Effective School District Leadership: Transforming Politics into Education

School Administrator, Nov, 1995 by George E. Pawlas

In Effective School District Leadership: Transfarming Politics into Education, Kenneth Leithwood, professor of educational administration at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and his 15 contributors offer practical suggestions about how effective superintendents work with their immediate staffs, elected board members, and school-based administrators.

Ten of the 12 chapters report on results of original, recently completed research in U.S. and Canadian school districts. Many of these districts were in the midst of reform or restructuring initiatives.

Each author examines the meaning of effective school district leadership from different perspectives. The common thread through most is an appreciation of the political nature of the superintendent's work.

New superintendents will find worthwhile reading in the chapters on bringing about changes in school district culture, attending to the needs of different interest groups, and values and leadership.

(Effective School District Leadership: Transforming Politics into Education, edited by Kenneth Leithwood, State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, N.Y. 12246, 1995, 352 pp. with index, $19.95 softcover)