An attempt is made to demythologize certain aspects of academic administration that even knowledgeable and experienced academic administrators often ignore at the peril of effective leadership. Eight essays are presented which question these myths associated with upper level administration in universities. These myths tell us that administrators…

Reported are results from two runs of the simulation "Bureaucratic Bargaining," developed to help students understand the inherent tension between roles and belief systems in American foreign policy decision making. To determine their belief systems, 165 students enrolled in an introductory international relations course were tested with…

The paper examines the joint interactive process of top-level administrative leadership teams of colleges or universities, with emphasis on the team's collective thinking. It focuses on how individual team members, who report directly to the president, make sense of their own and each other's activities on the team (for example, by constructing…

This packet of handouts focuses on the role of the family in easing their child with disabilities from one early childhood educational program to another. Typical items include: reasons for involving families in transition; questions parents ask about "appropriate" placement; planned conversations with parents during the transition process; parent…

Emphasizing critical thinking as the source of renewal and survival of organizations, this document begins by analyzing the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the destruction of the space shuttle Challenger as examples of inadequate critical thinking. The role of management education in promoting critical thinking is explored as well as the need for a…

Describes a project funded by the Women's Educational Equity Act designed to expand students' male or female self-concept, teach decision-making skills, and increase achievement. Presents two lessons from the project. (CK)

This role-play activity is designed for use by teacher educators in a general or content area methods class to help education majors become knowledgeable of role expectations in the student teaching experience and build good interpersonal role relationships. Students conduct library research and interviews concerning role expectations, use the…

This progress report of ethnographic research on instructional leadership focuses on a new elementary school principal's role formation in relation to teaching staff and district organizational culture. The project, which examines the prevailing notion of instructional leadership in school effectiveness literature, reveals a gap in perspective…

This study of the school board agenda-setting role among 30 Minnesota superintendents interprets their perceptions in relation to environmental contexts, group demands, issues control, and district enrollment size. A microperspective of David Easton's political systems model provided the guiding conceptual framework. Respondents were interviewed…

This handbook outlines the grade 2 course entitled "People as Members of Groups." A statement of California philosophy of history-social studies education precedes the handbook's three sections. The first two sections present major goals of the overall program, an overview of social studies content for grades K-6, and a chart of content…