The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of administrators' contribution to their teaching and learning by identifying those administrator attributes and behaviors that promote learning. The study incorporated individual studies by 10 doctoral students, in a doctoral research class project. Each researcher…

This study examined whether teachers perceived their school principals as using empowering-type activities. The study focused on differences according to such factors as age, gender, and school grade and size. Researchers examined the survey responses from graduate students in the Educational Leadership Program at Northeast Louisiana University in…

This book was written for teachers, directors, and aides who have questions about the problems of working in the day care field. Part 1 of the book, "Hard Times with Directors," contains the sections: (1) "The Bad Things about Good Directors"; (2) "The Good Things about Bad Directors"; (3) "Staff Meeting…

A feeling of community may be at the heart of child care workers' satisfaction with their job. The director plays a vital role in creating an emotional climate in which staff can feel safe, nurtured, and challenged to grow. Creating a sense of community among staff can be done in much the same way as in the classroom. (EV)

A survey of superintendents in 10 small, rural school districts in Texas showed that they gave priority to the following leadership behaviors: (1) focusing all stakeholders' attention on instruction; (2) involving others in instructional planning; (3) communicating high performance expectations; (4) maintaining visibility; (5) supporting…

A survey of 123 teachers enrolled in a university principal- preparation program revealed that teachers valued three kinds of principal behaviors: empowering (23 percent), supporting (36 percent), and communicating (41 percent). Praising is less important than treating teachers professionally, demonstrating support, and having an open-door policy.…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined how principals' instructional management behaviors are conditioned by contextual factors such as principals' personal characteristics, school district conditions, and other external factors. The study used the instructional leadership model advocated by S. T. Bassart, D. C. Dwyer, R. Rowan and…

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,…

A study analyzed the evaluation orientations of 888 participants in Kentucky's week-long Management Awareness Workshop for state-employed managers who have occupied a management position for approximately 5-6 months. Analyses of responses to a self-administered mail questionnaire indicated 74.6 percent of respondents were encouraged by their…

Focuses on behaviors and activities of three high school principals as they respond to district's decision to implement a shared decision-making model designed to give teachers and parents a larger voice. Describes these administrators' varying responses, along with varied ways democratic leadership was multilaterally defined in each school by…

A study of 81 experienced teachers reports that to understand and survive classroom life, a knowledge of interpersonal politics was essential. The qualitative data set disclosed seven major categories of ineffective principal influences on teacher thinking and behavior: lack of participatory decision making, lack of support, favoritism,…

Examined how elementary school administrators' and curriculum coordinators' views of subject matter related to their leadership strategies. Found that relative to reading, leaders' agendas for improving literacy instruction focused on teachers' input and applying literacy skills to several academic subjects. Strategies for improving math…

Preservice teachers get their first teaching position hoping to take the first step toward becoming professional educators and expecting support from experienced colleagues and administrators, who often serve as their mentors. In this article, the authors present the story of Kristine (a pseudonym), who works at a middle school in a large U.S.…

During a multi-district study on part-time teaching employment, part-time teachers, school administrators, and teachers' association officials spoke about a range of micropolitical activities related to part-time teaching arrangements as a component of flexible workforces and as an element of flexible workplaces. The study was conducted in one…

Leadership and diversity are invariably connected, as US schools are under pressure to educate an increasingly diverse population. Creating an inclusive school requires school leaders to respond to any intergroup conflict that may occur among an ethnically-diverse group of schools' participants. The study on which this article is based examined…