There has been a recent groundswell of support in the American Evaluation Association's Independent Consulting Topical Interest Group (IC TIG) for evaluating evaluators' work just as evaluators evaluate the work of their clients. To facilitate this self-evaluation, the IC TIG elected to create a peer review process that focuses on written…

This book describes a model of leadership drawn from the experience of women educational leaders. It examines the qualities that women bring to leadership roles and shows how these can be used to improve the practice and teaching of educational leadership for men and women. Using 11 case studies, the book describes how women conceptualize…

The movement of women into line school administrative positions has fueled the debate over whether females and males lead in different ways. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the "lived" experience of two female high school principals. Data were collected through observation and indepth interviews. Although the women had…

Approaches to managing conflict in the collaborative process are discussed, along with the need for collaboration in schools. Collaboration by teachers, administrators, parents, and others can help identify problems, consider relevant data, plan and implement interventions, and evaluate results. However, the knowledge, experience, and values of…

This book presents the stories of a group of Maine educators--teacher leaders, teaching principals, and principals--who met at the Maine Academy for School Leaders (MASL) in 1992 to share their experiences and frustrations and to help each other improve their understanding and practice of educational leadership. They share personal accounts of how…

In developing a vision of schools capable of responding effectively to their challenges to change, futurists and reformers must solve two closely linked problems inherent in their positions. One problem is the risky business of predicting the future social and economic consequences of present trends; the other is the improbability of accurately…

A recent study conducted by a midwestern university research center surveyed 47 school districts who were members of a university-school district collaborative. Respondents indicated that the changing roles of teachers and principals were an important issue. This paper presents findings of a subsequent study based on indepth interviews with the…

On average, leaders are engaged in one form or another of communication for about 70 percent of their waking moments. This digest provides suggestions for school leaders who want to increase the effectiveness of those interactions. A first step is to recognize that listening is the skill most essential to effective communication. Other skills of…

Effective library instruction and library services in rural or small schools often depend upon the personalities of and working relationships between library personnel and the school principal. Confrontations between rural- and small-school principals and library specialists generally fall into two categories of precipitating situation: censorship…

A new paradigm for mentoring is necessary in today's companies, which Peter Senge has referred to as "learning organizations" (Senge 1990). This book argues that mentoring in learning organizations today means valuing creativity over control, fostering growth by facilitating learning, and helping others get smart, not only get ahead. In the new…

Making an association of Directors of Religious Education (DREs) involves complex decisions that lead to complex actions. This guidebook describes a process for building lasting associations, the goal of which is to organize people around a common purpose. Following the introduction, chapters 2 through 5 outline stages of the process: identify…

Research has demonstrated that corporations succeed or fail on the basis of how well they are led. Although the importance of leadership in organizational decision making has been recognized and studied extensively, numerous studies have also demonstrated the central role that the principal plays in shaping the school culture which, in turn, is a…

Researchers who have focused on issues of interpersonal communication in organizations have concluded that it is an essential component of organizational life. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the role conceptions of principals in the Centenial Schools Program (CSP) and those of principals in non-CSP schools. Communicator…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined how six women headteachers in Great Britain worked as school leaders. Data were obtained through observation, joint inquiry, structured conversations, and life-history interviews. The study drew on Wallace and Hall's (1994) power-culture metaphor, which stated that individuals make different…

This paper explores one approach to principal evaluation based on the interaction of principals with the social system of schools. The paper examines some dynamics that shape a social-context/student-achievement connection and their application to principal evaluation. The first part provides a brief background on current principal-evaluation…