The Principal as School Leader According to the Association of Was

But precisely what does the principal's role as school leader entail and what attributes and characteristics allow principals to function as effective school leaders? The purpose of this paper is provide a description and discussion of the role of the principal as school leader. The paper ends with a brief summary of the covered material.

In her discussion of the role of school leadership, Clark (2000) notes that it first comprises various tasks. These include overseeing and administrating: the general operations of the school, the assignment of students to classes, the evaluation of teachers, the enforcement of the roles of other staff members, helping to solve and resolve academic and social problems, the maintenance of buildings, providing curriculum leadership, and developing, administering and operating the budget.

According to Clark (2000), it is the quality of leadership in all of these areas that sets the tone for the school's general climate. In other words, the manner in which these actions are taken will be interpreted by other

. . .
the sharing of an explicit agreement about values, beliefs, purposes, and goals that should guide behavior. In Lashway's view, the school leader has a clear perspective of how school beliefs regarding aims, methods and school climate are to be achieved. He or she also possesses those skills needed not only to communicate this vision to staff, students, parents but to inspire them to be part of the process of making this vision become reality. There is definitely empirical support for the notion that visionary school principals are effective in their leadership role. In this regard, Conley, Dunlap and Goldman (1992) found that schools in which principals are visionary leaders, are better able to resolve conflicts and formulate common goals. Similarly, Mathews (1996) reports that visionary school leaders are better than other school leaders in terms of connecting the school to the community it serves. So far the role of the principal as a school leader has been discussed as if the role were "static" and all that was needed was to explicate its nature, functions and responsibilities. However, the fact of the matter is that in the 21st century, there are several changes going on in the educational system in general and in terms of
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
According Clark, Lashway Facilitation, Similarly Mathews, School Principals, School Leader, Service ED, Dunlap Goldman, school leader, ERIC Digest, Education Week, role school, DM Goldman, principal school, principal school leader, school leaders, role school leader, reproduction service, role principal, service ed, eric document, document reproduction, document reproduction service, reproduction service ed, role principal school, school principals,
Approximate Word count = 1235
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

More Essays on The Principal as School Leader According to the Association of Was