Purpose: The objective of this study is to investigate and characterize principals' backgrounds, individual and school level factors associated with leadership stability, and principal career paths and exit behaviors in Missouri. Method: In this study, the authors construct two data sets of practicing school principals in the state of Missouri:…

This theoretical analysis employs a poststructuralist lens to reveal the constructs behind the word "fit", an oft used descriptor integral to the discourse of school hiring practices, personnel decisions, and politics. Although the term is a part of the everyday culture of school politics, it is rarely considered with any depth. Using the metaphor…

Using an embedded case-study design, examines what factors motivate (high-school) teachers to engage in professional-development activities, how they experience professional learning, and how work context influences their learning experiences. A complex nesting of work contexts limits types of learning activities and knowledge available to…

Three conditions distinguish school administrators' work from that of nonschool colleagues: schools' uniquely moral character; a highly educated, autonomous, and permanent workforce; and regular, predictable threats to organizational stability. This environment demands that school administrators rely more excessively on leadership than routine…

Examines 94 Israeli elementary school principals's work behavior, using a structured observation technique. Principals exhibited certain work characteristics (brevity, variety, fragmentation) supported in other research. They differed from conventional job descriptions in demonstrating internally oriented social (but not political) inclinations,…

Two types of teacher workplace commitment--organizational commitment and commitment to student learning--were studied in 63 urban elementary and middle schools. Schools high in organizational commitment generally served educationally advantaged students, exhibited orderly school, climates conducive to learning, and involved teachers in…

Develops a theoretical account of how teachers' perceptions of transformational leadership are formed. Provides an empirical test of this theory, which explains formation of teachers' leader perceptions as a function of alterable school-context conditions and unalterable characteristics of leaders and followers. Survey results from 423 schools…

Recent research on wildland fire fighting supports educational administrators' use of the fire-fighting metaphor to describe the nature of their work. Fire-fighting nuances illuminate subtle conditions in educational organizations that increase their vulnerability to failure. These parallels suggest five management conditions that determine…

Examines role transitions and role strain resulting from restructuring initiatives in four districts. The 20 principals interviewed had acquired coping skills. Cognitive restructuring and environmental factors moderated role strain effects, along with experience, tenure of position, staff trust, personal leadership style, and degree of autonomy…