Many schooling systems do not fulfil their mandates because of poor management and leadership. Similarly, the rigidity that one finds in schools does not only stunt schools' capacity to develop, but also leads to schools that are dysfunctional and unproductive. As a result, in countries where there is universal transformation, efficacious…

This paper reports on a study conducted in a service-learning protected-areas management class at Colorado State University, Warner College of Natural Resources. The research questions addressed for this paper were "What are the leadership skills needed in today's culture of protected-area management?" and "Can service-learning…

It takes strong leadership skills to successfully run an entity as large and complex as an urban school district, much less turn around one that is low-performing. Most people don't realize that many urban school systems are as large as the biggest companies in America. Yet, most school district leaders and school board members have no specific…

Traditional professional development focuses on declarative and procedural knowledge. That is, participants usually learn what to do and how to do it rather than when to do it and why it is important. In McREL's leadership development program, they focus first on providing participants with an overview of research findings found in their…

This discussion focuses on a research project designed to identify critical leadership behaviors and characteristics of very successful elementary school principals. The project which ultimately became a book published jointly by the National Association of Elementary School Principals and Corwin Press used research methodology inspired by…

Legislation has directed schools to convene school councils that typically address issues related to curriculum, instruction, budget, and governance as one means to improve schooling. However, the expectation for improved schools through this involvement remains a challenge. The study examined issues connected to council operation in two large…

The middle level years are a crucial time for student development, a time when the path for school success is set for many students. Educators who focus on character and leadership development realize that training in these areas can play a significant role in developing students who will become effective leaders and active citizens in middle…

Where power was once the key element to effective leadership, it is now believed that vision, commitment, communication, and shared decision making are the cornerstones of effective leadership. A more collaborative model of leadership is evolving. This paper reviews the development of transformational leadership and contrasts it against…

This paper summarizes a project to determine the helpfulness of constructive/developmental theory in studying effective leadership. Grounded in social science research conducted by Piaget, Kohlberg, Perry, and others, the constructive/developmental leadership model has four stages. In the imperial stage, the individual's frames of reference are…

A national survey of college presidents sought to develop a profile of the leadership behaviors of effective college executives. First, a number of qualified observers (association heads, foundation heads, or scholars) and presidents were asked to nominate effective administrators as survey recipients. The resulting 412 nominees and a…

The extent to which college presidents incorporate single or multiple vantage points in evaluating good leadership was studied, based on Bolman and Deal's framework as adapted by Birnbaum. They suggest that leaders implicitly use different cognitive "frames" to define their role and understand organizational behavior. A frame helps the…

Supplied subjects (N=50) with the description of a director's erroneous decision and a number of accounts he might have given for it. Subjects rated the accounts on acceptability and leadership. Results showed perception of the decision's propriety and planning affected ratings of acceptability and leadership. (Author/BH)

Connected leadership is an emerging view of leadership as an inclusive and collective networked activity occurring throughout organizations. Out of this project grew the Changing Nature of Leadership (CNL) research. Its focus: to explore the current field of leadership and forecast future trends. CNL relied on several interdependent streams of…

University governance refers to the structure and process of authoritative decision making across issues that are significant for external and internal stakeholders within a university. A number of fundamental challenges to effective governance occur within the typical university environment, including too many constituencies, conflicting agendas,…

Describes the "Johari Window," a self-awareness technique that campus activities professionals can offer to help student leaders develop more self- knowledge and thereby approve their leadership. (EV)