Real-Life Reading Software and At-Risk Secondary Students

Given that in some inner-city public schools, more than 50 percent of the students leave before graduating (Bialo and Sivin, 1989a, p. 35), educators are constantly searching for intervention programs and resources to reverse this trend (Moskowitz, 1989; Ryan and Brewer, 1990; Vescial 1989). Because the computer has been lauded for its ability to assume different software-driven roles, it is especially well-suited to the needs of at-risk students (Bialo and Sivin, 1989a, 1989b; Knights, 1988; Brooks, 1989; Knights, 1988)

How Are Colleges and Universities Preparing Reading Specialist Candidates for Leadership Positions in the Schools?

This article reports on the results of 11 interviews conducted as a follow-up to a survey that examined the perceptions of university faculty regarding the importance of graduate programs preparing reading specialists for leadership roles. The results of the interviews indicate that programs require a leadership course that has reading specialist candidates actually working with classroom teachers in a school setting. These programs also require that reading specialist candidates provide professional development and develop skills in communication and collaboration. We suggest that the surveyed programs provide a model of what could be offered in master’s degree/certification programs for reading specialists

The Importance of Academic Deans\u27 Interpersonal/Negotiating Skills as Leaders

Four academic deans investigated when and how they used interpersonal/negotiating skills to function effectively in their positions. For two full weeks, the deans coded their on-the-job interactions during scheduled meetings, informal meetings, spontaneous encounters/meetings, telephone calls, and select email. Analyses revealed that the interpersonal/negotiating skills used, from most to least prevalent, were: working closely with others, being responsive to key persons, negotiating key players\u27 roles, and keeping key persons in the organisation informed. Across these engagements, the deans interacted with 35 different categories of stakeholders inside and outside their institutions for 32 different purposes. Given the nature and range of interactions, the deans concluded that practicing and prospective deans should likely have access to professional development opportunities explicitly focused on working closely with others. Future research would need to confirm, however, whether interpersonal/negotiating skills are essential for deans\u27 job survival and, if so, whether such skills can authentically be developed

Project CAPER (Children And Parents Enjoy Reading): A Case Study

Parents are our best allies in supporting the overall goals of the elementary reading program. Research clearly indicates that parents\u27 involvement with children\u27s reading development is a prominent factor in promoting children\u27s academic success (Allen and Freitag, 1988; Melton, 1985; Rich, 1985; Smith, 1988). In serving as models for their children, parents\u27 reading behaviors impact on children\u27s attitudes toward reading. When parents frequently read just for the fun of it, children view reading as a valued, recreational home activity (Demos, 1987). When parents transmit the view that reading is vital to one\u27s development, children carry these values into school

School-Based Leadership Perspectives on University Partnerships

The success of school-university partnerships depends on the leadership. This qualitative study reports on school-based leaders (SBAs) as critical stakeholders in the collaborative process of forming viable partnerships with colleges and universities. It describes SBAs’ responsibilities as partners, motivation for forming their partnerships, perceived benefits and challenges of the partnership, perspectives on forming and sustaining a partnership, and self-reflective comments about their leadership characteristics as an SBA and a partner. Sixteen SBAs, most of whom were school principals, responded to 12 interview questions. SBAs indicated that they have been engaged with Professional Development Schools (PDSs) an average of 10 years. They pursued their partnerships with colleges and universities to help their students, teachers, and schools. Even with the additional responsibilities and any challenges encountered, SBAs found that PDSs provided additional resources and support, collaboration, and opportunities to impact future teachers. SBAs believed that they had the necessary leadership qualities for developing PDSs as vehicles for promoting the profession. They saw themselves as collaborative, visionary, dedicated, organized, striving for excellence, motivational, and supportive. Ideas are presented for creating a leadership profile of SBAs involved in PDSs to establish guidelines for their optimum roles and responsibilities in partnership work

Broadening Our View About Technology Integration: Three Literacy Educators\u27 Perspectives

What can we realistically expect teacher educators to do with technology, given the contexts in which they find themselves, the skills that they bring to their contexts, and the changes that they would need to make? We attempt to answer this question through three self-studies as we integrated technology into methods courses and student teaching supervision. Data sources included reflective journals, lesson plans, observations, and interviews. Pre-established categories and constant comparative method were used to analyze the data. Three common themes emerged (the issue of technology integration; the interdependence of skills, responsibilities, and context; and the mediation of context) that lead us to conclude that the notion of technology integration varies in different contexts

University Leadership of Professional Development Schools

This study investigated the roles and responsibilities of University-Based Administrators (UBAs) in relation to their oversight of Professional Development Schools PDSs. UBAs refer to college administrators such as department chairs, program coordinators, directors, assistant deans, associate deans, and deans. The participants were 36 UBAs ranging from mid-level administrators to faculty chairpersons. They represented universities of various sizes and Carnegie classifications from across the United States. The UBAs responded through email or by telephone to nine semi-structured interview questions related to their PDS work. The majority of UBAs were tenure-track or clinical faculty, who spent less than 50% of their time on PDS work. Forty-six percent of the UBAs’ Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) partnered with between one to ten PDSs. The majority of the IHEs had been doing PDS work for 11-19 years. Findings revealed significant variation in UBA’s roles and responsibilities. There is no standardized leadership title, set of responsibilities or qualifications, or structure for the oversight of PDS activities and networks. Three major administrative responsibilities related to PDS work emerged: personnel, programs, and documents. UBAs reported the greatest challenges were time, sustainability, resources/support

A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Presidential Longevity

High turnover rates with college and university presidents make longevity an important matter for higher education. This paper provides a conceptual framework that identifies factors affecting presidents’ ability to stay in their positions, especially when their longevity is desirable. The framework builds upon 26 years of previous work involving the leadership practices, characteristics, and longevity of education deans, academic deans, and Chief Academic Officers. Four major categorical factors, both internal and external to self, are described that contribute reciprocally to presidents’ ability to last on the job. These four factors—personal identity, professional identity, professional capacities, and professional environment—are connected with each other and intersect with the maturing of one’s ego so that one has the capacity to adapt appropriately to situations. This framework begins to develop a portrait of critical leadership characteristics needed for success and satisfaction with the most prominent position in higher education