Facilitating Growth of Administrative Practitioners as Mentors
Paginated PDF Version
Charlene Crocker, Ed.D., & Sandra Harris, Ph.D, Stephen F. Austin State University
pp. 5-20

Abstract - This study explored training needs for practitioners who serve as mentors to aspiring principals. Findings identified several areas where mentor training is needed. These include: using time as a resource, helping mentors assign meaningful tasks to mentees, providing feedback, being able to operationalize roles and responsibilities, and helping mentors assess their own effectiveness in the role of mentor.

Building Schools That Are Responsive To Student Learning
Paginated PDF Version
Peggy R. Riggs, Ed.D., Springfield R-XII School District; George J. Petersen, Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia; & David Stockburger, Ph.D., Southwest Missouri State University
pp. 21-43

Abstract - This study analyzed perceptions regarding newly created facilities to staff and student needs and the enhancement of learning. Inclusion of future occupants in the planning was rare. This study investigated: 1. perceptions of the educational structure's ability to meet the programming needs of students; 2. perceptions of the building's impact on the academic achievement of students; 3. the role of evaluation in planning of the school building; 4. perceptions regarding the responsiveness of the facility; and, 5. differences in perception between the participating districts. Findings indicate significant differences in perceptions regarding the responsiveness of the new facility. Responses revealed district size was a critical factor in the use of a facility task force. Formal evaluations of building designs were conducted only after the buildings were occupied.

A Question of Quality: The Malcolm Baldrige Criteria as Applied to Education
Paginated PDF Version
Savilla I. Banister, Ph.D., Bowling Green State University
pp. 44-65

Abstract - This critique examines the corporate world's answer to improving our public schools: The Malcolm Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence. It introduces and summarizes the Baldrige process and questions the applicability of this business model to educational settings. Examples of implementation are included from data collected from an elementary school that has been applying the Baldrige process for a six-year period. Building on what the author describes as an "aesthetic perspective", the analysis of the Criteria in question is undertaken with an allegiance to the ideas promoted by Elliot Eisner in The Enlightened Eye and Maxine Greene in Releasing the Imagination. Primary data sources include the Baldrige Criteria documents published by the US Department of Commerce, transcriptions of interviews from teachers using the Baldrige framework in their classrooms, and documents (Baldrige reports and student data folders) from the school.