The Contemporary Superintendent: Preparation, Practice and Development.

The Contemporary Superintendent: Preparation, Practice and Development Edited by Lars G. Bjork and Theodore J. Kowalski, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, Calif., 2005, 290 pp., $34.95 softcover

During the past decade, concern for the quality and products of American education has resulted in a sustained effort to bring about large-scale and systematic reform. Superintendents are viewed as "pivotal actors" in the algorithm of school improvement and student success, according to the editors of The Contemporary Superintendent: Preparation, Practice and Development.

Lars G. Bjork, a professor of administration at University of Kentucky, and Theodore J. Kowalski, chair of educational administration at University of Dayton, have assembled a dozen contributors in this coherent guide that examines critical aspects of professional preparation, licensure and continuing development and the evolution of the role of the superintendent.

The Contemporary Superintendent provides critiques from several perspectives with recommendations grounded in the realities of current practice. Chapters address the superintendent's role as instructional leader, organizational manager and statesperson; the emergence of women leaders; and racial and ethnic diversity in the superintendency. Other sections focus on the place of research in formal preparation programs.

This work comes at an especially propitious time for education, given the near myriad of reform initiatives, especially with regard to leadership. If, as the editors state, a primary objective of the book is to "enlighten decisions that affect the preparation and licensing of school superintendents," that goal is realized and exceeded.

Charles Rudiger, professor of leadership and technology, Dowling College, Oakdale, N.Y.