This is the 2011 Yearbook of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA). This Yearbook contains five parts. Part I, Invited Chapters, includes: (1) NCPEA President's Message, 2011 (Gary W. Kinsey); (2) Shadows and Images II (Lloyd Duvall); and (3) Micropolitics in the School: Teacher Leaders' Use of Political Skill…

This book describes the development of individuals and a school that were involved in an action-research effort known as The Educational and Community Change (ECC) Project. Much of the book was written by the teachers and principal at Ochoa Elementary School in South Tucson, Arizona, which implemented the ECC project in 1990. Chapter 1 examines…

A summative evaluation assessed the progress made by the Westport Middle School Communications/Writing Magnet program's third year of operation. Part of the Kansas City, Missouri, School District's Long-Range Magnet School Plan, the program consists of 11 theme strands (text, creative writing/composition, dramatic arts, public speaking,…

The concept of school culture offers principals and other leaders a broader framework for understanding problems and relationships within the school. School culture can be defined as the historically transmitted patterns of meaning that include the norms, values, beliefs, and myths understood by members of the school community. Researchers have…

Relevant theory and research are brought to bear on the questions of what administrators can do that makes a difference to student learning, of exactly what principals manage in their role as education leader, and of what knowledge they must have to increase learning in their schools. Conclusions are that principals can improve student achievement…

This study uses an organizational perspective to investigate three questions regarding the principal's role in instructional management: (1) Do instructional management behaviors predict student achievement? (2) What specific instructional management behaviors are identified with principals in effective schools? and (3) Are the linkages that…

A staff and organizational development program was designed to foster the use of research to improve instructional effectiveness at the elementary level by monitoring and managing key classroom variables related to student achievement. A classroom improvement program, called the Basic Skills Instructional Improvement Program (BSIIP), was developed…

Principals are expected to be instructional leaders but generally lack the time and training to assume such a role. Several theories and research studies suggest alternative views of the principal's role in providing instructional leadership. Ethnographic studies of principals show that principals spend little time on evaluation, instruction, and…

ADOPTION OF THE NONGRADED SYSTEM FOR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS NECESSITATES EXTENSIVE CHANGES FOR BOTH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THE COMMUNITY. A SET OF ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINES IS PROPOSED FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NONGRADED SYSTEM, AND THE ROLE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR IS EXAMINED IN RELATION TO (1) PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, (2) TEACHER AND…

This paper concerns the process of developing model urban education programs and is based on the experiences of the state funded Urban Education Pilot Project (UEPP) being carried out in one Cincinnati, Ohio, inner city public high school attendance area. First, key premises used by the UEPP are outlined. These include: (1) principals are the…

This report describes a study of the perceptions of central-office supervisors. The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions of central-office supervisors regarding emerging supervisory practices within a decentralized context. The study further sought to determine the role central-office supervisors perform in exemplary school…

This second annual report details North Carolina's performance and progress since 2000 in the five goal areas: high student performance; every child ready to learn; safe, orderly, and caring schools; quality teachers and administrators; and strong family, business, and community support. Over the years, North Carolina's education system has…

Student mobility (students moving from one school to another for reasons other than being promoted to the next school level) is widespread in the United States. This Spanish-language Digest examines the research on the academic consequences of mobility for elementary school students and discusses what schools and parents can do to mitigate the…

This document presents an executive summary of the 96-page "Leading Learning Communities: Standards for What Principals Should Know and Be Able To Do," a guidebook for those who care about creating and supporting quality in schools. It is an operating manual for school leaders that features new strategies to help principals structure and support…

A study examined rural school administrators' perceptions of their jobs and how academic achievement and school climate were affected at rural schools that shared principals, compared to rural schools that had their own principal. Sixteen rural school administrators from across the nation were interviewed about their perceptions of their jobs, and…