Despite the dramatic shift in demographics occurring within public schools, there is still a dismal amount of research connecting issues of diversity and race with the curricula guiding educational leadership preparation programs. In the field of leadership preparation, little information has been offered as to how professors facilitate social…

This article describes the process of replacing a modest Master's level school leader preparation program with an innovative Ed.D. program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The new doctoral program is intensive, highly selective, intellectually rigorous, and field-based. The authors provide side-by-side comparisons of the difference…

Improving student achievement in math and science has become a priority in the United States. As instructional leaders, principals can influence instruction in these vital subjects by working with classroom teachers to improve their instruction. Surprisingly, the research about the principal's role in supporting instruction in these subjects is…

This article describes how Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIUC) partnered with twelve rural schools with high percentages of students in poverty. SIUC provided faculty development activities featuring the adoption of Cognitively Guided Instruction, combined with activities to increase math content and to reduce math anxiety for groups of…

Instead of focusing on how principals should be trained, an contrarian view is offered, grounded upon theoretical perspectives of experiential learning, and in particular, upon the theory of andragogy. A brief parable of the DoNoHarm School of Medicine is used as a descriptive analog for many principal preparation programs in America. The…

School principals sift through a milieu of data, perceptions, and circumstances to determine which teachers are worthy of contract renewal. This paper provides a review of the research on the role that teacher dispositions play in principals' decision-making regarding contract renewals, as well as a theoretical perspective on the implications for…

The purpose of this qualitative, narrative study was to investigate the role of the superintendent in leading the district to be more culturally proficient, resulting in the narrowing of the achievement gap in culturally diverse small districts. Eight superintendents of small school districts were purposefully selected based on their district size…

In the twenty-first century, school improvement is the focal point for educational leadership, in which the school building administrator is recognized as the catalyst for this necessary improvement. Within the area of teacher evaluation, the evaluation tools, along with the amount of time, format, and feedback, have changed dramatically from the…

In 1983, a landmark event occurred in public education in the US: the National Commission on Excellence in Education published its now famous report, A Nation at Risk. The report was generally regarded as the catalyst for decades of public and political pressure for large-scale school improvement or reform. Here, Beach and Lindahl identify a…

Asserts that educators can use what is known about communication and the change process to design better ways of interesting teachers in improving their instructional practices and in helping them to do so. Proposes a dissemination/diffusion model. (Author/WM)

During periods of organizational stress such as the implementation of major organizational change, the tendency for group formation may be increased and the effects of informal relations relatively more pronounced than in times of routine and regularity. (Author)

Assesses inservice training as a strategy for bringing about change in schools. The concepts of the change process serve as a theoretical base for identifying three approaches--workshops, organizational development, and action research--to inservice education that appear to have the greatest potential for effecting change. (Author/IRT)

Describes the nature of the political problem in state government-higher education relationships and suggests options for improving relations in the area of state-sponsored research. (Author/IRT)

Presents and analyzes the first year's results of a longitudinal study designed to measure teachers' and principals' stages of concern regarding implementation of a potentially controversial innovation--benchmark testing. Results indicate that the responding 241 teachers and 52 principals were positively disposed and interested in making the…

The Delaware experience shows that staff development can be a positive force for change in schools, that principals can be effective facilitators for staff development, and that teacher involvement in training, discussion, and observation will help foster collegiality and acceptance of change. Includes 13 references. (MLH)