Given the advent of new forms of schooling in American education, specifically, integrated social-service schools (ISS), a radical rethinking of traditional leadership models is needed. This paper suggests a new role for K-12 public school leaders--that of the school president. Data were derived from a review of the job descriptions of the…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined faculty/staff perceptions of their principals' leadership styles, with a focus on their use of shared-governance approach. Data were gathered through a survey of 32 faculty and 20 staff members in four county schools in Tennessee and North Carolina. A majority of the sample reported that their…

This paper presents findings from one in a series of four case studies that examined leadership in schools committed to reform. Methodology included onsite observation, interviews with stakeholders, and informal discussions. Hollibrook Elementary School, which serves a primarily minority population in Spring Branch, Texas, ascended from a low…

The effects of large-scale improvement projects and the trend toward decentralization on the principal's role in primary and secondary schools in Belgium are explored in this paper. Particular focuses are on the ways in which sociopolitical change influences the nature of school-level leadership and on strategies that principals use in response to…

Increasing demands for educational accountability make it important for principals to know how and when to successfully use methods of supervision with teachers to attain the mutual goal of instructional improvement. To determine whether significant differences existed between junior high school teachers' perceptions of principals' supervisory…

This study examines the effects of principal leadership styles on the development of the working styles of seven local school councils in Memphis (Tennessee) during their first 15 months of operation. The successful implementation of a school-based decision making (SBDM) management model depends upon the ability of the local school council to…

The generation of categories of instructional leadership descriptors and the identification of past influences and current resources is the purpose of this study. Data for the first research purpose were gathered through application of Flannigan's (1954) critical incident and functional description techniques to responses of experts on…

This exploratory study investigated the leadership styles of selected administrators in Tennessee's public schools. Styles of leadership were viewed against a backdrop of current brain research, and the subjects' underlying patterns of cognitive processing were identified by means of a self-report measurement of brain dominance--the Herrmann Brain…

Case studies of five urban high schools illustrate some important factors that appear to be crucial in determining whether or not reform efforts are implemented. Among these factors are the following: (1) teacher participation; (2) collegiality among staff members; (3) shared belief that change can occur; (4) leadership by the principal; (5)…

Tom Lindersmith, principal of Lakeridge High School in Lake Oswego (Oregon) manages a highly motivated school of 1,100 students and 68 staff by emphasizing facilitation, coordination, and delegation as the elements of instructional leadership. Lindersmith sees himself primarily as a facilitator--supporting and encouraging new ideas and programs…

This report is the first of a series on cultivating excellence in education for the purpose of training and retraining school leaders of the 1990s. The common role of educational leaders is discussed. Their central areas of responsibility and administrative and leadership skills are reviewed, not as discrete concepts, but as complex and dynamic…

To be effective, community college presidents must understand what leadership is, particularly as it applies to higher education. They must also understand the evolution of the role of the president over the last 30 years, from "manager" or "builder" in the early years to the more recent position of "motivator." There is little agreement in the…

Sixty-nine Israeli school principals completed questionnaires designed to reveal the factors contributing to the leadership styles they used when initiating curricular changes. The principals fell into three leadership categories: "Initiators," who seek change in accordance with long range policies and goals; "Responders," who…

A questionnaire survey in Missouri was conducted to determine the characteristics of the state's district-level curriculum leaders and to determine what the curriculum leaders and elementary and high school principals perceive to be the ideal curriculum leader's functions, competencies, and leadership behavior. The characteristics covered include…

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education selected material produced by Ken Blanchard, co-author of "The One Minute Manager," as the basis for a series of 4-day workshops on situational leadership for school personnel. Among the concepts brought to bear in situational leadership training are that (1) concern for…