The Socorro Independent School District is one of the fastest growing districts in Texas. In response to the complex issue of a rapidly growing and increasingly diverse student population, poverty, and shrinking pool of educational leader candidates, the district launched an Assistant Principals Academy, designed to prepare individuals to step…

The purpose of this study was to examine the actual and ideal roles and responsibilities of assistant secondary school principals and to identify characteristics necessary for effective assistant secondary school principals as measured by the opinions of secondary principals and assistant secondary principals in Mississippi. Data were gathered…

This paper reports on a study that described how assistant principals operate within the context in which they serve, and how they and their professional situations interact. Its focus was less on their duties and more on the how: how they think about what they do and their position, how they perceive their place within the organization, and how…

Researchers designed and piloted a questionnaire that measures the level of implementation of exemplary middle school practices (based on the work of P. George and W. Alexander, 1993) using Rasch measurement theory. Assistant principals (n=26) participated in telephone interviews by responding to a 27-item questionnaire that contains items…

Considered the responsibilities of the assistant principal in creating an effective curriculum. (RK)

Reports on four pilot studies which investigate the vice principalship role in high schools and its relationship to school organizational context. Examines school environmental factors as well as the alliance-building and maintenance activities of vice principals. (Author/ML)

Studied the effects of evaluator gender, applicant gender, and gender of the reference source on the screening of applicants for assistant-principal positions. Responses of 150 high school principals suggest that hypothetical female candidates were evaluated more highly than male applicants and were more likely to be interviewed. (SLD)

The reflections of an assistant principal portray the dilemmas of the supervisory role and the shift from a bureaucratic to a collegial culture. A basic conflict between the necessity to evaluate and the desire to be of genuine help to teachers is outlined. (SLD)

Assistant principals are jacks-of-all-trades who must be ready for anything. Successful vice-principals build positive relationships, know their role, are good listeners, discover where to get help, maintain their composure, respect parents' feelings, commit to excellence, and learn how to handle stress. (MLH)

Neglected in educational literature, assistant principals can nonetheless help principals by acting as vision codesigners, teacher coaches and evaluators, master schedule designers, program developers, instructional managers, and communicators. Shared instructional leadership allows for greater job control, flexibility, initiative, collegial…

New assistant principals find their new leadership role quite different from their previous work as teachers. This book, based on a 5-year study, addresses the realities of day-to-day life for new assistant principals (APs) in secondary schools. The book presents the actual experiences of men and women who made the transition from teacher to…

Common views of the assistant principal (AP) as the "Marine Corps sergeant type" with nowhere better to be are outdated. Career APs have diverse roles in school administration, often including, but not limited to, discipline. Many career APs find rewards in working with children and put high value on having a balanced personal life. Two…

This paper describes a practicum program that was developed to increase the effectiveness of the administrative team at one high school. A lack of communication skills had prevented the target group from working together as a team. Strategies included role-play activities, workshops, and communication skill-development meetings. A series of…

Questions that can be posed concerning the present state of affairs in limiting or preventing disciplinary problems include: Have there been significant changes in disciplinary problems over the past three decades? Are problems more or less severe than reported in the recent past? Are there patterns of discipline problems related to demographic…

A study of male secondary school principals' reactions to the resumes of fictional candidates for the assistant principalship suggested that experience is the most important criterion considered by principals assessing candidates, and that the sex of the candidate may be relatively unimportant. Three groups of male principals were asked to choose…