Schools and districts in Pennsylvania continue to experience a gap between the demographic diversity of their students and staffs. Culturally responsive practices are an important approach bridging the gap between PA's teachers and increasingly diverse students and communities. This qualitative study was guided by three research questions: What…

As superintendents steer their districts through uncharted territories, their experiences and strategies are key to transforming schools. This study employed transcendental phenomenology to explore how seven Virginia superintendents from two different regions described their experiences implementing novel cultural competency training. Data…

This paper examined leadership practices which supported the diffusion of an innovation in a cluster of schools in Singapore, through the lenses of complexity leadership theory (CLT) and ecological leadership. The approach is a qualitative case study, with the unit of analysis bounded by the innovation and a cluster of schools involved in the…

This study aimed to contribute to knowledge about research on educational superintendents as decision-maker through a systematic review of research on this topic undertaken between 2000 and 2022. A literature search followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach. Of the 313 articles identified, 36…

Research shows that trauma-informed practices in schools can increase student performance and well-being. School social workers are well-suited to bring these practices to their system but are most successful when partnering with public-school superintendents. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand public-school…

This mixed-method study examines Michigan's Partnership policy for school turnaround, which positions the district and superintendents as key policy implementation actors. We first interviewed 21 of 35 Partnership superintendents/leaders across Michigan and surveyed teachers to understand the initial response to the turnaround policy and the…

School choice has expanded during the modern school choice movement and students in Indiana can now choose from several school options including public schools, charter schools, virtual schools, or participate in the Indiana Choice Scholarships program and attend a parochial school. The potential for increased educational stratification across…

Considered one of the nation's most comprehensive statewide principal development initiatives, the primary purpose of the Missouri Leadership Development System (MLDS) is to develop and support effective school leaders. R12CC employed a mixed-methods design for this evaluation by collecting both quantitative and qualitative data to address…

When it comes to equity and access through culturally proficient practices, what schools intend to do versus what they actually do can be incongruous by defaulting to traditional accountability metrics over change and innovation. Utilizing the Conceptual Framework for Culturally Proficient Practices, the purpose of this study was to investigate…

School administrators face uncertainties and challenges in implementing nontraditional learning environments that provide high-quality educational experiences during pandemics and crises (Basilaia & Kvavadze, 2020; Tria, 2020). The purpose of the current qualitative exploratory case study was to explore how 11 district-level (superintendents…

The achievement gap has a long history in the United States of America which is demonstrated by inequitable graduation rates. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2019, the continued genocide and murder of countless Black and Brown people, civil unrest demonstrated by protests nationally after the execution of George Floyd and countless others,…

Context matters in implementation. The Lenawee ISD (LISD) in Michigan navigated implementation through major changes in its school district's administration and the COVID-19 pandemic. The district highlighted in the impact story experienced leadership change in the District Superintendent position and three school principal positions. The district…

The purpose of this action research study is to understand how public school district administrators' leadership styles impact the success of high school Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. I used the action research model which included a literature review, Cycle 1 interviews and data analysis, and Cycle 2 action step…

Superintendents as decision-makers in public school systems, in their roles of both leader and manager, have been the topic of studies for many decades (Waters, J. T., & Marzano, R. J., 2006; McClellan, R. L., Hyle, A. E., & Ivory, G. (2010). However, there is little research regarding superintendents' decision-making related to resource…

This qualitative study explores the early implementation of a university school leadership preparation program and school district collaborative effort to develop school leaders and sustain leadership capacity in nine rural school districts. Emerging findings drawn from survey, focus-group, and participant observation data include (a) the…