Peter J. Cistone

Conflict management strategies of principals in site‐based managed schools

Site‐based management depends on collaboration and teamwork among teachers, administrators, and parents. Collaborative decision making in educational systems is frequently characterized by conflict and disagreement, given differing perspectives and opinions among participants, and differing interests in the status quo. School principals, charged with facilitator roles in locally managed schools, are challenged to address resulting conflicts in ways that yield functional synergies and constructive outcomes which enable schools to respond to community needs. The purpose of this study is to develop a profile of preferred conflict management behaviors and strategies of a sample of principals in a large, urban school district who work in site‐based managed schools. Results reflect these principals’ preference for solution‐oriented conflict strategies. Findings are discussed in terms of the changing leadership responsibilities of principals in site‐based managed schools.

Power and influence in higher education: the case of Florida

This study assessed the relative power and influence of leading state-level policy actors in higher education in Florida. On the basis of that assessment, a hierarchy of power and influence among principal policy actors was constructed. The data indicate that Floridas higher education leaders agree on the relative ability of various policy actors to influence policy formation. Policy elites in higher education were found to be legislators and key legislative staff consultants, along with the chancellor of the state university system and the Board of Regents of the system. Among the least influential in policy formation were faculty and student interest groups and educational research organizations. The data also indicate that higher education leaders do not perceive that shared authority is the dominant pattern of governance in higher education in Florida.

Relationships Between Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Style, and School Culture

Researchregardingtheassociationbetweenemotionalintelligence,leadershipstyleandorganizational culture has been inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to explore these relationships in elementaryschoolsettings.Anon-experimentalexpostfactoresearchdesignwasutilizedtoinvestigate fourresearchhypotheses.Fifty-sevenprincipalsand850teacherswithinalargeurbanschooldistrict insoutheastFloridaweresurveyed.Hierarchicalregressionanalysesrevealedpositiveassociations between school culture and both transformational and transactional leadership, and negative associationsbetweenschoolcultureandpassive-avoidantleadership.Significantpositiveassociations werefoundalsobetweenschoolcultureandtheprincipals’emotionalintelligenceaftercontrolling for leadershipstyle.Thehierarchical linear regressionsrevealedsignificantassociationsbetween leadershipstyleandschoolcultureaftercontrollingforschoolgradeaswell.Theresultssuggest thatemotionalintelligencemeritsconsiderationinthedevelopmentofleadershiptheory.Practical implications include suggestions that principals employ both transformational and transactional leadershipstrategies,andfocusondevelopingtheirlevelofemotionalintelligence.Theassociations betweenemotionalintelligence,transformationalleadership,contingentrewardandschoolculture foundinthisstudyvalidatetheroleoftheprincipalastheleaderofschoolreform. KEywoRdS Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Style, School Culture, Transactional Leadership, Transformational Leadership

THE FLORIDA COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM: AN ANALYSIS OF INSTITUTIONAL PRIORITIES

This study examined institutional priorities among Floridas public community colleges as viewed by the presidents and local governing boards. The analysis sought to determine whether local priorities were in concordance with those of other community college leaders and whether there was agreement among the local leadership. The study also examined whether institutional setting was related to institutional priorities. Local leaders were asked to rank‐order 20 priorities presented in a study by the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC). Median rankings and rank correlation coefficients revealed a significant positive relationship between the Florida presidents and the leaders in the AACJC study. Both groups indicated a strong commitment to the role of teaching and the retention of top quality faculty. However, no significant correlation was found between the trustees and the AACJC group. Paired rankings from 1. colleges indicated that all but one pair of local leaders failed to rank...