Although there has been a paucity of research on what effective secondary school principals do, two recent studies offer some clues. A 1983 report by William Firestone and Bruce Wilson asserts that a high school principal may best be able to influence the school through bureaucratic and cultural linkages. Bureaucratic linkages are formal enduring…

Administrators need to know what control they have over student-produced publications. The first step administrators should take is to be well versed in the First Amendment and in court rulings involving the scope of student rights and school authority in regard to the student press. Step two is to make rules within the law. In general, school…

Data from seven California elementary schools suggest that effective instructional leadership is both multidimensional and sensitive to school socioeconomic status (SES); in low SES schools, it involves direct supervisory activity and attention paid to school climate. Twenty-six reference notes are appended. (MLF)

A two-issue volume presents articles describing innovative schools, classrooms, and alternative learning arrangements found in some of today's schools. Issue one contains three articles offering glimpses of an elementary school committed to the Core Knowledge curriculum of E. D. Hirsch, a renovated school devoted to early childhood learning…

Rewarding students for their achievements enhances self-esteem and confidence. These positive feelings permeate the school, improve the general climate, and raise the level of school pride. New and traditional methods of recognizing student groups such as a welcoming assembly, a spirit banner contest, and senior privileges can make students feel…

This document provides brief descriptions of 12 prevention strategies, 6 curriculum-based strategies, and 7 motivational strategies for improving student behavior. Alternative schools and programs, counseling, parent involvement, community involvement, student orientation programs, learning styles, writing activities, student codes of conduct,…

For many students in the 1990s, school is no longer a safe environment in which they feel free to learn. This brief is intended to dispel myths about peer sexual harassment and clarify the new realities of the phenomenon in schools. The brief also conveys the message that school administrators have a duty to foster a school environment based on…

Learning style is the way people concentrate on, internalize, and remember new and difficult knowledge or skills. It is composed of cognitive, motivational, and physiological elements that affect each person's ability to perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning environment. Extensive research documents the hypothesis that when students…

Developing and pursuing a "vision" for school success is a crucial part of effective educational leadership. This document explores theoretical models of vision for school success and leadership forces in education; discusses principals as visionary leaders; offers practical advice on developing, implementing, and maintaining a vision for one's…

Instructional leadership is long-term dedication to instructional excellence that includes both instructional and school management issues. Recent research suggests that effective principals can make a significant difference in their schools' instructional programs through a combination of personal traits, particularly a strong belief in their…

Activities in three of eight school districts that linked testing and evaluation data with instructional decision-making matched the seven components of management information systems. Each district had a unique system that focused, respectively, on student achievement, school improvement, and staff capacity building. (MLF)

Factors that can powerfully affect an educator's ability to manage school change are culture, leadership, and readiness. Movement from bureaucracy to community, from isolation to collaboration, involves cultural changes. Managing the change process within a cultural context is influenced by the structural, human resources, political, and symbolic…

This annual journal issue contains 21 papers, many of which were developed as background pieces for sessions of the annual conferences of the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education (POD). Papers are grouped into four sections on: personal reflections, faculty development, evaluation of teaching practices, and…

This pamphlet reviews five recent research studies that focus on various key aspects of school climate, a popular metaphor that is difficult to define, measure, or manipulate. "The Search for School Climate: A Review of the Research," by Carolyn Anderson, surveys the full scope of school climate literature, concluding with a summary of…

Research findings, supported by other research projects, identify the elements relevant to school improvement as school focus, school autonomy, and staff development. A chart based on three recent major literature reviews provides a comprehensive listing of supportable assertions regarding unusually effective institutions. (MLF)