Develops a conceptual framework for understanding the place of a caring ethic in educational leadership. Goals of caring, its appropriate context, and activities supported by the ethic are discussed. Administrative challenges of improving academic performance, ameliorating nonacademic problems, and developing new governance are reviewed. (SLD)

Presents strategies from six schools and two districts that won this year's U.S. Department of Education Model Professional Development Awards. Some of their strategies include teacher collaboration to plan professional development; teachers as leaders of learning for themselves and their peers; external partners providing expertise and resources;…

Examines the role of principals in highly successful elementary schools serving primarily students from low-income homes in influencing two factors viewed a foundational for a school in which social justice is more than simply an abstract ideal: Development of early literacy for ever child and avoidance of overidentification and inappropriate…

The Redwood City (Calif.) School District, which comprises a diverse student population, has implemented a major professional development model for principals in order to enhance student achievement at all school sites. The model has three key components: (1) restructuring principal meetings with a primary focus on ongoing professional…

This appendix accompanies "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better. A Large-Scale Study of Middle Grades Practices and Student Outcomes. Initial Research Report." This appendix focuses on the findings and domain comparisons of the study. This appendix contains the following: (1) Decision Rules; (2) Full Set of…

As more and more people conclude that existing schools are not doing a very good job, the national movement toward school reform gains momentum. The new school requires a new principal, one who behaves and leads differently than administrators in the past. The new principal, regardless of the school's grade level, has a tight grip on the realities…

The field of education has been slow to recognize the Total Quality Management (TQM) concept. This resistance may result from entrenched management styles characterized by hierarchical decision-making structures. TQM emphasizes management based on leadership instead of management by objective, command, and coercion. The TQM concept consists of…

A study investigated the extent that junior secondary school headmasters in Botswana believed their activities in three domains of headmaster responsibility--instructional supervision, school management, and community relations--contributed to improved student performance. A second focus was to compare the ways in which headmasters who differed in…

Recent research shows that principals can heavily influence schools' organizational effectiveness. This report describes the instructional leadership roles of elementary and high school principals participating in the Wayne State University Staff Development for School Improvement Program (SDSI) conducted from 1981 through 1984. The SDSI school…

Efforts to increase academic expectations and improve the school climate at Fairfield (Ohio) High School have resulted in a record high in ACT test scores, a decrease in failure and dropout rates, and a dramatic increase in attendance as well as in the percentage of students taking foreign languages, math, and science. Some policy changes…

The quality of education obtained by student-athletes in large-scale collegiate athletic programs is assessed. Attention is directed to a proposed bill that would require university athletic departments to maintain an accurate accounting of all athletes under scholarship, organized by sport, in order to evaluate their academic progress. The…

Today's administrators must exercise caution in using student retention as a means of responding to changing social values and to the current media attention on declining standardized test scores. Recent reviews of hundreds of studies of student retention have concluded that some low achieving students do benefit from retention, but the majority…

This collection of conference presentations focuses on the relationships among educational environment, academic achievement, and discipline problems, particularly in desegregated schools. The first paper, by Barbara Sizemore, addresses the role of the school community in creating positive learning experiences. In the second paper, author William…

Many recent studies have revealed a dramatic increase in teacher absenteeism. Some findings indicate that absenteeism increases following collective bargaining agreements that provide a set number of days that employees may be compensated for illness. There appears to be a growing public reaction to such absenteeism. A New York study noted that…

This study examines the possible relationship between principals' administrative behaviors and pupil reading achievement. Administrative interns assigned to 40 New York City schools during the 1973-74 school year observed principals' decision-making behaviors over a continuous period of 40 school days. Principals' behaviors were described in terms…