The study used qualitative case-study methodology and involved six participant superintendents in semi-structured interviews, two from each of western, Atlantic and northern Canada. The findings revealed work lives significantly impacted personal and family life. Regardless of location or size of school district, all described an all-consuming…

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative action-research study that explored how one group of district-level school superintendents conceptualized their role as they built their own learning community. Data analysis yielded four elements that supported the participants' efforts: (a) using a process as an entry point, (b) aligning various…

In all its complexity, the superintendent's role is an essential one--to the school district as an organization and social institution, to the greater system of which the school district is a part, and to the profession and field of education. Most directly, the role and person within it are essential to the overall welfare of the school…

This Principal Quality Practice Guideline (PQPG) represents a first step in a process to develop a framework for quality school leadership in Alberta. It includes a statement on Principal Quality Practice and seven leadership dimensions, with supporting descriptors, reflecting the Alberta context. The PQPG is to be used as a basis for many…

The observational data on the eight superintendents studied tend to indicate that the superintendent's administrative behavior is not, generally, as planned and organized as it is sometimes suggested in the literature. The pressure of time and the information burden placed on the superintendent pose a number of dilemmas. (Author/IRT)

In response to a changing society, superintendents must develop a new set of skills involving knowledge of fiscal management, school law, management systems, human resources, curriculum, educational research, and policy development, among others. Superintendents must be agents of change with a vision of the future. Priorities should include an…

Questionnaires asking principals, teachers, and superintendents to rank-order items dealing with the principal's actual and ideal role were sent to 105 school jurisdictions in Ontario, Canada. Findings indicated teachers and superintendents view the principal's role differently, while the principal view of his role is most like that of the…

Observations of superintendents indicate that, within the plethora of tasks and activities, the hectic variety of demands and contacts of their jobs, the superintendents cope with rather than organize their time schedules. Still, the superintendents seem to attend to the most vital activities. (Author/IRT)

On the surface, Michael Moher's major challenges as a superintendent do not seem so foreign from any other leader who is responsible for the education of 28,000 students. He has been grappling in recent years with budget shortfalls, school closings, a couple of dissident board members and even a week-long teacher's strike. Moher runs a Catholic…

Summarizes in-depth interviews with six past and present Canadian superintendents from metropolitan school districts. Discusses school board expectations of superintendents, ways to build an effective working relationship with the board, the political demands of the superintendent's position, and instructional leadership and other aspects of the…

This paper presents findings of a study that investigated the concerns of Canadian superintendents. In a three-round modified Delphi design, an inventory of educational concerns was mailed to all 105 chief superintendents in a western Canadian province. A total of 76 superintendents responded in round 1 and 87 responded in round 2. They identified…

Results of Ontario study to: determine if formal evaluation of principals occurs; assess the type of evaluation by examining process, presage and product (outcome) approaches; and outline extent of usage for each approach. Few school systems have defined the principal's function and obtained evidence of how well it is fulfilled. (NEC)

The chairpersons of 40 Manitoba school boards completed a questionnaire examining frequency of superintendent evaluation, participants in the process, use of rating instruments, format of reporting, and evaluation goals. Evaluation packages of two districts were noteworthy in that they served to clarify the superintendent's role continuously. (SV)

This volume presents several distinctive but related empirical studies and opinion pieces about chief education officers (CEOs). The collection begins with (1) "Introduction: A Framework for Understanding School System Administration" (Kenneth Leithwood and Donald Musella). Section A, "Chief Education Officers' Practices and…

Naturalistic case studies of three rural Saskatchewan school districts examined how directors of education managed multiple educational innovations arising from provincially mandated curriculum change and a voluntary school improvement program. School divisions were viewed as comprising three dimensions (political, technical, and cultural) that…