This study of district instructional leadership for school improvement sought to identify leadership practices among Indiana curriculum directors and to investigate relationships between their self-rated practices, student achievement, and certain demographic variables. For the purposes of this study, the curriculum director was designated as the administrator with primary responsibility for oversight of district curriculum and instruction, irrespective of specific position or title. Using Kouzes and Posner's Leadership Practices Inventory: Self (3rd ed.), participants provided self-ratings of their leadership behaviors on five sub-scales: challenging the process, inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act, modeling the way, and encouraging the heart. Three of these practices, challenging the process, inspiring a shared vision, and enabling others to act, were of particular interest since these skills are repeatedly cited in the literature as critical to effective district leadership for school improvement. Data provided by 262 (89.4%) of Indiana's 293 public school districts suggested that curriculum directors' relative strengths were enabling others to act and modeling the way. A key issue emerging from the study was the need for curriculum directors to further develop their skills in challenging the process and inspiring a shared vision since these are essential to effective instructional leadership but were among the least likely to be endorsed. Several demographic variables were noted as predictors of self-rated leadership skills; advanced levels of education were positively correlated to challenging the process and inspiring a shared vision, and the position held by the curriculum director was associated with four of the sub-scales: challenging the process, inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act, and modeling the way. Notably, in 56.5% of the districts the superintendent acted as the curriculum director and provided instructional leadership in addition to other typical responsibilities. This finding suggests that expertise in instructional leadership as well as school finance and human resource development is important for aspiring and practicing superintendents. Finally, after controlling for demographic variables, the researcher concluded that no correlation existed between self-rated leadership practices of Indiana curriculum directors and student achievement. / Department of Educational Leadership

The study was designed to facilitate the development of a set of guidelines which could be used by administrative personnel at Kokomo-Center Township Consolidated School Corporation (KCTCSC) in planning and implementing a program of administrative evaluation. A review of literature and research concerning administrative evaluation programs was made to identify principles and desirable practices relative to the development of evaluation philosophy and activities. The review of literature also was intended to focus upon the purpose of evaluation, responsibilities for making evaluations, criteria for evaluation, and acceptance of evaluation procedures and techniques by the administrative team members.The study included a review and analysis of evaluation programs conducted within the nineteen member school systems of the Indiana Public School Study Council as of January 1979. Twelve superintendents of the member school systems provided written descriptive materials. Selected materials were analyzed in order to determine the nature, scope, and procedural characteristics of practical, ongoing evaluation programs.The study also included a KCTCSC team survey. The survey was designed by a committee of representative administrators to solicit the opinions of all administrative team members of KCTCSC on eight specific areas affecting an evaluation program.Conclusions drawn from the findings of a review of the literature, the Indiana Public School Study Council Member Superintendent's Questionnaire, and the Kokomo Administrative Team Evaluation Survey Questionnaire were as follows.A. Administrative performance can and should be evaluated on a regular basis.B. Authorities are not in agreement that only one process of evaluation is correct.C. Evaluation may include two main purposes: the first, to help the evaluatee establish relevant performance objectives and work systematically toward objective achievement; and secondly, to assess the evaluatee's present performance in accordance with prescribed standards.D. Evaluation should require the evaluator(s) to assess the. performance of the evaluatee by rating the evaluatee on a value scale that may have varying degrees of excellence.E. Management by Objectives (MBO) should be a supplement to evaluation procedures that stress rating. Self-evaluation should always be encouraged.F. Formal evaluation of administrative team members should be conducted annually within the time framework of individual state laws. Informal evaluation should be a continuous process, on a day-to-day basis supplementing the formal process.G. The superior or supervisor should conduct the formal evaluation with informal documented evaluation input from peers, staff, students, parents, community, and evaluatee as situations and/or time warrants.H. Particular attention should be paid to amassing specific documentary evidence regarding each behavioral characteristic to be assessed.I. Evaluation should be supported by data, records, commendations, and critical comments, work achieved, spotchecks, special activities and awards.J. Little new information, if any, should be saved for the formal appraisal. Evaluation should concentrate on guidance and counseling, not solely on checking up on the evaluatee.K. The evaluator should enter the evaluation process with a mutual, unprejudiced, and unbiased attitude with respect to the evaluatee.L. The best evaluation system is of no value if the information is simply gathered and stored or ignored.M. Improvement of evaluatee performance involved two processes, assessment of evaluatee and in-service or job development.Guideline recommendations for planning and implementing an administrative evaluation program touch on the following considerations: the responsibilities of the board of school trustees, the superintendent of schools, and the evaluation committee which has been established by the superintendent of schools. Implementation and follow-up recommendations are also a part of the guideline recommendations made as a result of the study.

The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness central office administrators with systemwide responsibilities have in delivering services to building principals. The areas investigated included the degree to which central staff should have and actually did provide specific services as judged by building principals.The population of the study consisted of sixty-two principals and assistant principals in selected school corporations in central Indiana with an enrollment of 8,000 to 12,000 students. The questionnaires consisted of fortyfive items and two Likert-type response scales. Principals and assistant principals were asked to indicate on one scale the degree to which the item ideally should have been provided and on a second scale the degree to which the item actually was provided by central staff. Questionnaires were returned by fifty-eight or ninety-three percent of the principals and assistant principals.ConclusionsThe conclusions of the study were:Discrepancies exist between the ideal and actual classification in that principals were not provided with:Training in interviewing and staff selection procedures.An annual meeting between principals and maintenance to determine priorities.Maintenance service programs structured from a preventative standpoint.Discrepancies do not exist between the ideal and actual classification in that:Principals were given the final authority in the selection processes.Regularly scheduled meetings were provided to discuss concerns of building level administrators.Principals and staff received support when dealing with parents or community.Principals were provided assistance and support when difficult decisions needed to be made.Principals were provided information regarding interpretations of master contract.Principals were provided opportunities for meaningful input into curriculum development.Perceptions and reactions are discernible in the ideal and actual classification in that:Principals being included in establishing priorities in negotiations were perceivable. In-service programs for teachers and principals to develop curriculum ideas were perceivable.RecommendationsFollowing are recommendations of the study:1. Central staff maintenance should give consideration to discussion of maintenance service programs.2. Central staff should give consideration to developing in-service programs for principals in interviewing and staff selection procedures.

This research study, based on 15 research questions, described demographic information, career patterns and career goals of 156 of Indiana's public school curriculum leaders. The two most common titles for curriculum leaders were curriculum director and assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. Significant associations were found in three areas: respondents with the highest degrees and those who had moved to the curriculum director's position from specific educational professions identified certain career goals; curriculum directors who planned to retire from their current positions chose curriculum as their ultimate career goal. Comparisons to Malone's (1999) study of Indiana's superintendents were included. Curriculum directors were evenly divided men and women, were 96% Caucasian, had a mean age of 51 years, and represented all sizes of school districts. / Department of Educational Leadership

The problem was to determine the number and level of professional assignments of black administrators in Indiana public school corporations as compared with April 1969; and to discover the present perception of the position status of the black administrators serving Indiana public corporations in April 1969.

The study was based on examination of four selected methods of administrator-to-student body communication utilized in twenty central Indiana high schools. Student handbooks, school newspapers, special bulletins, and daily announcements were the methods examined. The study was designed to yield empirical data with regard to the effectiveness of the four selected methods as perceived by administrators and students.Parallel instruments were given to all administrators and to a sample of tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade students in each of the twenty schools. Personal interviews were conducted with each of the principals.Findings in the study were based on data obtained from the administrator and student surveys and from the interviews with principals.1. On each of the survey items administrators and students generally agreed on which method was most effective to distribute a particular type of information.2. School newspapers were not a primary method of administrator-to-student body communication in any of the schools.3. Reading announcements twice daily rather than once made little or no difference in the amount of information received by students.4. Little or no difference existed in the reported amount of information received from daily announcements in schools where students did the reading compared to schools where administrators read.5. In the one school where daily announcements were read in the classrooms by teachers rather than over the public address system, the reported amount of information received was clearly less than in those schools using the public address system.6. No one method of communication produced student reports of information received which were clearly higher than the other methods.7. Administrator estimates of the amount of information received by students were consistently higher than the amounts actually reported by students.Conclusions1. No one method of communication is consistently more effective than the others.2. Administrators are inclined to overestimate the amount of information received by students.ImplicationsWhile conclusions based on empirical data were limited, several implications were generated as a result of conducting the study. In the course of visiting twenty schools and interviewing administrators in the twenty schools, several observations were made about situations and patterns which were present when students reported high amounts of information received. The patterns were consistent even when communication methods differed.The effectiveness of administrator-to-student body communication does not appear to be controlled by chance or luck. In schools where students reported high amounts of information received, the principals viewed the communication process as important to the success of the school. The principals, through planning and attention to detail, set a communication tone which was clear to teachers and students alike. The methods differed from school to school but in those schools where student responses indicated effective communication was being achieved, more attention to the process by administrators was observed as a general condition.In schools where student responses indicated that less information was received, principals often stated the position that communication was important but when the total process was studied, communication efforts lacked coordination and direction.In summary, planning commitment, and coordination appear to be necessary ingredients regardless of which communication method is used. Without such ingredients, none of the methods is likely to succeed.

The purpose of the study was to identify and describe the nature of change, relative to the roles and responsibilities of personnel administrators in selected Indiana public school corporations, resulting from mandated teacher collective bargaining.Personnel administrators with seven or more years of experience were selected to insure that participants in the study had had experience both before and after the enactment of Public Law 217. In-depth taped interviews were conducted with nine personnel directors.The responses of personnel directors participating in the study were compared, correlated and contrasted with statements made by authorities in the field relative to private and public sector personnel administrators. Major findings were:Additional Time Requirements1. Personnel directors are devoting additional time to record keeping activities, such as:a.Formulating reduction in force lists and call back lists.b. Reviewing and revising student enrollment by building and class as necessary.c. Developing expanded salary schedules which reflect broader range of teacher educational preparation.d. Maintaining information relative to the number of graduate hours taken and advanced degrees earned by teachers.e.Maintaining information relative to teacher fringe benefits.f.Maintaining information relative to compensation for extracurricular responsibilities.g.Maintaining information relative to number and type of leave days taken by teachers.h.Maintaining teacher requests for transfers.i.Maintaining detailed information relative to teachers holding temporary contracts.j.Maintaining information relative to teacher seniority by school system and building.2. Personnel directors are devoting additional time to activities required for the collective bargaining process, such as:a. Collecting and organizing financial and personnel information.b. Providing and explaining financial and personnel information to the chief spokesman.c. Preparing salary schedules to determine cost of various teacher group and board proposals.d. Compiling and analyzing statistics relative to the number of various teacher leave days taken and days on which leaves occurred.e. Developing expanded salary schedules which reflect broader range of teacher educational preparation as required by the agreement.3. Personnel directors are devoting additional time to consultation, such as:a. Providing guidance to building administrators relative to teacher evaluations.b. Advising building administrators regarding granting of teacher leave days.c. Discussing the status of negotiations with building administrators, superintendent and board members.d. Providing guidance to building administrators relative to contract implementation.4. Personnel directors are devoting additional time to grievance activities, such as:a. Reviewing teacher evaluations to prepare for grievance hearings.b. Meeting with union officials to hear grievances.Preparing for grievances and arbitration hearings.5. Personnel directors are devoting additional time to inservice training activities, such as:a. Explaining evaluation procedures and instruments to building administrators.b. Explaining the intent of contract language to building administrators to insure uniform contract implementation.6. Personnel directors are devoting additional time to cooperative activities with union officials, such as:a. Providing personnel and financial information relative to teacher seniority, salaries, and fringe benefits.b. Developing and revising teacher evaluation instruments.c. Hearing grievances and jointly determining equitable settlements.7. Personnel directors are devoting additional time to other activities, such as:a. Considering leave requests of teachers.b. Planning for staffing needs and teacher vacancies.Changed Organizational Relationships1. The majority of personnel directors have been placed in the grievance structure and now represent the superintendent, usually at the second or third step of the grievance procedure. Therefore, personnel directors now have more line authority to make binding decisions regarding grievances.2. Because personnel directors now have line authority in the grievance structure, personnel directors may support or reverse the decisions of building administrators regarding grievances. Therefore, building administrators are now consulting more with the personnel director relative to the handling of employee grievances at the initial step of the grievance structure.3. Building administrators are now seeking advice and approval of personnel directors regarding teacher evaluations and granting of leaves.4. The majority of personnel directors participate in the negotiation process either as chief spokesman or members of the negotiating team. As the administrative representative in the collective bargaining process, personnel directors are now the main communication link between the teacher union, superintendent and board of education.5. As the administrative representative in the collective bargaining process, personnel directors have been given the additional responsibility of insuring that principals understand the intent of contract language and implement the contract accordingly.Direct Participation in the Negotiations Process1. The majority of personnel directors participate in the negotiation process either as chief spokesman or members of the negotiating team.a. As chief spokesmen, new roles and responsibilities of the personnel director include:(1) Consultation with the superintendent relative to the selection of negotiating team members.(2) Consultation with the superintendent and other administrative personnel concerning the collecting, organizing and writing of board proposals for negotiations.(3) Consultation with the superintendent and other administrative personnel relative to the development of a negotiation strategy.(4) The presentation of school board proposals.(5) Receiving teacher union proposals during negotiations.(6) Communications between the teacher union, superintendent and school board.(7) Consultation with the superintendent and board members concerning the development of school board counterproposals.(8) The equitable and expeditious conclusion of negotiations.b. As members of the negotiating team, new roles and responsibilities of the personnel directors included:(1) Providing relevant and necessary personnel and financial information to the chief spokesman.(2) Explaining and describing pertinent conditions surrounding negotiations, personalities of the individuals involved in negotiations, and attitudes within the community.

The purpose of the study was to gather empirical data on the relationship of stress provoking aspects of the administrative role and the presence of selected risk factors in coronary heart disease.The population of the study consisted of 181 administrative persons working in the areas serviced by the East Central Indiana School Study Council and the Northeast Indiana School Study Council. The testing was done at educational workshops, away from the place of employment. The testing period extended through January, February, and March of 1976.)Four instruments were used in the study. The first, instrument, Biographical Information, was used to gather data about medical conditions for which the respondents were currently receiving treatment. The second instrument, the Stressful Situation Scale, was used to collect data about the number of stressful situations the respondents recently had experienced. The third instrument, the Perceived Occupational Stress Scale, was designed by Dr. Robert L. Kahn and his associates at the University of Michigan. The scale was used with the permission of Dr. Kahn and measured the amount of stress the administrative personnel felt. The fourth instrument, the Behavioral Risk Factor Analysis, was used to obtain data about the daily activities of the respondents that may have caused a predisposition to coronary heart disease.The analysis of variance was utilized to test the first null hypothesis that no statistically significant relationship existed between the number of stressful situations experienced and the presence of selected physiological coronary heart disease risk factors. The chi square statistic attempted to test the second null hypothesis that no statistically significant relationship existed between the number of stressful situations experienced and the presence of selected behavioral risk factors of coronary heart disease. The chi square statistic was not operational due to an insufficient spread in the cells.The following findings and conclusions were based on a review of the literature as presented in the study and the results of the analysis of data:1. The number of stressful situations experienced were statistically significant when compared with pulse rate.2. The number of stressful situations experienced were statistically significant when compared with systolic blood pressure. 3. The number of stressful situations experienced were statistically significant when compared with diastolic blood pressure.4. The number of stressful situations experienced were statistically significant when compared with perceived occupational stress. 5. The assistant superintendent group had the highest mean value for pulse rate.6. The assistant superintendent group had the highest mean value for systolic blood pressure. 7.The assistant superintendent group had the highest mean value for diastolic blood pressure.8.The assistant superintendent group had the highest mean value for perceived occupational stress.9.Principals had the greatest mean number of years in the employment category.10. Assistant superintendents had the fewest mean number of years in the employment category.11. Assistant principals had the lowest mean age of administrative personnel.12. Superintendents had the highest mean age of administrative personnel.13. Hypertension was a significant medical problem for administrative personnel in schools.14.Problems with athletic teams presented a significant problem for school administrators.15. Conflict with subordinates and superordinates presented a major problem for school administrators.16. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration had not presented major problems for school administrators.17. Few administrators in the public schools reported feeling unqualified.18. Few administrators in the public schools reported feeling hesitant or upset about having to make decisions.

The specific purposes of the study were to secure from selected Indiana public school administrators who are alumni of Ball State University evaluation of and suggestions for more effective administrative course work, alumni service programs, and placement services.

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between age, teaching experience, and major degree preparation area of the last degree earned of senior high school women teachers in Indiana and their motivation to pursue administrative careers. A second purpose was to report the opinions of women teachers relative to perceived opportunity to actively seek a position in administration at the senior high. school and/or central office level.An opinionnaire was designed to solicit responses from female senior high school teachers in Indiana concerning age, years of teaching experience, major degree preparation area of the last degree earned and their motivation to pursue administrative careers. Women teachers were asked to respond to questions requiring personal opinions on mentoring, relocating to assume an administrative position, interview opportunities for administrative positions, and the perceived reasons administrative positions were denied the respondent. In addition, the teachers were asked to state perceived opinions regarding the opportunity for women to actively seek an administrative career at the senior high school and/or central office level.One thousand names of women teachers in Indiana senior high schools, grade 9 through grade 12, were drawn by the Bureau of Educational Research from computer lists at the Department of Public Instruction. Six hundred twenty-two teachers responded to the opinionnaire.The responses to all questions soliciting demographic information were reported by number and percentage in three categories:1. Total number of respondents,2. Women who indicated an interest in pursuing administrative careers, and3. Women who stated they were disinterested in administrative careers in education.Responses to open-ended questions were separated into the following two categories and reported by percentage and/or number:1. Women who indicated an interest in pursuing administrative careers, and2. Women who stated they were disinterested in administrative careers in education.The following major findings were derived from the analysis of data:1. Of the 622 respondents, 142 respondents or 22.8 percent indicated an interest in pursuing administrative careers in senior high schools or central administration offices.2. Sixty-eight and four-tenths of the women interested in administration as a career were younger than 40 years of age.3. The largest number of respondents in each group, women who indicated an interest in administrative careers and women who indicated a disinterest in administrative careers, had taught from 5 to 15 years.4. The largest number of respondents in each group, women who indicated an interest in administrative careers and women who indicated a disinterest in administrative careers, reported the English degree as the major preparation of the last degree earned.5. Sixty-six and three-tenths of the 622 respondents indicated a lack of encouragement from administrators in their home district in regard to pursuing administrative careers.6. Twenty-one percent of the respondents perceived the major reason women have not pursued administration careers was due to family responsibilities.7. Eleven and seven-tenths percent of the respondents perceived the socialization process imposed on the American female as reason women have not pursued careers in school administration.8. Of the respondents who indicated an interest in pursuing careers in school administration, none cited family responsibilities as a limiting factor in the pursuit of an administrative career.