The purpose of this study was to examine principals' perceptions of parental involvement at various levels in terms of their role in facilitation and parent involvement in school processes. The principals in this study (n = 171) were receptive to their roles in facilitation, but not to parental involvement in school processes. Because there are…

This qualitative case study reports and interprets school principals' perceptions of their role in implementing and sustaining Second Step, a social skills development programme. The study compares schools that implemented the programme as a formalised strategy for all teachers and those that did not. The results suggest that the key features of…

Traditional professional development focuses on declarative and procedural knowledge. That is, participants usually learn what to do and how to do it rather than when to do it and why it is important. In McREL's leadership development program, they focus first on providing participants with an overview of research findings found in their…

The ability to develop and implement a school vision is now viewed as a core competency for school principals. Since being highlighted as an ISLLC performance standard, it has received increased attention in the educational leadership literature and principal preparation programs. This article summarizes recent findings regarding the perceptions…

The objectives of this study of public school administrators were to determine the level of burnout experienced by school administrators, the relationships between burnout and stress measures, the factors associated with burnout, and the relationships between administrative level and components of the Administrative Role Perception Inventory…

Is it possible for principals/heads to be effective educational leaders? In this study, we compared the work of principals/heads in two policy contexts. In Policy Context 1, standards for student performance were common and well-established, and authority was devolved to the school level for reshaping the school to meet those standards. In…

Curriculum reform across Canada resulted in a new commitment to resource-based learning. Not only is the provision of resources important but also the development and implementation of resource-based programs, which are initiated by teacher-librarians and planned cooperatively with classroom teachers. This study addresses the relationship between…

This manual is intended to serve as a basic guide for the partners in the Whitworth College (Washington) student teaching program--the student teacher, the cooperating teacher, the college supervisor, and the building administrator. It contains basic information about the education program, serves as a general reference for practicum procedures,…

This document reports on a study of the implementation of new teacher evaluation procedures as part of a consultant-designed teacher incentive plan in three elementary schols. The study focused on the impact of this effort on the role-related interests (job satisfactions and needs) of teachers and administrators. Teachers' role-related interests…

Guided by interpretive ethnographic methods and by instructional leadership concepts, this comparative study of secondary principals in Japan and America discovers characteristics of excellent principals and examines their values in relation to dominant cultural themes. The investigation applies anthropologist Clifford Goertz's assumptions (1973,…

This progress report of ethnographic research on instructional leadership focuses on a new elementary school principal's role formation in relation to teaching staff and district organizational culture. The project, which examines the prevailing notion of instructional leadership in school effectiveness literature, reveals a gap in perspective…

This document includes four papers presented at a symposium, based on a synthesis of five years of research--on the interaction of role groups and factors in the change process that are critical for school improvement in elementary and secondary schools. The papers identify elements of the change process crucial for the success of proposed changes…