Encyclopedia of Educational Leadership and Administration

"This two-volume encyclopedia edited by English (educational leadership, Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; ed., Handbook of Educational Leadership) is aimed primarily at school administrators and those in training to lead in the academic arena. Its 600 A-to-Z entries, each half a page to 12 pages long, are by 200-plus professors, graduate students, practitioners, and association officials and range from biographical sketches of leaders and thinkers who have influenced American education, such as Howard Gardner and Abraham Maslow, to explanations of the item response theory and Holocaust education. Other topics include educational organizations (e.g., Parent Teacher Association), child development theories, and terms like "cultural capital" and "differentiated staffing." While matters such as asbestos and school violence are tackled, many of the entries focus on fiscally effective leadership (e.g., "Finance, of public schools"), leadership characteristics (e.g., "Charisma, of leaders"), and the history and theory of leadership. Bottom Line The writing is clear and concise, with identification of emerging trends, helpful cross references, and lists of additional sources. Two longer entries of particular interest concern Supreme Court cases in education law and the challenges of recruiting and retaining teachers. The only missing ingredient is dynamic graphics; there are no photographs and only minimal use of tables and graphs. A number of other works explore the topic of academic leadership in greater depth, e.g., The Jossey-Bass Academic Administrator's Guide to Exemplary Leadership (2003), but they lack the breadth of this encyclopedia. Recommended for public and academic libraries."

"Knowledgeably compiled and expertly edited by Fenwick W. English (R. Wendell Eaves Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), the two volume Encyclopedia of Educational Leadership and Administration provides more than six hundred entries covering the most recent theories, research, terminologies, concepts, ideas and histories in the field of education as taught in contemporary college and university courses. Drawing upon invaluable contributions from more than two hundred professors, graduate students, practitioners, and association officials, the Encyclopedia of Educational Leadership and Administration is a compendium of practical information on all aspects of curriculum, budgeting and finance, law, personnel management, psychology and motivation research, statistics, supervision, teaching and learning, and a great deal more with the framework of education today. No academic library Education Studies reference collections can be considered complete or up to date with out the inclusion of this seminal, core, superbly organized and 'user friendly' set."

"Editor English brings a strong background in professional and academic educational leadership. Because the field of educational administration is dynamic, acquiring this set will help update current collections in this area, particularly for institutions that prepare educational leaders."

"Designed to be 'the most comprehensive knowledge base of educational leadership and school administration that has, as yet, been compiled,' this two-volume set admirably achieves its goal. It is current, readable, and well organized. Highly recommended."

"This two-volume encyclopedia provides a clear and concise starting point for the education professional researching this topic. Unlike most sizeable multivolume sets, this publication is easy to manage due to the equal distribution of material within each volume. The biggest advantage of this title over others in this subject area is the full index supplied at the end of both volumes."