This study aims to explore the mediating role of principals' communication skills in the relationship between their sensemaking competencies and school effectiveness. The hypothesized model was tested with a correlational research design using Structural Equation Modeling. The stratified sample involved 648 Turkish teachers in the central…

As schools struggle with student achievement outcomes and school designations, the school improvement process has become a central aspect of leadership and planning for school principals as they work to ensure that every child has an opportunity to succeed. Previous researchers have indicated that culture influences everything that occurs in…

The field of school-leadership preparation has recently been making a concerted effort to embed social justice issues into the curriculum experiences of aspiring principals. Although much of this effort has focused on the academic achievement among students who are poor, nonnative speakers of English, or non-White, very little attention has been…

School principals need to be well prepared to manage school facilities assigned to their care. Educational leadership programs can make best use of the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) Standards to develop a course of study to address school facility management issues. Every standard has its facility implications that lead to…

Conflict management is among the skills necessary for the development of successful school leaders. Those in campus leadership positions are certain to face conflict situations on a regular basis. This study focused on four questions about conflict in the professional lives of campus administrators: (1) What is the frequency of conflict…

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…

This paper presents findings of a 4-year study that examined the dynamics of educational change in 11 elementary and secondary schools that were adopting global education into their curricula. Data were obtained from informal observations, interviews with principals, and interviews with and surveys of teachers. Findings identified three kinds of…

A theoretical framework for leadership development is developed in this paper that links prior research findings to a cultural theory of principal influence on school performance. Four core dimensions of principal work--supervision, administration, management, and leadership--are analyzed in terms of their contributions to underlying cultural…

A staff development program for administrators focuses on three areas, each having its own workshop: (1) leadership styles; (2) organizational climate; and (3) analyzing feedback from the evaluations. (CJ)

This paper describes why and what transformational leadership is needed to pursue school effectiveness and development in the rapidly changing education environment and in the coming new century. The paper first discusses the challenges to school leadership and the need for new leadership in light of the pursuit of school effectiveness and the…

Pertinent research literature and existing practices in the area of leadership for school climate improvement are reviewed in this document. The report first turns to the literature to establish working concepts of "leadership" and "school climate," enumerating the major characteristics by which each concept is recognized. The…

Reviews research on principals' behavior and research differentiating between more and less effective principals. Traces potential policy implications in the areas of program implementation, principal selection, preservice and inservice training, and district level organization and management. (RH)

Formulates 3 hypotheses based on contingency, congruency, and contextual relationships, and tests them empirically on a dataset of 71 randomly selected Dutch secondary schools. Results show that managerial competence is most obvious during hard times, and that principals need more crisis-management training. (52 references) (MLH)

The ways in which principals have influenced or been influenced by four Teacher Corps projects are described and explained in case studies based on field interviews, observations, and a review of the documents produced in the course of the projects. The studies also provide the background both for an analysis of factors affecting the role of the…

Results from an exploratory evaluation of the Indiana Principals' Leadership Academy (IPLA) over its first four years are reported. Interviews with 30 principals (20 IPLA graduates and 10 current participants) and review of IPLA documents reflect favorable responses to the program by principals and its strengths and weaknesses. (SLD)