The Managerial Imperative and the Practice of Leadership in Schools

<p>With this significant new work Larry Cuban provides a unique and insightful perspective on the bridging of the long-standing and well-known gap between teachers and administrators. Drawing on the literature of the field as well as personal experience Cuban recognizes the enduring structural relationship within school organizations inherited by teachers principals and superintendents and calls for a renewal of their sense of common purpose regarding the role of schooling in a democratic society.</p><p>Cuban analyzes the dominant images (moral and technical) roles (instructional managerial and political) and contexts (classroom school and district) within which teachers principals and superintendents have worked over the last century. He concludes that when these powerful images and roles are wedded to the structural conditions in which schooling occurs managerial behavior results thus narrowing the potential for more thoughtful effective and appropriate leadership. Cuban then turns to consider this situation with respect to the contemporary movement for school reform identifying significant concerns both for policymakers and practitioners.</p><p>This honest thought-provoking book by a leading scholar writer and practitioner in the field represents an invaluable resource-an insightful introduction for those just entering the field and a fresh new perspective for those long-familiar with its complexities. Cuban's ethnographic approach to the development of his own career and viewpoint as well as his highly readable style make this a work of lasting value.</p>