DOCUMENT RESUME EDRS PRICE Wilson, Alfred P. The Principalship in Rural America ...

69 Pages·2007·2.06 MB·English

DOCUMENT RESUME
RC 013 173
ED.212"438'
:
.
Wilson, Alfred P.
\, AUTHOR
-
The Principalship in Rural America.
TITLE
ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Sma1,1
INSTITUTION
,
SchOols, Iias Cruces, N. Mex.
National Inst. of Education (ED), Washington, D.C.
SPONS AGENCY.
w
PUB DATE
Jan 82
CONTRACT
400-78-0023
NOTE
69p.
ERIC/CRESS, Box 3AP, NMSU, Las Cruces, NM 88003 (1-19
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*Administrator Responsibility; Career Guidance;
DESCRIPTORS.
Curriculum Development; Declining Enrollment;
Inseryice Education; Minority Groups;. Office'
Management; *Personnel Mana.gement; Population Growth;
*Principals; Professional Associations; *Professional
Development; Program Evaluation; *Rural Education;
Rural Schools; Scholarly, Journals; *School.COmmunity
Relationship; Spetial Education;- Special Programs;
Student Evaluation; Teacher Persistence
ABSTRACT
A review of relevant available_ literature divides the
functions of rural principals into six 'categaries:.:-N
(instruction/curriculum leadership, personnel guidance,
school/cothmunity relatidns, administrative 'responsibi'lities,
evaluation, professional improvement) and provides suggestions on
helpful material for each. Recent research on, principals and efforts
The section on
concentiating.on rural schools are briefly described
instructional / curriculum leadership cites four perspectives on the
topic, di,scuSses the status quo and solutions, lists helpful books,
.
and describes material for rural programs for studentsrwith special
needs (gifted/talented, bilingual/non-English speaking,
,migrant/racial minority students;.early childhood education; special
edutation). Under personnel guidance, 'staff consideiition
(developmeni, ingprvice training) and student consfderitionr.lcardkr
materials, discipline) 'are covered. The school/community rlationt
chapter considers politicak skillS, problems and/dilemmas,.communify
ownership of schools, and rapid growth. An evaluation section
describes literature on evaluating student progress and effectiveness
of programs. Under administrative, respop'sibilities (primarily
coordination) general hindbooks for principals and some works on
topics pf importance to rural principals, (rapid growth, declining
enrollment's, time/resource management, _sirvice agencies) are
evaluated. The,.professktnal improvement sitction covers organizations,
journals, inservice education, and other rtatari.51s_of interest. A
major conclusion is that material speoif4cally intended for rura
principals is very scarce. (MN)
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THE PRINCIPALSHIP INRURAL AMERICA
A
Alfred P, Wilson
Kansas State University
'.-.
,
/
,
609
0
O
January 1982
Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)
,Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools (CRESS)
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexiccr 88003
a
A
V
the manuscript was submitted to the National
P rior to publication,
-Association of
.Secondary School Principals for
critical review* and
Pants of view or
necessarily
opinions do not
however,
standards.
either ERIC Clearinghouse
represent the officitgi 'view or opinions of
on Rural Education and Small Schools
or the. Nationarqssociation of
Secondary School Principals.
This booklet may be duplicated in
whole,or in part,
whenever such
duplication is in the interest of bettering education.
/
de
t
*
was
publication
prepared
This
with
National Intitute
from the
The National
funding
of
E1111111
Institute of
Education, U.S. ,Department of Education
MEI
Education
under contract
400-78-0023.
The
no.
U.S. Departmtnt of
opinions expressed in this reportdo not
Educatio*
units
Wsshiogloo D.C.
positions
reflect.,the
necessarily
or
policies of NIE or Ep.
4"
,
Cover designed byEileen Avery
4
.
:
I
,
4
4N,
-ABSTRACT
-1
A review of available literature relevant
to the role of the rural
'principal
the
of, rural
divides functions
principals
into
six
categories (instructional/ curriqulum leadership,
pers nnel guidance,
relations,
administrative'
school/community
responsibilities,
professional
and
improvement)
provides suggestions
SVAluation,
on
helpful material for each.
Recent research on principals,
spontored
by
the National ,Association .of
Secondary. School
Principals,
the
National Association
of
Elementary School, Principals,
Rand
the
Corporati4n, and the Carnegie Foundation, is briefly described,
as are
some recent efforts concentrating on rural schools.
The section on
instructional/curriculum
leadership cites
four
perspectives op
the
topic, discusses the*status quo
and solutions,
lists helpful books,
and describes material for rural
programs for students
with special
needs' (gifted
ima, talented,
bilingual
and
non-English
speaking,.
and racial',minority students;
migrant
early childhood
education;
special education):
Under personnel guidance,
staff consideratiOn
(development,
inservice training) - and
student consideration (career
materials
are
and
discipline)
covered.
chapter
The
on
school/community relations deals with
political skills,
problems and
dilemmas,
of
community "'ownership"
schools,
and rapid
community
A section
growth.
on.evaluation deschibesliterature
on evaluating
student progrgSs
and
the
of
effectiveness
programs.
Uhder
admihistrative
primarily
seen
responsittilitieg, as
coordination,
for principals
handbooks
in
Works on topics
general and
some
of
importance to rural pripapals
declining enrollments,
(rapid, growth,
time and resource management; service agencies)
A
are
described.
section on
professional improvement covers
journals,
organizations,
inservice education and
other
material
of. interest.
A. major
conclusion is that material specifically,ihteided for rural principals
is very scarce.
The six functions of rural principals are defined and
4
their components
to asiittresearcherS, writers
listed,
and those
designing training programs.
..
-
CONTENTS'
ABSTRACT,
iii
(
-
.
page
1
STUDYING THE RURAL PRINCIPAL
1
,
The Principalship .
1 ,
.
.
....
NASSP Study
1
NAESP Study.
...
3
i
Rand.Study
0
4
-
Carnegie Foundation Study
4
.
Small Sch6ols
,
4
,
Rural Schools
1
t
5
)
.,
Rural Education Initiative Report
5
,,
Improving Rural Schools Report
6
CURRICULUM ANDINTRUCTIONAL.LEADERSHIP
7
.
4
Introduction
7
,
.
.
Posturing
7
Constraints/Problems
, ,.
7
. .
.
Identification And-Analysis'-
.
..
efil
StatuS Quo
8
'
'
.
.
Solutions
9
-
A.
Helpful Books
9
.: .
.
,
. .
Programs for Students
SpeOlal Needs
11
Gifted and :Talent-
11
EarlrChilahocid Studentk
11
-
Bilingual and Non-English Speaking Students
12
Migrant Stidents
12
Racial Minority Students :
12
)0".
.
Special Education Services .
13
.
. ..... ,. ., ..
)Summary .
13
..
.
.
..
PERSONNEL GUIDANCE
14
,
)
,
_
Introduction
14
/
:.,
Staff Consideration..
.
14
.
. :
,
t
Castetter's Work, .
15
.,.
...,
.
.
.
.
.
.
.;"
iDe(relopmeht and 1pservice'Training Materials
16
Student,Consideration ke,
17
:
Career Mat4rials .
17
,
Discipline ....
, :,.
18
.,
..,
Conclusion
18
,.4.,7,
.
.
.
.
1,
SCHOOL-COMMUNITY RELATIONS
19
.
Introduction
19
NASSP Survey
19
'
Political Skills
.
21
Problems and Dilemmas in School-Community Relations
'23
Community Ownership
.24
.
Rapid Growth
25
.
.
.
.
EVALUATION
27
,
Introduction
2'27
Tuckman'A Work
28
Works Written for the Principal
29
Conclusion
30
ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
. 31
.
.
Introduction
31
)
`.Books of Value
32
4.
Sergiovanni's Handbook fer Effective Department Leadership
(1977)
32
...
Hoover's Professionalleacher's Handbook (1976)
33
c-
Griffin's Handbook for School Administration (1975)
434
.
.
( Handbook'of Educational Administration, by Stoops et al
(1975)
-34
Bean and Clemes1 Elementary Principal's Handbook (1978)
35
.
Marks eh al's Handbook of Edvational Supervision (1978)
35
.
Special Assistance
C
35
Rapid Growth'
36
..
Declining Enrollments
36
.
. .
Time and ResourCe Management
37
Service Agencies
37
-,
,
Conclusion
38
,-
.
4
PROFESSIONAL IMPROVEMENT OF THE PRINCIPAL
19
6
Introduction
39
,
Organizations
39
.,
aourgals
41-
..
....
Inservice Education
-
42
.
Organization-6Sponsored Inservice
43
Other Material of Interest
441
CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIUNS, AND PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
46
. .
.
Help for the Rural Principal
46
Is There Any Help for the aural Principal?
47
A Place to Begin
48
; ....
The Functions of Rural School Principals
48
.
.
.
.
REFERENCES
.
.
v, -
STUDYING THE RURAL PRINIPAL
At no time in
the history, of our country has
there been so
*eat a need as there is
today in rural schools for leaders
who .have a
clear and comprehensive
understanding of
the
'major problems
which they must
face and
ultimately solve.
(Lewis, 1937, Preface) ,
Foe an extended. period of time
researchers have suggested that the
study of rural
principals is 'a worthwhile
endeavor.
however,
Few,
have done
such studies.
This section will present
recent studies
have some
which
bearing on
the rural
school principal,
including
,
- studies on the principalship, rural schools,,and small schools.
latio
AA.
The Principalship
our extensive
the principalship
studies regarding
shbuld be. of
The National
Association of
ue.
Secondary
School
Principals
omp]eted a.3-volume study (McCleary and Thomson, 1979;
Hines
Byrhe,
and McCleary,
Gorton and McIntyre,
1978;
The National
1978)..
Association of
Elementary School
Principals also ,completed a
study
Studies on the role
(Pharis and Zakariya,
1979).
of the principal
A
were also
the National Institute
completed for
of Education
by the.
Rand Corporation (Thomas, 1978;
Hill, Wuchitech and Williams,
1980).
The most recent study,
still in
process,
is being-conducted for the
Carnegie Foundation (Boyer, 1980).
NASSP Study
t.
of Secondary School Principali'
Association
National
The
most
recent study is the
finest work in
the principalship literature to
date.
Lloyd McCleary,
a professor
of educational administration at
the University of Utah, had. the major responsibility for directing the
gathering and reporting of data which, _in many respects,
is a'gold
mine of information about the secondary sdhoof.principal.
volume (Byrne et al.,
The first
provides
197k)
a baseline
of
"normative-descriptive" information
concerning the
principal's views
and working conditions.- It also provides the data base for two other
(1) an in-depth look at.principals identified as
phases of the study:
effective; and (2) an examination of future forces and conditions that
may affect the principal.,
Si
.
4
2
Data were
'gathered
regarding
personal ' and -professional
the
characteristics
of
those
currently
as
employed
principals; ,
the
economic, political, social and educational conditions that affect ,the,
principal's'actions; and the opinions and beliefs that principals
have
abopt selected issues, practices and:tasks.
A_ random sample
of
principals was asked
1,600 high
school
%o
Complete the surv9y.
Data were analyzed by geographic region, type ol
community, size of school, type of schodl,
and per-pupil expenditure.
Rural principals,.ag a specific'groupe were not analyZed.
results - provide
picture'of
senior
today's
',The
Nigh
a
school
principalship.
eviler
Comparisons
done on
studies
to
the
principalship by
the Association
enhance the
interpretation of
the
results.
Among the findings in the first volume were that in'1977 there
were
hewer females (7%)
in secondary principalships than there had been in
1965 (10%).
In'cities between 5,000 and 25,000, the female/male
Patio
was two female
principals in every one hundred.
In
towns or "rural
less, than
figure was 1.5
areas"
of
5,000 persons,
the
female
principals in every one hundred.
In 1977 there were fewer young
principals and fewer old principals
In cities from5,000 to 25,000,
,than in 1965.-,
one principal in four
was between 20 and 39 years of
and thilty-two percent were Aver
age,
Communities of less than .5,000,
5$.
In
thirty-two percent
of the
principals were'between 20 and 39,,
forty-two percent were between 40
and 49, and(twenty-six percent were wer 50.
In 1977 ftWer than five
pf every one hundred principals
identified themselves with'any ethnic
group other than white.
Concerning educational background,
there
was a considerable shift
from 1965 to 1977.
The percentage
of principals
having a
social
science undergraduate major more than doubled.
principals were
being appointed somewhat
later in
their careers,
Were staying in the principalship, and were staying in the same school
omewhat longer than they had been 12 years before.
The career routes were much-different
than those 12 years varliey.
T e present career route is through an assistant principalship (54%)
athletic directorship 35%).
o
Few of the
recently appointed high
school principals were former guidance counselors -Or elementary school
ptincipals.
41.
about status and prestige
The princilpal's concern
has diminished.
LFew desire
lateral job movement.
Although more than
fifty percent
their present
want_to ,stay in
more
positions,
than twice
as- many
_principals desired to be superintendents in 1977 (33%)
as did in 1965
MoSt wee happy with.ele career choice they had made.
(14%).
.'
,.
3
Most principals read. (in rank order):
the
NASSP Bulletin,
Phi,.
Delta
Kappan, Education U.S.A.,,and Education Digest.
. Of particular
importance to them was Secondary Schoola in a Changing Sdbiety:
This
We Believe, written by the NASSP task force.
ether sections. in
the.firat volume define job taskSland problems;
program and
school,
personnel
educational purposes
factors;
and
practices;
parent and, community relationships;
high sChoOl
and the
principal.and the future.
,
The second
volume of
titled The Senior High
the NASSP
study,
Principalship
Schoo5.
(dOrton
and
McIntyre,
1978),
presents
.characteristics of the effective Principal.'
This volume outlines the
design
of
the
study;
and
personals -,,,,professional
school
.
characteristics;
task areas;
and nature of
the job.
Ways tcrcause
change and
solve problemi are.presented.
In the final
section the
effective principal is described.
The final volume (McCleary and Thomson,
is a summary 'report
1979)
of the NASSV study,
describing findings" from the
,
national survey,
findings from the stud
of effective principals, and information about
private and,religious,school principals.
The 'study of future forces
and conditias that
will affect the pZincipal and
the expectation of
'what the future principal will be like are also presentd8.
0
'NAESP Study
The National AssOciation of Elementary School Principals cond6cted
entitled The Elementary tchool
a study
A
Principalship in
1978:
Research Study (Pharis and Zakariya, 1979).
The survey is the fifth of
its kind,
with similar research having.
been conducted in 1928, 1948, 1958, and 1968.
The longitudinal nature
of the report clearly helps one put the principalship into perspective
how that
and
emphasizes position
has
hanged over
Major
time.
of the
sections
report are:
the personal
characteristics of
the
and professional
,experiences
principal;
activities
elementary
of
salary and benefits
of elementary. principals;
principals;` -"the
the
principal and the school;
the role of the principal within the school
and
collective
the principal
problems
negotiations;
system;,
and
opinions
of the ,principal;
elementary principal and
and the
the
future.
a