Deconstructing Accountability through the Lens of Democratic Philosophies: Toward a New Analytic Framework
Paginated PDF Version
Steven Jay Gross, Ph.D., Temple University, Kathleen M. Shaw, Ph.D., Temple University and Joan P. Shapiro, Ph.D., Temple University
pp. 5-27

Abstract - The purpose of this paper is to analyze recent publications on accountability in order to develop a deeper understanding of both the types of accountability that are being discussed in the literature, and to uncover the philosophical underpinnings which drive these discussions. We utilize varying conceptions of democracy in an attempt to discern the underlying assumptions on which various conceptions of accountability rest –assumptions regarding the role of various community members in the education of its children; assumptions about the role of the state in the educational process; and even assumptions about the nature of human beings and human interactions. In doing so, we provide a conceptual framework which allows for a more substantive and explicit debate regarding education, accountability, and their roles in the democratic process.

Conflict and the School Leader: Expert or Novice
Paginated PDF Version
Patsy E. Johnson, Ph.D., University of Connecticut
pp. 28-45

Abstract: School principals devote a significant portion of their time to dealing with conflict. Principals who look for the sources of these conflicts may find that many of them reside in the principal’s own interpersonal behaviors, which may be products of their leadership skills. Four important leadership variables related to the amount of conflict are conflict response styles, problem solving, communicator styles, and bases of social power. Each of theses dimensions can be partitioned into two domains--concern for self and concern for others. The degree and consistency that concern for others is operational determines the depth of expertise of the principal’s conflict management. Expert school leaders have developed a healthy other-centered perspective of running their schools. Conversely, novice school leaders employ knowledge and skill gained to support only self-survival in the principalship, which will lead to personal and professional disappointment.

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