The role of the early childhood director has been a neglected area of research in Australia. This study set out to address the gap in understanding of directors and the administration/management function in child care and preschool settings. Through a survey of practicing directors and a series of follow-up interviews with selected respondents,…

Findings of a study that examined novice supervisors' understandings of supervision are presented in this paper. Data were collected from 110 graduate-level students enrolled in an introductory supervision class. Four themes emerged from students' definitions of supervision-domains, relationships, traits, and tasks. The most surprising finding was…

Witnessing the radical changes in business environment and the innovative progress in technology today, organizations are increasing their investment in information technology (IT) and taking more interest in people in charge of information systems (IS) departments. The roles of IS leaders are changing, so that they need not only technical…

The idea of "Executive Mind" carries with it the notion of purposeful and effective action. Part I of this paper characterizes three complements to "Executive Mind"--"Observing Mind,""Theorizing Mind," and "Passionate Mind"--and offers historical figures exemplifying all four types. The concluding…

This report summarizes the findings of three studies conducted by the Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development in San Francisco, California. The first comprised five case studies of school principals. The second synthesized studies on collaborative arrangements for school improvement, and the third is a review of five studies…

The relevance of Richard E. Neustadt's presidential choice making theory to a university presidency is analyzed. This theory, which was introduced in Neustadt's 1960 publication "Presidential Power," is examined in regard to situations that occurred at Kent State University (KSU): the KSU Black United Student (BUS) confrontation with the…

This report on public and private school administrators presents data on personal characteristics, salary and benefits received, highest degree earned, and years of experience. A mail sample survey form was mailed to the administrators of all 9,317 public and 3,513 private schools in the school samples. Response rates were 94.4 percent for public…

Research has provided an increasing amount of information about the work-related behaviors associated with effective school administrator practices. Considerably less is known about the factors that bring individuals to pursue school leadership positions and enroll in principal preparation programs. The focus of this paper is research on the…

A study to identify determinants of administrator salaries and school district salary decision-making processes is described in this report. A three-part methodology included a telephone survey of 23 out of 27 administrators, an analysis of formal district salary schedules, and a data analysis of state personnel files. The state records analysis…

This paper presents the results of research investigating (1) the reliability and validity of the Ohio Work Values Inventory (OWVI) when used with public school administrators; (2) the work values of public school administrators; (3) differences in work values of male and female administrators; and (4) differences in work values of individuals at…

This study sought to describe how an elementary school faculty made sense of the impending succession of its principal, and to extend Gephart's effort to develop a grounded theory of leader succession by examining an unforced succession in an organization whose members exerted little if any influence on the selection process. On the basis of…

In 1981, a national survey entitled Leaders in Transition was conducted to determine biographical and employment information about upper-level administrators at four-year colleges, as well as information about job characteristics and issues facing administrators and their institutions. The sample consisted of approximately 4,000 administrators…

This paper presents a model for preparation programs for educational leaders. The model portrays key program elements under three major headings: (1) pre-preparation concerns, (2) program issues and concerns, and (3) post-program concerns. Recruitment and selection are important pre-preparation concerns. The candidate's leadership experience,…

Eight and one-half percent of the school district superintendents in the United States responded to questionnaires in 1985 concerning their opinions about education, their roles and working conditions, their relations with school boards, their backgrounds and professional interests, and the characteristics of their districts. Tabulations of the…

The attitudes of selected superintendents in Illinois regarding Public Law 94-142 were studied. A review of related literature indicated that special education training and knowledge of PL 94-142 contributed to positive attitudes toward handicapped persons and the laws that apply to them. A questionnaire was sent to 300 local school…