School board members and administrators are charged with educating a student body that is more diverse than any generation before them. However, top leadership positions remain mostly white and mostly male. Charts display the race and gender of administrators and board members by size of school district. (MLF)

This article presents a study on principal retention in New South Wales, Australia. Factors in job retention included economic security, role enjoyment, and the opportunity to contribute. Disincentives to the principalship included lack of support from the employing authority, inadequate pay, isolation, growing responsibilities, difficult parents,…

New information on the characteristics of elementary school principals is included in the most recent Schools and Staffing Survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. The results show that the number of public elementary school principals grew from 54,000 in 1993-1994 to 61,000 in 2003-2004. This roughly corresponds to the…

Effective-schools research has determined that successful schools are invariably led by a principal who is recognized as an instructional leader. This paper synthesizes and attempts to clarify the most recent perspectives on instructional leadership. Data sources included professional educational journals, trade books on leadership, and…

Focusing on the challenge of expanding administrative opportunities for minorities, the 10 essays in this volume explore the problem of underrepresentation of minority administrators at community colleges and suggest strategies for improving diversity. The following articles are provided: (1) "Paradox and Promise: Leadership and the Neglected…

This study identified and compared the environmental pressures and work-related stresses that impact the chairs of academic departments at universities in Australia and the United States. Surveys were mailed to every department chair at all 40 Australian universities (1680 chairs) with a 51 percent response rate. Surveys were also mailed to a…

This investigation examined the dimensional sources and perceptions of occupational stress experienced by department chairs in institutions of higher education, and the influence of professional independent variables associated with these stressors. Surveys were mailed to 800 randomly selected department chairs at 100 institutions (523 surveys…

The guide is one section of a resource kit designed to assist Peace Corps language instruction coordinators in countries around the world in understanding the principles underlying second language learning and teaching and in organizing instructional programs. An introductory chapter gives an overview of the guide, provides guidance to the…

Findings of a study that examined the administrative practices of effective senior administrators in Ontario, Canada are presented in this paper, which is based on the theoretical concept of "facilitative power" as described by Dunlap and Goldman (1991). This approach views effective leadership as working through others rather than…

A study was done to test four hypotheses on the orientation of American Urban Administrators toward cultural diversity management in the public sector workplace. The study sought to test: (1) the extent of familiarity with the literature on cultural diversity; (2) relative ranking of cultural diversity management capabilities; (3) how women and…

This document reports on a study in which 96 administrators, 4 authorities, 5 experts, and 16 individuals were sampled to isolate and identify some typologies of belief that administrators may have toward gay people in the workplace and to see how those typologies are affected by sex, sexual preference, and worksetting. A detailed description of…

This book centers on classroom supervisory practices by describing what teaching entails and exploring proven instructional techniques. Eight chapters comprise this work: Chapter I defines supervision, explains the need for effective supervision, and describes the skills needed for effective supervision. Chapter II keynotes the elements of…

A study was done to determine whether administrator salaries in 14 Ohio school districts were a reflection of administrator responsibilities or of length of service, and to find what factors accounted for salary differentials. Although previous research suggests factors for assigning value to administrative positions, traditional salary structures…

Principals as school leaders have the potential to transform school culture in positive ways. A review of "Principal's Role in Shaping School Culture," by Terrence Deal and Kent Peterson, is offered in this report. The book defines school culture, presents examples of principals' school improvement strategies, and compares similarities in their…

The assessment of attitudes and perceptions of various groups toward the school choice issue is the purpose of this exploratory study. A nonrandom pilot study administered to 342 parents, administrators, board members, and students used bivariate and univariate analyses to compare attitudinal differences. Findings indicate that attitude toward the…