to simplify complexity,…

Personal account of her first-year experience as superintendent of the Pulaski Central Schools in upstate New York. (PKP)

Describes a superintendent's plan of entry into a new school district. Includes six-step guide for entry plan survey. (PKP)

Reports the testing of hypotheses about principal vision generated from Blumberg and Greenfield's (1986) qualitative studies of effective principals. Teachers tend to associate a robust principal with freedom to select the techniques of their work; the relationship between teacher sense of autonomy and principal vision is less clear. (JD)

"Cloutmeisters" think clear and complete thoughts years into the future about who owes them what, how those debts might best be collected, who's worth cultivating, and who can be ignored with impunity. Because clout depends on petty, manipulative, and mean-spirited behavior, administrators must exercise considerable ingenuity to practice…

Reviews the background of current leadership concepts, some ideas from the research, and some suggestions for practice. The best leadership practices may be grouped under the headings of vision, transforming behavior, situational adaptation, perseverance, and skills development. Favorable learning conditions benefit administrators and students…

If administrators personalize attacks, defend themselves, or argue with detractors, anger will escalate and the situation will degenerate further. This article explains why people attack and advises how to respond by using reflective listening, inviting criticism, focusing on the problem itself, exploring suggested solutions as legitimate options,…

Administrator succession can have varied effects on organizational performance. Although most studies have focused on performance outcomes, this paper reports the personal sense making of a successor to the principalship. The successor found that leadership validation and attribution influenced her transformation from an interloper to an effective…

To identify the cultural elements in school principals' problem-solving processes and the differences between experts and their more typical colleagues, this study interviewed 22 elementary principals. From their responses to brief, hypothetical case problems, a problem-solving model was constructed. Differences were most evident in responses to…