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Although leadership should not be thought of as manifest only in the acts of a single person, the school principal is the person who arranges the organizational conditions. To help future and present school principals, issues behind leadership and the management aspects of the principalship are presented. The book combines theory and practice, allowing enough leeway to encourage tailored solutions. The focus is on the practicalities of making better use of staff in decision making, program analysis and curriculum reform, and in improved instructional delivery systems. The text contains 16 chapters which are divided into four parts: (1) organizational and societal settings, with chapters on style, instructional leadership, decision processing and decision making, the school and the community, and legal rights and responsibilities of students and staff; (2) school program design and delivery, with ideas on school restructuring, creating a positive learning climate, special students and special services, restructuring the curriculum, restructuring learning, restructuring the deployment of instructional personnel, and restructuring time scheduling; (3) managing the personnel system, with discussions on human resources development and staffing the school: recruitment selection and termination; and (4) management tools and techniques, which describes computer applications for school management, and budgeting, accounting, and building management. Each chapter concludes with a series of suggested activities so that practitioners, students, and professors can reflect on the concepts presented in this chapter. (Includes 22 case studies and an index.) (RJM)

Basic to good leadership is a repertoire of management skills providing a productive climate in which teaching and learning are facilitated. The elementary principalship requires well-trained, intelligent individuals with the necessary human, conceptual, and technical skills to lead groups of professionals and students into rich educational adventures. This handbook focuses on these necessary elements of good school management. Part 1 covers organizational and societal impingements; its first three chapters discuss the elementary principal's role; aspects of the school organization and the community served; and the legal principles underlying the well-operated, humane school. The fourth chapter discusses changing community dynamics, particularly the ideological shift from sacred to secular concerns. Part 2 focuses on task areas and functional aspects of the principalship, including curricular and instructional development; staff selection, evaluation, and development; financial and building management; and public relations. The object is to provide insights and stimulate creative thinking about these functions, rather than prescribe a single approach. Part 3 discusses management processes, including decision processing and decisionmaking, project management embodying systematic planning principles, and effective management techniques. Each chapter contains numerous figures, a summary, and a bibliography. A subject index is also provided. (MLH)

Recent research points to a strong correlation between effective school practices and creative administrative leadership. This book focuses on the personal skills and attributes and the organizational conditions necessary for providing this kind of leadership. Principals' primary tasks of efficient building operation, personnel management, budget oversight, and communications development receive greatest attention. The first of four parts describes the societal and organizational settings in relation to effective practices. The first three chapters explore the internal structure and decision-making process, while the fourth treats community dynamics (population mobility, diversity, and external influences). Part two addresses the curriculum and the students, highlighting, in chapters 5 through 10, goal setting, curriculum organization models, and staff and student scheduling. Part three discusses personnel management. Chapter 11 examines human resource development, especially inservice programs, and presents an operating model that incorporates successful practices in leading corporations. Chapter 12 discusses the principal's role in staff supervision and evaluation. The final part describes the tools and techniques of good management (including computer usage, record keeping, and fiscal planning) and the legal framework of school operations. Each chapter contains numerous tables, a summary, endnotes, and a list of selected readings. A subject index is also provided. (MLH)