This case study describes a pilot professional development project in which school leaders met regularly in a community of practice to clarify each other's identification of a problem of practice followed by development and implementation of a school improvement plan. Findings indicated positive perceptions of and engagement in the community of…

US charter schools experience higher rates of teacher turnover than traditional public schools. The purpose of this study was to examine charter principals' professional dispositions and practices that might contribute to teacher turnover. Specifically we asked -- How do charter school principal professional dispositions and practices affect…

Few researchers have explicitly examined the benefits to practicing principals engaged in mentoring aspiring principals. Through the lens of transformative learning, the purpose of our study was to examine the professional learning of practicing principals engaged as mentors with aspiring principals in a leadership preparation program. Two…

Using multiple case studies, I examined how three traditional principals reacted and responded over time to the opening of a charter school in their attendance boundaries. Findings suggest principals' reactions to competition shifted based on their perceptions of their status and competitive advantage in the market. These perceptual changes were…

Advocates for middle grades education suggest that principals are critical to the implementation of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and organizational structures that meet young adolescent needs. Yet, there is little evidence associating principal practices outlined by middle grades proponents to outcomes or how principals learn the knowledge…

Principals have a clear impact on the transition of teachers into their initial work setting (Allensworth, Ponisciak, Mazzeo, 2009; S. T. Bickmore & D. L. Bickmore, 2010; Scherff, 2008). School administrators' influence on teacher induction is both organizational and relational as they develop structures and practices that support…

This comparative case (Merriam, 2009) study explored two charter school principals' engagement in instructional leadership. Analysis of three data sources--interviews, observations, and documents--revealed that principals were almost exclusively focused on state accountability and possessed limited knowledge of pedagogical practices. In…

The purpose of this study was to ascertain participants' perceptions of elements of the induction process that met novice school counselors' personal and professional needs. Interviews of seven novice counselors and their principals over one school year were the primary data sources. Employing an abductive analysis process based on a developed…

This 3-year case study examined middle grades principal leadership in a takeover charter school. The researcher analyzed principal and teacher interviews, field notes, and documents in relationship to a middle grades model of principal leadership. Results suggest the principals' limited experience, organizational factors unique to takeover charter…

As part of a multiple case study of charter school leadership, the researchers in this study examined 2 principals' priorities and practices through their expressed concerns and use of time. Through an embedded case design and analysis, 6 themes surfaced from the principal interviews that occurred over the course of a school year--accountability,…

The purpose of this study was to determine the implementation and effectiveness of the components of two middle school induction programs through the perceptions of three participant groups--new teachers, mentor teachers, and principals. Effectiveness was defined as a systematic processes embedded in a healthy school climate that met new teachers'…

The role of interdisciplinary teaming in the induction of new teachers was examined at two middle level schools through the perceptions of three participant groups: new teachers, mentors, and principals. Data collected through a mixed-method design indicated that participants perceived inter disciplinary teams as an integral part of the induction…