Effective School District Leadership: Transforming Politics into Education / Edition 1

by Kenneth Leithwood

Overview

School districts in both Canada and the United States provide the sites for this research. Many of these districts were in the midst of reform or restructuring initiatives and these initiatives became an important context within which to understand the work of district leaders. The authors describe how effective superintendents work with their immediate staffs, elected trustees, and school-based administrators. Each chapter examines the meaning of effective district leadership from different perspectives. Common to almost all of the chapters is an appreciation of the exquisitely "political" nature of the superintendent's work. Contributors to the volume include Edward A. Holdaway and Anthony Genge; Derek J. Allison, Patricia A. Allison, and Helen A. McHenry; Kenneth Leithwood and Roseanne Steinbach; Frances Wills and Kent Peterson; Joseph Murphy; Richard G. Townsend; Donald Musella; Mark Holmes; Stephen B. Lawton, Joyce Scane, and Shihui Wang; and Kenneth Leithwood.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780791422540
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	02/16/1995
Series:	SUNY series, Educational Leadership
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Kenneth Leithwood is Professor, Educational Administration and Head, Centre for Leadership Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

1. Introduction: Transforming Politics into Education
Kenneth Leithwood

2. How Effective Superintendents Understand Their Own work
Edward A. Holdaway and Anthony Genge

3. Chiefs and Chairs: Working Relationships between Effective CEOs and Board of Education Chairpersons
Derek J. Allison, Patricia A. Allison, and Helen A. McHenry

4. Prospects for Organizational Learning in Expertly Managed Group Problem Solving
Kenneth Leithwood, Rosanne Steinbach, and Tiiu Raun

5. Superintendents' Management of State-Initiated Reform: A Matter of Interpretation
Fran Wills and Kent Peterson

6. Restructuring in Kentucky:The Changing Role of the Superintendent and the District Office
Joseph Murphy

7. How a Few Politicians and Managers of Education Find Policy Success and Happiness: Part I
Richard G. Townsend

8. Plucking Billiard Balls Out of Thin Air: How a Few Politicians and Managers of Education Hustle Policy: Part II
Richard G. Townsend

9. How CEOs Influence School System Culture
Donald Musella

10. Educated Dissent: Implications of Policy Disagreement for Educational Leadership
Mark Holmes

11. Toward Improving the Structures for School System Leadership
Stephen B. Lawton, Joyce Scan, and Shihui Wang

12. Toward a More Comprehensive Appreciation of Effective School District Leadership
Kenneth Leithwood

Subject Index

Name Index