Argues that school boards were introduced and retained during the 19 foundational years of state education in New South Wales, Australia, not as token partners or mere money-raisers, but as integral parts of the school system. The successes of local participation in frontier conditions were sufficient to justify the board's encouragement of local…

Develops a model linking organizational growth and decline to competitive strategy, the strategy-making process, and the chief executive officer's personal characteristics. The model was empirically tested for private liberal arts colleges. Enrollment growth is associated with focused strategy, the CEO's innovative style, differentiation, and…

Explores the attitudes of older (Australian) female education workers toward continuing to work or retiring early. Little interest was shown in early retirement, partly because it was not an attractive financial option and partly because of strong commitment to continued workforce participation. Shows how former discriminatory practices have…

Briefly reviews the current status of research on mentoring as a form of professional development for school leaders. Presents alternative definitions of mentoring and reviews several recent studies on administrator mentoring. Discusses limitations in research design, methodologies, and findings, and charts possible new research directions. (19…

Critically reviews mentoring for new British principals, focusing on program characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages. Mentoring facilitates peer support, helps newcomers make necessary role identity changes, and encourages reflective practice. There are problems with pairing practitioners and mentors, passing on outmoded advice, and…

Reports selected findings from a national evaluation of a British pilot scheme for mentoring new headteachers, using questionnaire data collected from 238 new principals and 303 mentors and information from 16 detailed case studies. Mentoring was judged successful by most participants because it offered numerous benefits, including help with…

Examines the principles and practices of cognitive coaching as a viable mentoring tool. Provides mentor/coaches with practical suggestions for utilizing reflective questioning strategies, clarifying and probing responses, and taking a nonjudgmental stance. Overviews a mentor-preparation training model aimed at helping proteges become…

Summarizes selected findings of a major national research project on mentoring and teacher education in England and Wales. Considers mentoring's nature and purpose and examines mentor/new headteacher matches. Discusses mentoring's benefits, limitations, and conceptual models. Mentoring provides invaluable support for new principals but lacks rigor…

Describes the Headteachers Leadership and Management Programme (Headlamp), a new British national scheme aiming to improve school-management quality. Discusses issues such as entitlement, expectations, competencies, other team players (mentors, local education authorities, and governing bodies), and funding resources. Headlamp needs an integrated…

Reflects on the practice of mentoring from a consultant/trainer/principal's perspective. The strengths of mentoring programs far outweigh existing limitations. Interested districts and schools must consider issues such as planning, training, and appropriate matching of mentors and proteges, if mentoring programs are to succeed. (MLH)