Effective K-12 leaders remain a central concern for schools and communities of all types. The purpose of this research is to examine critically the literature on issues facing leaders in rural and urban settings and present a synthesis of cross-cutting themes. The authors reviewed the theoretical and empirical literature on K-12 leadership issues…

Mentoring for principals during their first years on the job, once a relative rarity, is now required by half the nation's states--a major advance from a long-standing "sink-or-swim" attitude toward new school leaders and a belated sign of recognition of the role that well-prepared principals can play in lifting student achievement. But…

Author recounts his career as a premier bibliographer of group work. He examines the development of his career and points out the importance of making the broad literature on group work easily accessible to practitioners. Stresses the active nature of group leadership and describes his leadership process. (Author/JDM)