This paper examines the criteria used by recruiting bodies to assess potential candidates for the post of principal of a secondary school in Hong Kong. A quantitative methodology is used to identify what recruiters seek in applicants. The expectations that recruiters have when assessing applicants can be seen as a form of proxy for the elements…

Emotional factors play a part in the learning process, and, so too for leadership. Fullan (2001) identified self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social skills, adaptability, stress management and general mood as fundamental characteristics of emotional intelligence. If leaders exemplify these characteristics, this will positively…

Even though school administrators and their leadership practices are rarely explored within science education research, our recent efforts to understand organizational influences on achievement disparities induced an elevated regard for elementary school principals. In this paper, we report on policy buffering by principals at schools whose…

This article draws from a small-scale study of headteachers motivated to positively impact on the quality of pupil experience by involving all staff in a distributed perspective on leadership. Each headteacher perceived leadership as involving learned processes requiring support and experience, expending considerable effort in providing a fertile…

The Commonwealth Government of Australia OLT-funded PIVOTAL (Partnerships, Innovation and Vitality -- Opportunities for Thriving Academic Leadership) cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional research confirmed the validity of the PIVOTAL model and its positive impact on the design of postgraduate leadership courses. An improvement in students'…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how district leaders of two school systems in the USA describe an effective principal. Membership categorisation analysis revealed that district leaders believed an effective principal had four major categories of characteristics: (1) documented characteristics (having a track record and being a…

South African democracy precipitated many changes and excavated many dormant issues, one of which was equity in the workplace. This extended into the sphere of education - a sector in which women were rarely seen in leadership positions. Following the implementation of several redress policies, women have managed to penetrate the gender equity…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine personality typologies as a predictor of being a successful elementary school principal. Methodology: A post-hoc analysis design was used to describe the personality typologies as a predictor of being a successful elementary school principal. Eighteen principals were selected to participate in…

Little is known about the change style preferences of superintendents, and how they differ from school principals and from business leaders and whether a superintendent's change-style preference affects student achievement. The purpose of this study was to explore the change-style preferences of South Carolina superintendents, compare them with…

There is a clear understanding that leaders of faith-based educational institutions shape the school community's culture in ways that assist in faith formation. This implicit and explicit focus on faith formation and an alignment with the broader mission of the Catholic Church is foundational to contemplative leadership (Schuttloffel, 1999, 2008).…

It is well reported in the literature that professional development activities have great potential to increase teachers' competencies in different areas, resulting in greater learning opportunities for students. In Turkey, however, teachers' participation in professional development activities is significantly lower compared to almost all…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze data gathered in 1998 and 2011 from representative samples of women secondary school principals in Texas to identify differences in personal, professional, leadership, and school characteristics. Design/methodology/approach: Two proportionate, random samples were drawn of women secondary principals…

As the world becomes globalized by the influence of science and technology, academic institutions in Central America must provide international academic and research opportunities that are conductive to multicultural learning for students, faculty, and staff. Public and private universities in Central America are attempting to increase awareness…

With the changes made to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-446), educational leadership is now able to use the Response to Intervention (RtI) process for Specific Learning Disability (SLD) determination rather than the long-standing discrepancy model (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004).…

The purpose of this study was to develop the Comparative Appraisal of perceived Resources and Demands for Principals (CARD-P), which is used for appraising perceived stress in the elementary school principalship. An appraisal-based definition of stress was derived from literature and used as the theoretical framework for creating the instrument.…