Educational Leadership Commons^™

Perceptions Of Middle School Principals Of The Attributes Of Principals Of Effective Middle Schools, Mark R. Mongon

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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A Study Of The Impact Of Teacher Perceptions On The Implementation Of The Success For All Program In An Urban School District In New Jersey, Joseph Sinatra Fulmore Sr.

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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A Study Of The Relationship Among Long-Term Independent School Heads In Terms Of Their Personality Types And Leadership Styles, Chad B. Small

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Susan M. Meehan

Graduate Research Papers

As I reflect upon my vision of effective teaching and leadership within a school, I am energized to implement the many ideas and concepts from this paper into action.· The school administrator plays a pivotal role in establishing the climate and mission for a learning community. My leadership efforts need to be visionary and move the school to its desired state. I must create the atmosphere, with the help of others, that transform the dreams of the learning community into reality. I look forward to stepping into this role someday and impacting the lives and futures of the students, families, …

Factors Influencing Middle School Teachers To Change Classroom Practice In Response To Standards-Based Reform, Gayle Yvonne Thieman

Dissertations and Theses

In an environment of systemic educational reform, which emphasizes the alignment of curriculum standards, instructional practices, and assessments, an important question arises: What are the factors which influence teachers to change their classroom practice in response to standards-based reforms ? My study examined the initial legislative model, Washington Education Reform Act HB1209 (1993), and tested other factors that led to changes in classroom practice in three middle schools which are currently implementing HB1209.

The case studies included multiple sources of evidence (administrator and teacher interviews, surveys, classroom observations, focus groups, and documents). The data were analyzed for each school individually …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Marlys R. Frohwein

Graduate Research Papers

Someone once said that to be a great educator was to be like a prophet. You would need to prepare young people not for today, but for thirty years into the future. How do we go about making all the changes that would be necessary to answer all the pressing needs facing most schools? Glickman (1993) has suggested the following:

Success is the intelligent use of mistakes in self-renewing schools. The moral imperative of the schools is for its members to move into their areas of incompetence: If we already knew exactly how to do this work, we would not …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, David G. Dreessen

Graduate Research Papers

The successful school administrator needs to be a "finely-honed" instrument at the center of the education process. The administrator must be sensitive to needs of the entire efforts, as well as providing direction, vision, innovative ideas, support, reinforcement, and expertise for the complete educational effort. The unity of purpose in education will proceed as a team effort, knocking down obstacles and building outstanding educational competencies in the process.

A Vision For Administering Elementary Schools : A Reflective Essay, J. Lewis Curtis

Graduate Research Papers

The administrative leader not only has responsibilities for his/her own actions, but is equally responsible for the actions of many others including teachers, students, cooks, secretaries, teacher associates, and custodial staff. All of these workers are under the administrator's direct supervision, which makes it nearly impossible for him/her to know what everyone is doing, when they are doing it, and why they attempt to do it. However, what seems like such an enormous task is also the reason that administrative leadership is so exciting and challenging.

I will highlight what I perceive to be the critical elements of being an …

Cultural Change Paradigms And Administrator Communication, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Public school reform has taken three distinct turns over the past two decades. In the early 1980s, most policymakers blamed a lack of educational productivity on lazy students. Influenced by this argument, virtually every state legislature enacted laws lengthening the school year, lengthening the school day, and increasing high school graduation requirements. Within a relatively short period of time, however, the would-be reformers concluded that intensification of student experiences was insufficient to produce significant improvements. While not abandoning their original conviction, they shifted their attention to a second target-educators. The result was a flurry of proposals to revise or eliminate …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, David Kalkhoff

Graduate Research Papers

This reflective paper will address four areas, which are important components of a learning community. First, the importance of a positive school climate, and how this plays an integral part in the creation of the learning community. Second, to look at character education and a shift in discipline policies to help prepare students for our changing society. Third, a paradigm shift from extra curricular to co-curricular educational opportunities for our student body. Fourth, a look at educational leadership in developing the learning community.

Personal Philosophical Perspective On Educational Leadership For Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Deborah L. Padomek

Graduate Research Papers

Every child deserves the best possible education we can provide them. Burdick, Pond, & Yamamoto (1994) found that too many persons leave our educational system at both the secondary and collegiate levels unequipped with the vocational skills, the self-understanding and career decision-making skills, or the work attitudes that are essential for making a successful transition from school to work. It is important to teach students skills necessary for future employment, and also teach them the importance of being critical thinkers and applying previous learning.

The Short Tenure Of A Woman Superintendent: A Clash Of Gender And Politics, Margaret Grogan

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This article reports the two-year tenure of a woman superintendent in a small southern city. Placed against the background of local community politics and school district politics it shows that women in the superintendency still face Issues of gender stereotyping that influence the way they are perceived as leaders of school systems. A feminist poststructuralist framework is used to understand how the various subject positions available to women collide with the discourse of the superintendency. lt is recommended that women leaders resist the images that have been traditionally reserved for them and begin to reinvent the superintendency on their own …

A Blue Print For Administration Of Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Jay Goulden

Graduate Research Papers

Four main target areas will be presented for successful leadership. They are: site based management through shared decision making; staff development in the area of technology; development and maintenance of a positive school culture and climate, and providing a safe school environment.

Philosophical Perspective On Education, Michael Doyle

Graduate Research Papers

I believe that education shapes our continuously changing society. We use education to grow, develop, and strengthen the citizens in our society. With the proper use of education we have created the possibilities for unlimited opportunities. I see education as a great challenge to shape our young people into becoming responsible lifelong learners.

The Principal : A Reflective Essay, Mel F. Mysak

Graduate Research Papers

As I think of the principal my mind takes me back to my early school days. As a young student one of my earliest encounters with a principal was on a disciplinary matter. Even though the incident must have been in first or second grade I still clearly remember it to this day. Hence, one of my first encounters with a principal was a negative one. Due to the nature of the job, disciplinarian is one of the roles of the principal that I now understand. This incident causes me to consider that as a principal I will never know …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Larry D. Janssen

Graduate Research Papers

In this paper I will address what I view are the areas in which a principal needs to be strong, in order to be an effective and efficient administrator. I believe the most important roles of the principal include: instructional leadership, communication, student discipline, and parental and community involvement.

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Brian F. Krob

Graduate Research Papers

In a clearing in the woods, I see a bricked schoolhouse with kids of all ages outside laughing and playing. The sun is splashing down on the landscape like a blanket covering a canopy bed. The teachers are lingering around the playground communicating with each other about the day's events and the principal grinning from ear to ear thinking about everything around him that makes up this school.

This is a vision I have in my mind of the perfect school and the perfect administrative position. I also have to think about all of the people who came before me …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Julie E. Niemeyer

Graduate Research Papers

Any visioning activity must necessarily begin with an examination of where you've been, which brings you to where you are, which lays the foundation for where you want to be. Core values and beliefs must be identified, and they will guide the direction of the vision. It is with this in mind that I present my vision for administrative practice.

A Preferred Vision For Administering Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Marla Marie Padget

Graduate Research Papers

The education system in the United States is changing rapidly. The role of teachers, administrators, parents and the community within this system should also change. This paper will examine my philosophy, experiences, preparation for leadership, and vision for creating a positive future for this nation through better education for our children.

A Preferred Vision For Administering Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Jonna D. Andersen

Graduate Research Papers

As teachers and administrators, we need to constantly support each other and appreciate all that we give to our students. We need to realize that in education we will not always meet with success, but we need to continue to look at ways in which to do our jobs better. Principals need to be the people who work to keep their faculties and staff in a positive/progressive direction. Administrators and teachers need to set their own goals, working constantly to achieve them. As you hit roadblocks, you need to find alternatives to get you back on the road. Education is …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Diana Bobo-Campbell

Graduate Research Papers

It is the purpose of this paper to reflect on the principal's role in the following areas: (a) creating a safe, caring environment for students; (b) assisting teachers in 2 creating a learning environment; (c) engaging parents in their child's education; and (d) developing a learning community as an educational leader. It is my intent to examine the characteristics of these roles through my philosophy and educational experiences thus envisioning an environment that will ensure these efforts.

A Preferred Vision For Administering Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Marshall D. Scichilone

Graduate Research Papers

As I prepare to gather my thoughts and to reflect on what I see as major issues and problems in our schools today, and my vision of how to address them, I cannot help but reflect on the last 30 years. As a classroom teacher for those years, I have come into contact with a variety of different administrators and nearly as many different leadership styles and ideas on leadership. I have certainly been shaped by all of these experiences and I will try to use them to evaluate the concepts and techniques that we have discussed in our studies …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Gretchen S. Devore

Graduate Research Papers

Trust is the single most important factor in the legitimacy of an educational leader. Administrators can have a multitude of great characteristics from personality to organizational skills, but without trust they are not part of the daily, weekly, monthly, even yearly operations of the building. If the leader is not going to be immersed in the educational process of the building or district through positive relationships, quality communication and trustworthy actions, then do not be there.

Educational Leadership : A Reflective Essay, Kimberly A. Jones

Graduate Research Papers

An educational leader should strive to create an atmosphere of professionalism rooted in trust, dedication and commitment to preparing young people for an ever-changing future. This can take place by using the change-process outlined by Speck (l999). One major component is that the learning community must be an open system, include a representation of all stakeholders and be a collaborative effort. The other major component is the idea that the process is cyclical. Change is not a culminating end, but an ever-evolving process. An effective leader will facilitate this change for the benefit of all stakeholders in the learning community.

A Preferred Vision For Administering Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Troy E. Becker

Graduate Research Papers

In the classroom and in coaching we are able to affect certain groups of kids and hopefully touch their lives in a positive way. An administrator should be able to have an even greater impact on the school community and create a positive environment in which even more people will benefit. The greatest challenge will be to persuade people to make positive changes towards a common goal and vision. Rosalyn Carter in Maxwell (1994) said, "a leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they do not necessarily want to go, but ought to …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Carole J. Bernard

Graduate Research Papers

Working together in a cohort group and acting as a quasi-administrator has afforded me the opportunity to receive theoretical knowledge as well as on-the-job training. The cohort has also helped me as a participant develop an understanding and respect for individuals from different backgrounds and experiences. Through on-the-job training I have been able to develop and practice my own leadership style while working and learning effective strategies from my principal. The blending of these two aspects of leadership experience have contributed significantly to prepare me as a future principal. I believe the cohort, a cadre of leaders, is dedicated to …

An Investigation Of Servant-Leadership In Public School Superintendents In The State Of Indiana, Michael P. Livovich Jr.

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the extent to which the "Ten Critical Characteristics of Servant-Leadership," according to Spears (1995, 1998), exist in public school superintendents in the state oflndiana. All 289 public school superintendents in the state of Indiana were sent a survey instrument which operationalized these characteristics. Alternative hypotheses were tested, and an analysis was conducted comparing the responses of the superintendents based on personal information and school district demographics. Personal information was defined as age, highest degree earned, and length of experience as a public school superintendent. School district demographics were defined as the number of students served based on …

The Impact Of Staff Development Practices On Implementation Of Middle School Components, Denise Charbonnet

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Middle schools serve young adolescents who require a separate schooling experience from both elementary and high school students. The Middle School Movement has been around since the 1960s, yet middle schools have not been fully implemented in this country. Middle schools are still in the early stage of reform.

Staff development activities are necessary to prepare school personnel to implement best middle school practices. Because few states require certification at the middle school level, most school personnel are poorly prepared to implement best middle school practices. Thus, Carnegie (1989) recommendations are not fully incorporated in most middle schools.

In this …

A Vision For Administering Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Roger W. Francis

Graduate Research Papers

Being a principal is a very demanding job. All of the hats that the principal is required to wear means that he is being looked at for leadership in a multitude of areas. Some of which are not a direct part of the education program. Areas other than academics have an effect on the overall educational process. Maintaining an orderly environment, with a good staff, in a safe setting that provides needed services to children, can have a huge effect on the education of our youth. Thus, the role of the principal. in this process is very powerful as the …

The School Superintendent: Theory, Practice, And Cases, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

This book provides both theoretical and practical insights into the evolving responsibilities associated with being the chief executive officer of a school system. Treats school administration as a science and a craft involving professional artistry, and examines the position in relation to challenges and potential frustrations and accomplishments. Describes contemporary superintendency in the context of four role conceptualizations (professional educator, business manager, statesman, social scientist). Traces the evolution of each role's expectations and discusses their continued emphasis in current practice. Considers policy development -- with an emphasis on deregulation and decentralization. Focuses on relevant issues, including communication, decision making, ethical …