Kent D. Peterson

The Professional Development of Principals: Innovations and Opportunities.

This article articulates the importance of professional development programs as complementary to preservice preparation. While on-the-job inservice programs offer preservice administrators a glimpse of the requirements for the position, they do not offer ample time to learn everything about the job prior to practicing. This article offers information about sources of professional development including universities, professional associations, governmental agencies, and not-for-profit organizations. Each source is analyzed, including the focus of the program, its purpose, curriculum, instructional strategies, location, internal coherence and integration of technology. The article also provides examples of exemplary programs offered by each source.

Superintendents' Perceptions of the Control and Coordination of the Technical Core in Effective School Districts.

This is an exploratory study of the coordination, control, and assessment procedures employed by superintendents in effective school districts. Both the types of mechanisms and the extent of their use by superintendents to direct the activities of the technical core in these districts are reported. Findings indicate that a number of approaches are used by superintendents to coordinate curriculum and instruction and to control the work of principals and teachers. These findings suggest the existence of tight linkages between the managerial level and the technical core in these school districts. This is in contrast to the types of linkages that have been reported in research indicating that schools operate as loosely coupled systems.

External Pressures for Reform and Strategy Formation at the District Level: Superintendents’ Interpretations of State Demands

Demands for school-district reform are increasingly presented as externally imposed change, directed by state education departments. This study investigated strategies that superintendents used to develop and implement school-improvement plans in response to state mandates. It explored superintendents’ perceptions of environmental uncertainty and how their interpretations of the environment shaped their decisions to implement change. Six environmental factors were identified as the context for strategic decision making. These included uncertainty related to (a) superintendents’ futures and careers, (b) organizational structure, (c) accountability and participation in the planning process, (d) linkages in school improvement, (e) the economic environment, and (f) the intent of state reform efforts.

Leadership in Restructuring Schools: Six Themes on the Work Lives of Principals and Teachers

lenges they face as they implement change in their schools? Using data from the School Restructuring Study (SRS) conducted by the Center on Organization and Restructuring Schools, we offer insights and themes observed in six restructuring schools studied in 1991-92. The themes suggest questions that principals and teachers might ponder about their work and roles as they engage in restructuring. We view restructuring as signifi-

Executive Behavior: An Examination of Selected Studies for Three Decades of Administrative Work Across Organizational Settings, Industries, and Contexts

This study examined administrative work in business, schools, and universities, by using tabular review to compare the findings of selected studies on patterns of behavior. Results of analysis show in spite of differences in organizations and goals, there is considerable similarity in the daily work realities of these executives studied. However, when differences did emerge, they were largely due to the executives proximity to the operational core. Executives who were closer to the operational core, were less likely to have flexibility and control over their work, than executives who had layers embedded in their organization to shield them from the intensity of the operational core.