This study investigated district leadership development policies, practices, and programs and administrators' recommendations for improving them in three districts. The study explored six dimensions of district activity that were likely to influence the formal and informal development of school leaders: direction, culture, policies and procedures,…

The impact of a 19-year-old leadership training program on participants was studied through qualitative and quantitative measures. Data from 234 participants show that they perceived that their knowledge and skills increased and that their attitudes changed as a result of the training workshop. Implications for organizational training programs are…

Presents an instrument for measuring emotional barriers that can inhibit giving, receiving, and exchanging corrective feedback in counselor training groups. Also assesses leader behaviors that can help group members address those barriers. Testing showed that the instrument can be used to identify group member concerns. (RJM)

The need for interpersonal skills among educational administrators was examined. Educational administration graduate students were found similar to the general population in attending, empathy, respect, and concreteness. After training of school administrators in interpersonal skills and group management, assessments indicated significant,…

Results of two investigations of leader characteristics and behaviors associated with extraordinary performance are reported. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Results indicated transformational leadership was more prevalent in higher education than at other levels; they emphasized the importance of professional development…

Effectiveness of a training model in a leadership training program for Head Start personnel was assessed quantitatively and qualitatively for 31 participants. Results demonstrate positive effects on perceived competence, the quality of teaching practices, and the organizational climate of Head Start centers. Case studies further support these…

A study identified several problems encountered by nine Newfoundland schools while converting to a team leadership model: time restraints, school management concerns, limited perceptions of leadership, district interference, personnel changes, apathy, dysfunctional politics, goal-setting difficulties, reduced professional-development…

A research study examined what competence-based management training (CBMT) is, how organizations are using it and why, and what impact it has had. It drew on evidence from a survey and case studies conducted among large employers in Britain (United Kingdom). General findings from 377 respondents indicated that the use of competencies was…

"Strong leadership" is almost always listed as an attribute of successful schools. To learn the views of outstanding school leaders, each regional representative of the U.S. Department of Education (USED) convened a meeting of 25-30 local educators well known for their leadership in sustained school-improvement efforts. The groups were composed of…

Beginning educational administrators often find that they are unprepared to deal with the realities of school administration. This paper describes how the Halifax County, North Carolina, school system worked with a national organization and an area university to develop a plan to improve its administrator-preparation program. In 1992 the school…

Children's leadership expression in different types of group activities from early elementary school through high school was examined. Parents and teachers of 354 Western New York kindergarten through twelfth-grade public school students completed questionnaires assessing the children's leadership expression. Results indicated that leadership in…

Career attitudes, fears, and misconceptions were examined among 44 participants in a course designed to promote educational leadership skills among female administrators. About half of the participants surveyed worked at rural sites. Questions were related to barriers women face in attaining administrative jobs, suggestions for overcoming…

Leadership development is needed in vocational education; the field lacks an adequate number of leaders and is making almost no systematic effort to develop them. In order for leadership development activities to be undertaken, however, a definition of leadership is needed. An overview of the literature suggests that leadership can be seen as both…

The Research-Practice Linkages Project sought to identify the knowledge base supporting community leadership development (CLD) programs of the Cooperative Extension Service and to determine linkages between Extension programs and CLD research. A mail questionnaire was completed by 492 Extension staff involved in CLD programs in 18 states and 42…

Presented is the final report of the Leadership Training Institute (LTI) in Learning Disabilities at the University of Arizona. Purposes of the LTI are reported to have been to give technical assistance to the Child Service Demonstration Centers which were alloted funds by the Bureau for the Education of Handicapped Children in eight states…