The Principalship: A Learning-Centered Approach

(Hardback)

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Todays emphasis on student learning outcomes, coupled with federal legislation to that end, has placed more demands on the role of the principal than ever before in our nations history. To address the heightened demands for greater accountability for student learning, The Principalship uses a learning-centered approach, one that emphasizes the role of the principal as the steward of the schools vision: learning for all. The critical aspects of the teachinglearning process are addressed here, including student motivation; individual differences; classroom management; assessing student learning; and developing, maintaining, and changing school culture. In addition, several topics not found in other principalship texts are addressed, including school safety, special education, gifted education, bilingual education, nontraditional organizational structures, gender-inclusive theories, diversity, ethics, political and policy context, human resource management, legal issues, and collective bargaining. The book is documented extensively throughout and grounded in the latest research and theory with suggestions for applying theory to practice, reflecting cutting-edge research and topical issues facing principals in schools today.

Reviews

Lunenburg and Irby have produced a major work that first lays out the fundamental dimensions a principal faces in his/her practice and then carefully develops the theoretical constructs that underpin the potential actions the administrator may take to deal with those dimensions. This work has the power to transform the practice and education of practitioners of educational leadership as fundamentally as Abraham Flexner transformed medical education and practice. -- Arthur Shapiro, University of South Florida
This Lunenburg and Irby text is an insightful and research-embedded recasting of the principals role, reflecting important shifts in how that role must adapt to new realities. Among the most important is that the leadership of the principal is not confined to a singular pinnacle within a bureaucratic structure but is expanded to include important co-leaders within the staff and community. This results in an expanded circle of leadership and a new locus of energy to attain the schools vision and goals, with the ultimate winners being the students. -- Fenwick W. English, Teachers College, Ball State University
The Principalship: A Learning-Centered Approach, co-authored by Frederick C. Lunenburg and Beverly J. Irby, comes at the right time to help leaders navigate the complexities of the school system. Lunenburg and Irby bridge theory and research, combined with practical applications and best practices, to address every facet of the work and leadership needed to support teachers, students, and community members to move toward school improvement. I highly recommend it. -- Sally J. Zepeda, PhD, College of Education, University of Georgia
The Principalship: A Learning-Centered Approach provides a comprehensive and well-referenced guide to the complexities faced by school leaders. The authors skillfully address all elements of this crucial role, from improving instruction and learning, to managing the organization. Particularly timely topics include keeping schools safe and dealing with political concerns, and every chapter contains excellent field-based activities. This informative book will appeal to both practitioners and researchers alike; it should be read by everyone interested in improving the leadership of our nations schools. -- Martha M. McCarthy, Presidential Professor, Loyola Marymount University, and Chancellors Professor Emeritus, Indiana University
The Principalship: A Learning-Centered Approach is an outstanding book that deftly integrates research and practice. It will be of interest and use to people who work in and study schools. Lunenburg and Irby approach the writing as teachers in the sense that they provide prompts, probing questions, and case studies that compel readers to reflect on their experience and assumptions while also offering new ways to think about how to improve schools toward excellence, efficiency and equity. Highly recommended! -- Jeffrey S. Brooks, Curtin University School of Education
This is a great inclusive, learner-centered approach to the teaching and practice of the principalship for current times and into the future. -- Judy A. Alston, Director, Department of Doctoral Studies and Advanced Programs, Ashland University

Author Bio

Frederick C. Lunenburg is Jimmy N. Merchant Professor of Education at Sam Houston State University. Previously, he was on the faculty of educational administration at the University of Louisville, Loyola University Chicago, and Southern Utah University, where he also served as Dean of the College of Education. In addition, he has held public school positions as high school English teacher and reading specialist, high school principal, and superintendent of schools. Dr. Lunenburgs scholarship includes forty-eight books, twenty-three book chapters, and more than two hundred articles published in both practitioner and academic/research journals.
Beverly J. Irby is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Regents Professor, and Marilyn Kent Byrne Endowed Chair for Student Success at Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas. In addition, she serves as Director of the Educational Leadership Research Center at Texas A & M University. She is editor of the following research journals: Mentoring and Tutoring, Advancing Women in Leadership, Dual Language and Practice, and Education Policy Briefs. She is Principal Investigator: SEED Grant (APLUS) and OELA Grants (PAL and MOOPIL). Dr. Irby has written numerous books, research reports, and articles, many of which have been presented at regional, national, and international meetings.