Many principals are appointed into this position of authority in schools without having undertaken any course of study, either formal or informal, in the area of educational administration nor having had any prior experience in an administrative role. This thesis presents a number of studies and reviews a range of literature which reach a conclusion that highlights the paramount importance of the principal in relation to the effective operation of the school. The paper discusses the increasing conflicts and dilemmas facing the principal in leading the school community. Because of the importance of the principal's role and the increased pressures upon the person holding that position, this study agrees that administrative training is necessary and increasingly so. It goes on to deveolop a basic training course for principals and for those potential administrators who aspire to that position. In developing this proposed course, this thesis examines the principal in terms of his general description that is age, sex, experience, the nature of his selection and appointment and the roles undertaken by principals in general. A review is undertaken of the professional development of principals in Australia with particular reference to a Queensland and to a South Australian programme. The Australian scene is compared to that in England and Wales and a criteria for 'good practice' is developed for such professional development courses alongside a recommended methodology for conducting such in-service activities. Criteria for the content of the course is built upon examples from the courses examined, the roles undertaken and the background from which Australian administrators emerge. The 'good practice', the methodology and the content statements are finally merged in this thesis, into a detailed description of a proposed course for school administrators.

The purpose of the study was to develop a proposed program that would provide comprehensive preparation for prospective secondary and elementary school administrators in Jamaica. The population consisted of one hundred practicing school administrators in Jamaica.A Q-sort technique was used to prioritize thirty-six educational preparation goal statements. The twenty most important goals were chosen and rank-ordered to develop a core curriculum for the proposed program. Findings The following goal statements were ranked as the four most important goals by practicing school administrators:-Goal Statement 1--"Develop competence in selection, development and evaluation of personnel."-Goal Statement 3--"Development and understanding of the decision making process."-Goal Statement 13--"Develop competence in providing leadership in the development of the total school curriculum and educational policies."-Goal Statement 27--"Develop competence in fostering and maintaining staff and student morale."Goal statements judged to be the least important by practicing school administrators were:-Goal Statement 16--"Develop competence in the process of negotiations and concepts of labor relations in the public school setting."-Goal Statement 33--"Develop competence in the use of computers in educational operations and in the decision making process." Conclusions The judgment of practicing school administrators regarding core preparation experiences needed by prospective administrators was revealed by the final rank-ordering of the set of twenty educational goal statements.Since the rank-ordering of the goal statements revealed that administrators in all types of positions were in substantial agreement on the items ranked in the top half of the set of twenty goal statements it would seem reasonable that the core of a program include the content suggested from these items.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 224-232). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users. Address: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p3018354.

Thesis (Ph. D., Education)--University of Idaho, May 7, 2009. / Major professor: Mary E. Gardiner. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-156). Also available online (PDF file) by subscription or by purchasing the individual file.

No description available.

The purpose of the study was to investigate contemporary practices for structuring public school administrative salaries in selected school districts, to analyze administrative salaries in selected school districts, to analyze practices reported, and to develop a conceptual model for structuring public school administrative salaries.School districts perceived as being innovative by a panel of experts with a national perspective were selected. Respondent superintendents provided school district salary policy and administrative regulations or procedures with explanations, clarifications, or comments which might facilitate accurate interpretation of the salary structure. Responses were analyzed, structure classifications were identified, and frequency of application of selected classifications were identified for the sample school districts and descriptively presented. A conceptual model was prepared from the aggregated data coupled with findings from the literature review for application to structuring of public school administrative salaries.Seven structure classifications emerged from data analysis: (1) time, (2) base rate, (3) role, (4) education, (5) longevity, (6) performance assessment, and (7) index. Each of the seven classifications were defined as follows: (1) time - contractual commitment, (2) base rate - standard salary amount, (3) role - position held by the administrator, (4) education - minimum formal training necessary to enter administrative positions, (5) longevity - length of service in education, (6) performance assessment - evaluation of administrator achievement, and (7) index - administrative salary schedule based on teacher salary schedule.Five of the seven classifications were utilized to develop the following conceptual model:AS = BR x (EW1 + TW2 + RW3) + (PA x BR)whereAS = Administrative salaryBR = Superintendent annual base salary E = EducationT = Time (length of contract) R = RoleW = Weight of factor (W1 + W2 + W3 = 1.00)PA = Performance assessmentSchool districts could add other factors, but the design of the model dictates factor weights adding to 1.00.

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

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1972. / Bibliography: leaves [96]-98.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 526-548).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Youngstown State University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-127). Also available via the World Wide Web in PDF format.