A01=Dan C. Lortie
administration
Author_Dan C. Lortie
authority
career
Category=JNKH
chicago
community
conflict
district
education
educational achievements
elementary
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
faculty
gender
illinois
iowa
learning outcomes
management
nonfiction
organization
parents
principal
professionals
school
secondary
staff
standardized testing
student success
students
suburban
teachers
test scores
training
urban
women
Product details
- ISBN 9780226493497
- Weight: 340g
- Dimensions: 14 x 21mm
- Publication Date: 01 May 2009
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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When we think about school principals, most of us imagine a figure of vague, yet intimidating authority - for an elementary school student, being sent to the principal's office is roughly on par with a trip to Orwell's Room 101. But with "School Principal", Dan C. Lortie aims to change that. Much as he did for teachers with his groundbreaking book "Schoolteacher", Lortie offers here an intensive and detailed look at principals, painting a compelling portrait of what they do, how they do it, and why. Lortie begins with a brief history of the job before turning to the daily work of a principal. These men and women, he finds, stand at the center of a constellation of competing interests around and within the school. School district officials, teachers, parents, and students all have needs and demands that frequently clash, and it is the principal's job to manage these conflicting expectations to best serve the public. Unsurprisingly then, Lortie records his subjects' professional dissatisfactions, but he also vividly depicts the pleasures of their work and the pride they take in their accomplishments.
Finally, "School Principal" offers a glimpse of the future with an analysis of current issues and trends in education, including the increasing presence of women in the role and the effects of widespread testing mandated by the government. Lortie's scope is both broad and deep, offering an eminently useful range of perspectives on his subject. From the day-to-day toil to the long-term course of an entire career, from finding out just what goes on inside that office to mapping out the larger social and organizational context of the job, "School Principal" is a truly comprehensive account of a little-understood profession.
Dan C. Lortie is professor emeritus of education at the University of Chicago and the author of Schoolteacher, now in its second edition from the University of Chicago Press.
