While university programs for preparing educational leaders in the U.S. have come under fire, England's recently established National College for School Leadership has been held up as a model to emulate. Tony Bush reports from England on the perceptions there of this highly influential new player. (Contains 21 endnotes.)

To substantially raise student achievement, the U.S. must address serious problems in educational leadership. Most analysts support proposals for the initial training and professional development of all principals and superintendents across the board. This type of widespread help is needed, but in the author's view, it is important to concentrate…

As a principal, Ms. Brown has firsthand knowledge of the pressures educational leaders face in the NCLB era. If administrators are going to perform effectively in today's school environment, she argues, the programs that prepare them will have to undergo significant reform. She urges university leadership programs to adopt four changes that will…

In this article, the author discusses the power of videotape in educating leaders. He asks leaders to go on videotape so they can confront the sharp discrepancies between how they see themselves (their self-images) and how they actually behave. He believes that carefully structured use of videotaped role-playing can bring that power to leadership…

If schools of education are to remain relevant in this era of accountability, they must approach the preparation of school leaders as part of an urgent social justice agenda. At the heart of this agenda is the improvement of access to educational opportunities for all children, a goal to be accomplished through instructional leadership grounded in…

To conclude this special section, guest editor Murphy examines why Ed Schools should redesign their leadership education programs, explores what it will take to foster change, and presents a model program to stimulate debate and action. (Contains 21 endnotes.)

White teachers in Indian schools often find themselves unprepared for their task. They do not understand the history, culture, communities, and learning needs of their students. In this article, the author challenges these educators to become better teachers of Indian children and shares some of the lessons she learned about becoming a better…

This article examines the implications of the supplemental educational services provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act for minority and low-income students. It outlines the political antecedents of the program and compares program requirements to previous Title I policy. It provides data on participation in the program collected from 10…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is not going away. In fact, it might not even undergo more than minor modifications before it comes up for reauthorization in a couple of years. The nomination of Margaret Spellings to replace Rod Paige as U.S. secretary of education foretells not only a single-minded focus on test-based accountability but also an…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requirement that states prepare and disseminate an annual state report card became effective at the beginning of the 2002-03 school year. Each state agency must also ensure that each local district collects appropriate data, both at the district level and for each school, and includes such data in its annual…

Contemplating the root of the word "idiocy" leads the author to explore the challenge that democratic societies face of developing public-minded citizens. The schools, he argues, are the most likely institutions to succeed in that task. Schools in societies that are trying in various ways to be democracies, such as the United States, Mexico, and…

Even after more than a decade of experience, surprisingly little is understood about the entities responsible for authorizing and overseeing charter schools. In this article, the authors argue that the success of the charter school movement depends on the effectiveness of those authorizers. In order to find out how charter authorizers are doing…

Rapid change is making confusion a defining feature of management in the 21st century. Paradoxically, in this article, the authors argue, leaders who accept their confusion can turn a perceived weakness into a resource for learning and effective action. Sections include: (1) The Lost Leader Syndrome; (2) The Tale of the Tape; (3) The "Oh, No!"…

Has the culture of accountability become a culture of fear for school leaders? In this article, the authors share the stories of three successful principals whose careers and reputations were altered by the impact of a set of test scores. The authors suggest that perhaps this culture of educational accountability, created by well-intended policy…

In this article, the author argues that administrators should not overlook their nurturing, supportive, even ministerial role. He also argues that those who would create learning communities would do well to embrace it. It was Mohandas Gandhi who said, "I can say without the slightest hesitation and yet in all humility, that those who say that…