Description
Book SynopsisOver the past two decades, efforts to improve schools have significantly modified role expectations for principals. Today, school-level administrators are expected to be both visionary leaders and competent managers. Based on the conviction that administration is an amalgam of leadership and management, The School Principal emphasizes the need for practitioners to apply conceptual skills to make what to do decisions, to apply technical skills to make how to do decisions, and to apply relational skills to engage in democratic decision making.
Kowalski frames the book with a discussion of the nature of schools, the roles of principals, and their need to improve schools. The book then provides a balanced treatment of leadership and management, covering issues of personal behavior, instructional leadership, relationship building issues, finances, facilities, personnel management, pupil services, and maintaining safe schools. The text closes with discussion of the
Trade Review
"An outstanding contribution to principal preparation! Written by a thoughtful scholar with extensive school leadership experience, The School Principal highlights the complex roles, responsibilities, expectations, and demands faced by principals."
--Lance D. Fusarelli, Professor of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, North Carolina State University
"Kowalski has succinctly comingled theory with practice for all facets of the principalship with an emphasis on recent school reform efforts. The School Principal is an informative read for aspiring and practicing school principals and is especially suited as a required textbook for the principalship course."
-- I. Phillip Young, Professor of Educational Leadership, University of California, Davis
Table of ContentsPart One: Schools and Principals
1. Complex Nature of Schools
2. Principal Roles and Responsibilities
3. Effective Schools for All Students
Part Two: Leadership Expectations
4. Principal Behavior and Instructional Leadership
5. Organizing and Evaluating Instructional Programs
6. Building and Maintaining Relationships
Part Three: Managerial Responsibilities
7. Managing Material Resources
8. Managing Human Resources
9. Managing Pupil Services
10. Providing a Safe School Environment
Part Four: Vital Aspects of Practice
11. Problem Solving and Decision Making
12. Collaborative Efforts for School Improvement
13. Commitment to Being a School Administrator
