The purpose of this book is to help the reader make the important decision about whether or not you should pursue the principalship. Following an actual principal's first year, the chapters of this book present some of the most critical issues that you are likely to face as a principal. You will need to think about your personal values, exactly what types of jobs in educational administration appeal to you, and how you will personally define such major issues as the nature of administration and leadership. You will also be challenged to think how it will feel to be designated as the person with legal and formal authorityntrol of a school, and how you will deal with the inevitability of conflict as part of your life. Finally, you will be expected to review how you will cope with the fact that, as the leader of a public school, you will need to determine how to best serve the needs of a wide variety of actors who regularly seek control.

Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1. Introduction to the Journey
2. Personal Philosophies to Guide Action
3. Building-Level Administrators
4. Superintendents and Central Office Administrators
5. Differing Views of Administration
6. Visions of Leadership
7. What It Means to Be in Charge
8. Conflict as Part of the Job
9. Who Runs the Schools?
10. Frustrations of Leadership
11. Keeping the Journey Alive
References
Index

John C. Daresh is professor of educational leadership at the University of Texas at El Paso. Over the years, he has held faculty or administrative appointments at the University of Cincinnati, The Ohio State University, the University of Northern Colorado, and Illinois State University. He has also worked as a consultant on high school reform and administrator professional development for universities, state departments of education, national and state professional associations, and individual schools and districts across the United States, and also in Barbados, Canada, France, Holland, Israel, Turkey, South Africa, and Taiwan. By far, the bulk of Daresh's international service has been in the United Kingdom where he served an advisor and trainer for the School Management Task Force that developed and promoted support programs for beginning headteachers, the National College for School Leadership, the Welsh Office of Education, the North West Network for Diploma Development in Cheshire, Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Lincoln, the University of Hull, CREATE Consultancies, and literally dozens of Local Education Authorities and individual schools across England and Wales.

Daresh recently completed three years of service as the lead consultant on principal mentoring programs for the Chicago Public Schools as that megadistrict was faced with the challenge of bringing in mostly inexperienced principals to serve in nearly of the school system's elementary and high schools.