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…

Analyzes the views and research findings of various authorities concerning educational goals; school desegregation effects on achievement, and aspects of social life; and the role of school staff and community in desegregation. Stresses the importance of considering alternatives and allowing for diversity in shaping educational climates. (MJL)

Explores the principal's role in school reform. Attaching express legitimate power to the principal and ensuring that its effective and collaborative use is the most immediate route to reform. An autonomous, accountable, and achieving principal can function in a school reform setting like that of Chicago (Illinois). (SLD)

The college president of a Division I university must have accurate and timely information on intercollegiate athletics to be able to represent it to the institution's constituencies. Information needed includes the admissions process for recruits, classroom performance of student athletes, and personal conduct of team members and coaches.…

This study contributes to the field by identifying a broad range of traditional and newer middle grade policies and practices, and determining in California which of these differentiate higher- from lower-performing schools serving similar student populations, with performance measured by the state's standards-based tests. Based on a sample of 303…

In the 2008-09 school year researchers from EdSource and Stanford University conducted a large-scale study of 303 middle grades schools in California. The team surveyed 303 principals, 3,752 English Language Arts (ELA) and math teachers in grades 6-8, and 157 superintendents of the districts and charter management organizations that oversee the…

Calls for accountability in America's schools have created increased responsibilities for educational leaders. In this article, we describe and discuss a study of elementary, middle, and high school principals' perceptions of the state-wide educational accountability program in North Carolina. The respondents indicated that the state's…

Descriptive statements of evaluation practices by principals were studied concerning normative expectations and J. Dewey's general logic of experience. Focus was on describing what principals think and do in terms of evaluation as a step toward bringing evaluation specialists and educational practitioners into a closer working relationship. Four…

The Collaborative Efforts Action Group of the Urban Superintendents' Network moved from an examination of the roles of schools, businesses, and community agencies in improving the quality of education in America to promoting the creation of comprehensive collaboratives that can strengthen family and community life. This report shares what…

Research has provided an increasing amount of information about the work-related behaviors associated with effective school administrator practices. Considerably less is known about the factors that bring individuals to pursue school leadership positions and enroll in principal preparation programs. The focus of this paper is research on the…

The two articles in this bulletin concern an experiment in progress to determine if training teachers in a structured program for mathematics instruction results in higher student achievement and if the effects of the program on teachers and students would be enhanced if the building principal participates in and supports the inservice process. In…

The Alaska School Effectiveness Project produced several reports in a series of reviews of research literature on such topics as the principal as instructional leader. Using an ERIC search and conventional library methods, the question raised was "Does active instructional leadership on the part of elementary school principals have a positive…

The principalship promises to be fundamentally different in the future than it has been in the past. Throughout the seventies, social trends and studies of schooling caused a loss of confidence in the principal. Yet by the end of the decade, principals were seen to be important in affecting school productivity, as was suggested by many studies of…

Factors which appear to affect learning are reviewed: student characteristics of age, ability, and motivation; amount and quality of instruction; home and classroom environment; peer influence; television; school and principal effects; and financial expenditures. (GDC)

Academically prepared students are the ones who should be allowed to participate in intercollegiate athletics, and presidents and trustees must protect the academic integrity of their institutions by applying pressure to the National Collegiate Athletic Association for more stringent entrance and eligibility requirements. (MSE)