One reason for our desire to continue in the face of such discouraging words is that a great deal of leadership research aspires to develop a general theory, a theory which applies to all or most domains of organized human activity.

Section 1: The Context for Educational Leadership and Administration (Judith Chapman — Section Editor).- 1: A New Agenda for a New Society.- 2: Law and the Courts.- 3: Education and the Concept of Knowledge: Implications for the Curriculum and Leadership.- 4: Dilemmas for School Leaders and Administrators in Restructuring.- 5: Education reform, Management Approaches and Teacher Unions.- 6: Beyond the Boundaries: principals, P0 AND Communities Shaping the School Environment.- 7: Leadership in a Changing World.- Section 2: The Development of Educational Leadership and Administration (Ann Weaver hart — Section Editor).- 8: New Directions in the Preparation of Educational Leaders.- 9: Recruitment and Selection of Educational Administrators: Priorities for Today’s Schools.- 10: Developing SUccessful School Leaders.- 11: Women’s Place in Educational Administration: Past, Present, and Future.- 12: Role-Based Evaluation of Principals: Developing an Appraisal System.- 13: Leadership: Roles or Functions?.- 14: Professional Growth and Development.- Section 3: Cognitive Perspectives on Educational Leadership and Administration (Ken Leithwood — Section Editor).- 15: Research Outside the Field of Education.- 16: Problem Finding, Classification and Interpretation: In Search of a Theory of Administrative Problem Processing.- 17: Cognitive Perspectives on the Nature and Function of Values in Educational Administration.- 18: Understanding Organizational Learning for Educa tional Leadership and School Reform.- Section 4: Conceptions of Leadership and Administrative Practice (Philip Hallinger — Section Editor).- 19: Building Innovative Capacity and Leadership.- 20: Leadership for Change.- 21: The Principal’s Role in School Effectiveness: An Assessment of MethodologicalProgress, 1980–1995.- 22: Transformational School Leadership.- 23: Perception, Prescription, and the Future of School Leadership.- 24: Gender, Organizations, and Leadership.- 25: Decentralization, Collaboration, and Normative Leadership: Implications for Central Office Practice and Research.- Section 5: Critical Perspectives on Educational Leadership and Administration (David Corson —Section Editor).- 26: The Cultural Politics of Schools: Implications for Leadership.- 27: Cultural Dynamics and Organizational Analysis: Leadership, Administration and The Management of Meaning in Schools.- 28: ‘Breaking the Silence’: Feminist Contributions to Educational Administration and Policy.- 29: Emancipatory Discursive Practices.- 30: Critical Theory and The Social Psychology of change.- 31: The Socially Just Alternative to The ‘Self-Managing School’.- Name Index.

"The Literature reviews are extensive and penetrating. The volume effectively illuminates the problems, paradoxes, and possibilities of school leadership and will serve as a valuable reference for scholars, students and practioners in the fields of education admnistration, leadership and policy." Diane R. Dean, The Review of Higher Eucation Summer 2004