Examines the assumption that "experience is the best teacher" for preparing vice principals for the principalship, drawing on the results of four studies. Findings suggest that role orientations emphasizing managerial or maintenance functions over instructional leadership or school improvement functions provide a dysfunctional socialization…

Presents a field study focused on the work associated with the assistant school principalship in large high schools. Describes the assistant principals' role as one of maintaining discipline through organizational values and stability. Provides a theoretical model for understanding the relationship between the assistant's role and the school…

Proposes that the role of the secondary school assistant principal should be studied in terms of the dynamics of basic political conflicts in schools. When seen as a polity, the school site is full of disturbances that can potentially expand into conflicts; the assistant principals' typical function is to respond to these disturbances. (KH)

A survey of 40 newly appointed head teachers in Great Britain, supplemented by interviews with four head teachers, provided data establishing the extent to which head teachers were prepared for eight specific administrative roles by the experiences as deputy heads. Widely diverse, unsystematized approaches to administrator preparation were…

Offers a checklist of information that local education authorities in Great Britain should supply to candidates for head teacher positions, drawn from recommendations made by professional associations findings of research. Describes the methods used to develop this checklist. (PGD)

Assistant principals are important people, reminds this principal, who asks his colleagues to probe how they use their assistants. He follows with several suggestions about how to improve the situation. (Author/TE)

A Deputy Headteacher Role Definition Instrument was employed to discover the conceptions of primary school heads and deputy heads in regard to the allocation of certain school leadership functions: instrumental leadership, expressive leadership, and administration. (Author)

This paper reports on an ongoing 3-year study of the current status of instructional supervision within New York City public schools. Under the influence of a centralized and bureaucratically managed system (i.e., top down initiatives), educational reform in New York City has had serious consequences for both the theory and practice of…

An adapted version of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire was used to collect data regarding three types of job satisfaction: general, intrinsic, and extrinsic among high school assistant principals in Mississippi. Forty-nine percent of the 245 assistant principals surveyed participated in the study. Results indicated a high degree of…

The Kentucky Department of Education, Office of Leadership and School Improvement developed this revised and updated technical assistance manual for the 2004-2006 Effective Instructional Leadership Act (EILA) cycle to assist local educators as they strive to improve the quality and effectiveness of their leadership skills and to assist districts…

By describing a typical hectic week in the life of an assistant principal, the author demonstrates why there is little time for educational leadership. (JM)

Santa Maria High School reorganized its management structure so that the comprehensive program for 2400 students requires only four line administrators. Students and teachers are grouped into three learning units, organized around the graduation proficiency requirements of California law AB 65. An organizational chart is provided. (SJL)

Every month, "Leadership" features articles written in an informal, conversational style that provide practical information for school administrators. This issue of "Leadership" contains the following titles: (1) "Building Communities of Practice: Creating Small Learning Communities of School Leaders that Support Teacher Development Has a…

Personalizing education means going beyond structural changes and changing how educators see their students. It means knowing students' stories. The personal stories of students are powerful; educators must devise ways to gather and share those stories to benefit student learning. Principals and assistant principals can help ensure that there are…