Despite the high prevalence of student absenteeism and its wide range of negative consequences, the existing research on the role of school principals in combating student absenteeism is scant. The current study sought to understand the considerations of principals regarding the actions they take to prevent student absenteeism. Study participants…

Teacher hiring is a critical lever for improving school outcomes. However, the availability of supply is a significant barrier that affects principals' processes for teacher staffing. Drawing on sensemaking theory and concepts of fit, this study investigates how principals make sense of recruitment and hiring in a local labor market with severe…

School leadership plays a significant role in the success of a school through its effects on teachers' efficacy.Empirical studies of school leadership in South Asia are limited. This study seeks to address this gap. The author examines teachers' perceptions about how school principals play their role in high-achieving and low-achieving community…

The darker side of leadership is unexplored. To help fill this gap, this study focuses on the subordinate's perspective of destructive leadership behaviors. The purpose of this article is to identify the most frequent destructive leadership behaviors in small elementary schools in Chile through a qualitative approach. According to the data,…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are required in most of the nation's public schools, and many superintendents have been tasked with implementing them in their school systems. Using leadership for learning as a conceptual framework, this case study examined the leadership behaviors of one superintendent in a Midwestern state, whose district…

Cheating and unethical behavior in the context of high-stakes accountability has been well documented. Recently, the US Department of Education found Texas schools failing to comply with the nation's special education law as a result of a state accountability policy. This article examines how a group of principals recognized for their…

This qualitative study from Ontario, Canada, reveals that principal behaviors shape teacher emotions in important ways, influencing teacher morale, burnout, stress, commitment, and self- and collective efficacy. The findings suggest that principals can influence teacher emotions through several key behaviors: professional respect shown for teacher…

This article takes the form of a research report which examines personal resiliency and a sense of hope among educational leaders in times of extreme crises. Findings indicated that, despite the trauma of an earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, school leaders were still able to find satisfying aspects in their jobs, and to display a range of…

In this study we bring together Argyris and Schön's theories of interpersonal effectiveness and research on negotiation to develop a model of effective leadership behavior in conversations involving actual or anticipated disagreement. A concurrent mixed-methods design was used to assess shifts in how 18 Australian superintendents responded to…

This article attempts to identify the causal relationships between principals' behaviors and students' achievement by using an explanatory narrative that traces the chain of events from principal actions to student outcomes. This is applied to the study of five successful Israeli schools and reveals the series of stages from principals' actions to…

This study used Hierarchical Multivariate Linear models to investigate relationships between principals' behaviors and district principal evaluation purpose, focus, and assessed leadership activities in 13 school districts in Michigan. The study found that principals were more likely to engage in learning-centered leadership behaviors when the…

Social capital refers to the nature of ties within a social unit, as well as the unit's external relationships. We draw from organizational sociology and political science, and also build upon existing insights in school board research, to offer an approach that address the effects of "bonding" (internal ties) and "bridging"…

This research investigated levels of moral judgment among public elementary school principals as measured by the Defining Issues Test Version 2 for occupationally relevant and other moral dilemmas. The participants scored lower (38.7) than the predicted average P score (postconventional thinking) for individuals who have attained graduate level…

This inquiry, by means of the case study method, explored how principals' conceptions about their role as school leader contribute to a better understanding of their leadership behavior and how this is related to school climate. The results indicated that differences of how principals conceive their leadership role are related, indirectly through…

This article explores the work of leaders who promote social justice against the grain of public expectations. Employing a biographical lens, it describes a study of White South African principals who consciously and deliberately transform their white schools into racially diverse communities of teachers, learners and parents. It looks at the…