The Principal As Leader (2nd Edition)

Unlike other books on the subject, this exploration of the principal as leader -- rather than as manager -- offers a variety of perspectives by well-known education authorities. It explores the dimensions of school leadership both in theory and in practice and demonstrates how principals can substantially improve instruction. Discusses the nature of leadership and new challenges that must be faced; the effective use of computers as a management and instructional tool; and how principals can help improve instruction -- based on their own behavior, the climate of the school, and the improvement of instructional practice. Covers a multitude of issues -- e.g., the decentralization of decision-making to school sites, restructuring the curriculum to become more responsive to children's needs, the implications that demographic shifts have on school programming, human resource development, and the legal and ethical framework surrounding the issues. Includes a case study or application in each chapter. For those preparing to be school executives.