Findings from a study that examined effective administrators of schools for the visual and performing arts with respect to personality characteristics, leadership style, and administrative context are presented in this paper. Questionnaires mailed to 36 administrators of schools for the visual and performing arts in the United States and Canada…

This document presents findings of a study that investigated the roles and functions of school-personnel administrators in the United States and Canada. Surveys were mailed to four groups--Canadian school district superintendents, county office of education superintendents, superintendents of educational service agencies, and American school…

Drawing from a national survey of 9,000 community and technical college department chairs in the United States and Canada, this book offers insights on the personal characteristics, responsibilities, challenges, and strategies of chairs. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the study, including information on its rationale and purpose, instrument…

Caught in the midst of flux and the ensuing pressures and conflicts, an administrator needs a well-developed ethical code governing his or her exercise of power and authority. Ethical concern in this study centers around self-prioritizing values inherent in personal ego and service to the common good; those chosen principles and their…

Findings from a comparative study of new and experienced urban principals that examined variables associated with work-related stress and role conflict are presented in this paper. A total of 27 male and female principals in a large, urban school district in the South were surveyed--13 first- and second-year principals and 14 experienced…

Although arguments abound concerning school administrators' roles, there is common agreement that principals experience difficulties in prioritizing the numerous demands on their time. In addition to crisis management skills, outstanding administrators exhibit five characteristics identified in an earlier paper. The present paper focuses on…

A study was conducted to find out about the people who conduct and work in adult literacy programs in New York City (NYC). Through a questionnaire distributed to NYC literacy practitioners working in programs operated by public libraries, the City University of New York, the New York City Board of Education, and community-based organizations, the…

Data collected from an exploratory study concerned with the technical communications practices of aerospace engineers and scientists were analyzed to test the primary assumption that aerospace managers and nonmanagers have different technical communications practices. Five secondary assumptions were established for the analysis: (1) that the…

The middle school provides a planned transition from childhood to young adulthood: it moves a student from the protective nurture of elementary school to the more depersonalized high school setting gradually, sensitively, and by design. Composed of the ideas from middle school education that each of the educators who choose this wonderful level of…

Over the years, researchers have defined "leadership" in myriad ways. On the whole, they have found that there are various kinds of leadership, that leadership works in many ways, and that it has distinctive requirements and processes. Leadership does not result merely from individual traits, but also involves attributes of the transaction between…

In 1985 and 1986, surveys were conducted by the Research Committee of the Texas Association for Community Services and Continuing Education (TACSCE) in order to generate profiles of continuing education practitioners and programs by type of institution (i.e., private four-year colleges, public four-year colleges, and two-year colleges). During…

This paper examines the issue of the loss of less competent children from schools as a result of the emphasis upon academic excellence. Studies are cited indicating that more than 90 percent of all secondary principals feel that their schools are improving; yet, as many as 25 percent of all children in a given sixth-grade class will drop out…

This document reports on a study of structural characteristics in the administrative behavior of Israeli school administrators and compares the findings with similar studies conducted in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The sample consisted of eight high school administrators, whose on-the-job behavior was observed for 5 hours per day for…

Past research has correlated differential curriculum implementation outcomes at the classroom level with the actions of the key change facilitator at the school level: the principal. Accordingly, this paper reports the results of a study of three change facilitator styles among principals: responders, managers, and initiators. Working definitions…

Recent studies of the perceptions of teachers and supervisors about the benefits of teacher supervision show clear disagreement between the two groups. Supervisors see their efforts as helpful to teachers, whereas teachers consider supervision ineffectual. This document reports on research conducted to test the theory that positive…