Reviews the American college and university president's role as it developed in Colonial times through the era of the academy (1819-1862), the emerging university (1862-1915), the golden age (1915-1975), and the age of uncertainty (1975 to the present). The college president's role as educational leader depends on institutional mission and goals.…

This paper explores the notion of philosophic-mindedness as it relates to the conceptions of educational leadership and democracy. Three essential questions are treated: (1) Ought educational leaders to be philosophic in their work? (2) Need educational leaders be democratic? and (3) How do these conceptions of leadership, democracy, and…

This information analysis paper examines (1) the characteristics associated with effective change facilitators and (2) the concept of "style" and its value in describing and understanding leadership performance and the role of change facilitators in particular. Three bodies of literature are highlighted and summarized in pursuit of…

This study measures performance frequency of leadership tasks of approximately 20 percent of Colorado's principals. Principals most experienced do not differ from others on the frequency assessment scale, yet spend more time on instructional leadership activities, which range from teacher support (professional growth opportunities, rewards) and…

This report consists of two main sections. The first presents a theory about how supervisors decide on the causes of a subordinate's poor performance and what they do about it. A two-stage process is suggested. The first stage involves the supervisor making attributions about the causes of the poor performance. This stage requires processing an…

Although the role of a superintendent has commonly involved a conflict between instructional leadership and business management, this dichotomy is apparently false; superintendents can effectively fill both roles. To explore this possible harmony of roles, one superintendent was studied who by reputation filled both roles very well. The…

This study, initiated by the Scarborough (Ontario) Board of Education, examines principals' perceptions of their role in curriculum implementation, the difficulties inherent in this role and the support systems available to assist principals, and the leadership component of the principals' role in curriculum implementation. Interviews, based on a…

This paper reports on the objectives and specifications of an "educative leadership" project that aims to synthesize experience, research, and theory and to develop complementary inservice and postgraduate learning materials. Researchers and theorists are now addressing the lack of philosophical machinery in educational administration.…

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…

The managerial roles of the university president and the corporation president were compared, and attention was directed to the skills needed by both types of executives and their relationships with their boards. The activities of the chief executive officers of five middle-to-large-sized American organizations were observed for a week. These…

Recent research casts doubt on the commonly held notions that administrators affect student learning through instructional leadership and that changing administrators will improve school performance. To help construct a model for examining the process of leader succession that specifies a number of major school process and outcome variables…

This monograph surveys the literature relating to the role of the principal as change agent and the process of educational change, and reviews those characteristics that research has found to make principals more effective and efficient change agents. The introduction identifies four relevant perspectives in the research on instructional…

This report, part of a research series on roles of participants in high school change, focuses on activities of principals in guiding and facilitating change, on leadership configurations found in high schools, and on how principals interact with other change facilitators during the change process. Two high schools were visited in nine districts…

The general meaning of research data drawn from study of school improvement programs creates the opportunity for sound theory building. By emphasizing the principal's role in policy development, this paper analyzes the characteristics of large-scale educational innovation projects and their explanatory foundations. Belgium's comprehensive Renewed…