On Being a Principal: The Rewards and Challenges of School Leadership: New Directions for School Leadership #5

by Gordon A. Donaldson Jr.

We are all too familiar with the hazards of the principalship: schools' constituencies enjoying open searon on the principal; the community's conflicting conceptions on how their school leaders should function; the difficulty of reconciling traditional school practices with the changing student population; and the burnout, weariness, and cynicism that threaten any service position. But what keeps the good principals going? In this volume, school principals share their personal struggles and triumphs, revealing that their real fulfillment is not only from the long-term institutional changes they and the teachers seek; it is also from the personal dilemmas presented by children and parents and the professional challenges presented by staff. This is the fifth volume of the quarterly journal New Directions for School Leadership.

84 pages, Paperback

First published November 19, 1997

About the author

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