ERIC Number: ED246540
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1984-Apr
Pages: 14
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Principals' Center at Harvard University.
Barth, Roland S.
By promoting insight-sharing among members, Harvard's Principals' Center works to develop, personally and professionally, those influencing the quality of schools. Growing numbers of principals outside Massachusetts, having attended the center as visiting practitioners, are founding centers in their own areas; the Harvard center itself is creating a national network of centers to strenthen individual development attempts. Additionally, the center is contributing to the little known area of leadership characteristics. Among its findings are these: (1) that principals are seen and see themselves as leaders, not learners; and (2) that nonprincipals identify the skills they believe effective principals should possess. The center is striving to alter both concepts by helping principals to reflect upon and analyze their work in order to understand better their own styles and schools. Conditions associated with enrichment seem to include recognition, voluntary participation, a protected setting, participant diversity, principal-centered programs, knowledge sharing, and varied activities for various learning styles. Yet the center faces dilemmas, among them the question of individualizing an organization with over 5,000 members. Finally, the center is important because it legitimizes the idea that there are conditions under which practitioners will voluntarily engage in activities promoting leadership growth and thus school improvement. (KS)
Publication Type: Information Analyses
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A