David J. Hvidston

Cyberbullying: Implications for Principal Leadership.

Cyberbullying has been identified by school leaders and researchers as one of the most serious adverse consequences of incorporating information technology into the classroom. This article examines the legal status of cyberbullying by conducting an analysis of selected federal appellate court opinions. This analysis identifies a set of legal considerations that school leaders must attend to in confronting cyberbullying in order to protect students, teachers, and the interests of the school district. The article concludes with recommendations to district and school leaders before and during investigations of off-campus cyberbullying. Language: enCyberbullying has been identified by school leaders and researchers as one of the most serious adverse consequences of incorporating information technology into the classroom. This article examines the legal status of cyberbullying by conducting an analysis of selected federal appellate court opinions. This analysis identifies a set of legal considerations that school leaders must attend to in confronting cyberbullying in order to protect students, teachers, and the interests of the school district. The article concludes with recommendations to district and school leaders before and during investigations of off-campus cyberbullying.

What Are Principals’ Perceptions? Recommendations for Improving the Supervision and Evaluation of Principals

The goals for this qualitative study were to examine principals’ perceptions regarding their own supervision and evaluation. Two research questions guided the qualitative inquiry: (1) What are the greatest strengths of your own supervision and evaluation? and (2) What recommendations would you give to superintendents to improve your own supervision and evaluation? The study used an online tool to gather perceptions from principals regarding their own evaluation and supervision. Participants solicited included 275 principals from elementary, middle, or high schools, in a mountain west state. Out of the participants solicited, 95 principals agreed to participate (35% response rate). The emerging themes for the first research question were (1) trust and communication and (2) goal setting. The emerging themes for the second research question were (1) regular observations with feedback and (2) components to improve supervision and evaluation. Results from this study provided implications for those who supervise principals, as well as for those who train superintendents.