In all its complexity, the superintendent's role is an essential one--to the school district as an organization and social institution, to the greater system of which the school district is a part, and to the profession and field of education. Most directly, the role and person within it are essential to the overall welfare of the school…

Calls for students to develop 21st-century competencies are gaining traction among educators and policymakers, driven by a number of factors including research on learning; the ubiquity of information and communications technologies; and globalization in its many forms. What does 21st-century teaching mean to those who prepare young people for…

In response to a changing society, superintendents must develop a new set of skills involving knowledge of fiscal management, school law, management systems, human resources, curriculum, educational research, and policy development, among others. Superintendents must be agents of change with a vision of the future. Priorities should include an…

Although principals typically emphasize their managerial role, they need to increase their role as instructional leaders. The principal's role as an instructional leader encompasses three dimensions: (1) defining the school mission; (2) overseeing the instructional program; and (3) promoting the school learning climate. (KS)

Based on an address given at a conference for school trustees in London, Ontario, on March 27, 1969.

The director of a new professional-development center describes living and surviving a year of rapid change in Quebec. Four important management strategies are identifying and understanding reform goals to communicate them effectively, translating reform goals into specific institutional objectives and an action plan to mobilize staff, inviting…

Summarizes in-depth interviews with six past and present Canadian superintendents from metropolitan school districts. Discusses school board expectations of superintendents, ways to build an effective working relationship with the board, the political demands of the superintendent's position, and instructional leadership and other aspects of the…

Describes developmental teacher evaluation models designed for Medicine Hat School District No. 76 to involve teachers and administrators in all phases of implementation. Outlines basic components including administrator and teacher training, written evaluation policy, written job descriptions, jurisdiction/school standards, goal-setting…

Interviews with 10 elementary/secondary St. John's (Newfoundland) principals revealed impacts of collective bargaining on principal's role in teacher evaluation including more formalized relationship with staff, increased involvement of school boards, reservations over ability to adequately evaluate teachers, greater centralization of authority,…

Successful curriculum implementation must be deliberate, planned, and supervised. Characteristics affecting the success of curriculum innovations include the degree of change from the status quo, complexity, explicitness, practicality, and comparative advantage of the curriculum. Teachers' personalities, comprehension, and willingness to…

Adapted from an address given at the CEA Short Course, Banff, May 1969.

Discusses why the principal's position in the school system in general and within teachers' organizations in particular is, at present, hazy and in urgent need of reappraisal. (NEC)

Results of Ontario study to: determine if formal evaluation of principals occurs; assess the type of evaluation by examining process, presage and product (outcome) approaches; and outline extent of usage for each approach. Few school systems have defined the principal's function and obtained evidence of how well it is fulfilled. (NEC)

Describes collaborative teacher and administrator training in cognitive coaching, a form of teacher supervision in which the administrator acts as a facilitator of teacher reflection on teacher's own teaching practices and the thinking behind them. Includes one principal's thoughts on his own professional development as he proceeded through the…