The global COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted schooling worldwide. Remote and limited face-to-face school management during the pandemic brought to bear the numerous challenges facing schools and principals throughout the crisis, which, in turn, gave rise to changes in their leadership practices and roles. The professional literature needs conceptual…

Teacher working conditions surveys provide biennial, comprehensive data regarding school leadership. This case describes how a Title I middle school principal proactively addresses end-of-year data to address identified needs and growth areas in a collaborative manner in her middle school. The principal works in a concerted manner with an…

The authors of this article state that, as literacy coaches negotiate complex tasks in their work with teachers, they assume dual roles. The authors review the evolution of International Reading Association (IRA) standards, paying particular attention to the roles of literacy coach and literacy coordinator. The authors then present data on the…

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…

A newly-appointed principal describes the responses of schoolchildren, and how the responses vary according to age and experience, as the children adjust to her presence after the departure of a beloved predecessor. (Author/MLF)

Assistant principals should be expected, encouraged, and empowered to work beyond their disciplines, outside their cultures, and above their traditional roles. The assistant principal's role in team management is to become an advocate for excellence, a visionary leader, a change agent, a communicator, a motivator, and a determinant of school…

A survey of 77 Missouri high school principals revealed a traditional view of the school librarian as one who purchases, processes, and circulates books and provides occasional reference services. Skills indicating involvement with the instructional process rated average in importance. Principals did not view library media specialists as teachers.…

While Principal Norman Higgins was speaking at an out-of-town conference, his high school faculty voted to cancel final exams for seniors and hold a morale-raising picnic. Although some principals dole out site-based power only grudgingly, Higgins takes his coordinator role seriously and delegates loads of responsibility. This article details…

Both leadership and management play important roles in school administration, but there are problems with the way educational organizations are being both led and managed. A discussion of those problems, along with some possible solutions, are presented in this paper. It opens with an examination of the principal's role and how such persons must…

Political and economic realities in changing South Africa brought about restructuring of the nation's Department of Education and Culture. Using semistructured interviews with principals, this study attempted to determine how principals in one state-aided school perceived changes regarding their roles and tasks, staff structure, and internal…

Reviews the school restructuring movement and its progress at San Diego City Schools, highlighting changing roles and shifting relationships therein. San Diego's early restructuring activities stressed bottom-up reforms requiring extensive administrative support. Although 20% of (innovative) principals experienced little role change, many others…

A former elementary principal (and teacher) describes challenging, insightful experiences gained while substituting for teachers for a half-day. This practice, combined with scheduling "sacred" classroom visiting times while advancing toward the superintendency, kept him in touch with teacher concerns and classroom realities. (MLH)

The positive and negative experiences a professional educator had in in the role of researcher are used to discuss several dilemmas that this dual role brings: presentation of self; preparation and conduct of the study; reciprocity for subjects; presentation of findings; researcher bias; and anticipation of concern. Several conclusions drawn were:…

This paper describes the collaborative process and outcomes from involving teacher educators and school personnel in school-based collaborative supervisory teams formed by clustering graduate-level preservice teaching interns in a number of elementary and secondary field sites. The school-university collaborative reflects key elements in the…