Diminished self-care practices and heightened stress of school counselors are continuing problems in education. With role ambiguity, high student-to-counselor ratios, emotional exhaustion, and other factors adding pressure to the roles and responsibilities of school counselors, this study investigated the well-being practiced of Missouri school…

An emerging body of research has shown that mindfulness practices for school administrators can result in significant benefits, including a reduction in stress and sense of burnout. Concurrently, nearly 20% of school principals exit their position each year--and cite high levels of stress as a primary motivating factor. In this conceptual paper,…

In this conceptual article, the researchers review the nature of stress as reported by principals and suggest a means for responding to that stress with efforts that have resulted in resilience for people in numerous occupations, with particular emphasis on physicians. This article presents an argument that internal coping methods such as…

This study is designed to understand how principals perceive the common stressors associated with leading an educational enterprise and propose strategies for relief from job-related stressors. As such, the same survey results from principals in 2009 and 2012 are analyzed. The results indicated increases in the perceived state of stress with…

The study investigated destructive leadership behaviors (DLBs) and their influence on K-12 workplace attitudes (subordinate consideration for leaving their job, job satisfaction, and levels of stress). Quantitative survey method was used to gather data from experienced professional educators. Analyses of data show that the practice of DLB exists…

High school block scheduling is in its earliest stages. Although time structures have changed, usage has not. Block schedules are threatened when curriculum standards and student mobility are ignored, courses are improperly sequenced, funding for increased personnel needs is inadequate, performing-arts instruction is not accommodated, and…

Reasons principals give for leaving the principalship involve job conditions more than personal or community circumstances. Diminished authority contributes to the attrition rate. From a random survey of 4,766 secondary school principals, just under 10 percent (446) indicated they had decided to leave the principalship in 1979. (Author/LD)

Assistant principals are a neglected variable in the effective schools equation. The traditional conceptualization of assistant principals as disciplinarians still prevails, despite these administrators' usefulness as change agents, motivators, ethical models, community relations agent, care givers, and innovators. (MLH)

Offers insights and themes observed in six restructuring schools studied in 1991-92. Results show that principals' importance varies, sharing of power is fragile, leadership and power are often dispersed, changes in decision-making structures sometimes improve instruction, and power redistribution and shared purpose can foster either increased…

A positive climate is characterized by a comfortable, orderly, and safe environment. A healthy culture exists when all stakeholders understand an organization's goals and purposes and work productively to achieve them. This article contrasts the "McSchool" (efficiency-celebrating) cultural model with the spaceship-discovery model,…

Humor can be a powerful, productive tool to help teachers succeed in the classroom. Humor cultivates spirit, alleviates stress, improves communication, and diffuses conflict. Reviews types of humor (satire, cheerfulness, eccentricity, and sarcasm), discusses humor's classroom uses and benefits, and shows how school leaders can introduce humor into…

Principals in restructuring schools are working in an increasingly turbulent policy environment that adds expectations but deletes little from their traditional roles. Two tasks form the basis of newly defined power relationships--delegating responsibilities and developing collaborative decision-making processes. Leading from the center means…

Legislators, school boards, and district administrators proposing more changes affecting schools and the principal's role should realize that many principals have little capacity to assume additional duties. Time constraints and external priorities are converting principals from instructional leaders to managers, while increasing their role's…

Leadership enlivens the school philosophy, mission, and vision and determines school climate and work culture. "Enculturating" principals are advised to envision a collaborative direction for the future, establish a clear mission/practice linkage, focus on solutions, be fair to others, foster staff development, create new networks, and…

To understand the dynamics of moving from fragmented work units to an integrated whole, a recent study examined the work cultures of 28 schools involved in major change efforts. This paper presents findings from three participating high schools that represent different phases (fragmentation, differentiation, and integration) of the development…