This paper examines the ways in which a small number of school principals in England and Wales are making changes in their management structures and processes to cope with an increasingly turbulent environment. Using evidence on a comparative basis from organizations outside education, this paper looks at the way in which a number of principals…

To learn the extent to which a revised elementary science program for grades 3 to 6 had been implemented in the 81 elementary schools of the Jefferson County (Colorado) School District, program developers adopted an assessment system based on the innovation configurations concept. The evolution of this system into an ongoing program for…

This paper presents findings of a study that identified Mississippi middle school principals' perceptions of middle school functions and characteristics. Three broad functions of middle schools include: (1) to provide a program especially adapted to diverse student needs; (2) to promote continuity of education; and (3) to introduce needed…

Middle level schools have special needs because of the characteristics of the age group served. Staff development is crucial for middle schools. Its purposes and major planning components are presented in this paper. Most mid-level educators were prepared for elementary or high school teaching and have a limited knowledge of early adolescent…

This paper presents findings of a study that explored the relationships among principals' leadership behaviors and teacher efficacy in Wisconsin middle schools involved in building-level change efforts. An adaptation of Bandura's social cognitive learning theory of self-efficacy (A. Woolfolk and W. Hoy 1993) provided the theoretical framework.…

Based on Larry Hutchins' analysis of the school effectiveness literature, the Profile of School Excellence (PRO-S/E) is a diagnostic tool keyed to 11 instructional and organizational variables which are positively related to effective/excellent schools and which are alterable. The variables are: needs basis; objectives; expectations; roles and…

Principals play a unique role in school and student outcomes. This paper presents findings of a study that explored how principals' leadership behaviors influenced teachers' sense of efficacy. Specifically, the paper describes how principals in three middle schools influenced teachers' sense of efficacy and affected instructional and school…

Educators' perceptions of the effects of state mandated testing on instructional practices and curricular decisions were studied. An ethnographic interview study was conducted with 30 fifth- and sixth-grade teachers and 12 principals from Illinois, New York, and Tennessee. Forty-one of the 42 respondents agreed to have their interviews audiotaped.…

This study was conducted to determine how reform at the middle school level translates into classroom practice within the framework of innovation and decision-making. A set of field notes was developed through formal and informal interviews with the building principal and two interdisciplinary teams of teachers (N=11) who had moved away from…

Beginning with a review of traditional perspectives on educational leadership, the link between effective principals and school effectiveness, and the bases of social power, this document goes on to report on a 1986-87 study conducted to determine how the types of power used by principals relate to school effectiveness. Subjects were…