Background/purpose: This study explores the different ways in which critical friend roles are conceptualized. The critical friend role is adaptive by nature, with significant ambiguity surrounding it, which has resulted in disjointed and fragmented literature. This study sought to provide insights into the varied and potentially boundary-spanning…

Purpose: Guided by Habermas's three cognitive interests, this paper reviews the studies on school leaders' emotional labor. It seeks to provide a typology of how researchers inquire about school leaders' emotional labor by focusing on different understandings, topics and characteristics. Design/methodology/approach: This is a narrative review with…

Background/purpose: This study aims to identify strengths and areas for improvement in educational management by assessing the extent to which Jordanian school principals in Mafraq apply the Six Sigma (SS) methodology. The research addresses the need to understand how effectively SS principles are being implemented to enhance school management…

This study developed a grounded theory model describing how principals manage feedback on their leadership. Our research was conducted through interviews with 12 principals and led to the identification of three distinct phases. In Phase I, 'Feedback Collection', principals choose between formal and informal feedback methods, decide the scope of…

In this qualitative study, the researcher investigated and described the specific leadership practices employed by elementary principals in Texas to initiate school improvement in campuses designated as needing targeted support, additional targeted support, or comprehensive support and improvement by the Texas Education Agency (2023a). The…

Principal turnover contributes to many factors and effects that school districts encounter. It is important to ensure that schools have leaders employed for a significant amount of time to bring about positive changes. Schools need stability to maintain progress, whether it is to foster a positive school environment, improve student achievement,…

Purpose: In the last 13 years, schools across the country spent a significant amount of time, money, and energy transitioning to the Common Core State Standards. States have also adopted high stakes accountability systems to track the achievement and growth of students. Despite these efforts, most schools are demonstrating only modest growth in…

This study examines the mediating role of teachers' perceived administrator support in the relationship between principals' social justice leadership behaviors and teachers' trust in principals. The sample of the study, which was designed in the relational survey model, consists of 903 teachers working in public schools in a metropolitan city in…

Policy implementation has presented the Nigerian educational system with countless obstacles cum problems. This research explored the principles and problems of policy implementation reconsiderations for effective secondary school administration. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The study population was 286 principals. The study…

The status quo is no longer an option. School leaders need to model care, courage, and open communication. Superintendent Jennifer Gallagher reflects on three important components of adaptive and effective leadership--communication, care, and courage--that she found helpful in navigating her district through the challenges of the pandemic.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the backgrounds, experiences, and supports of Chicago Public School (CPS) principals as they prepared for the principalship and to identify where gaps exist so that policymakers and principal preparation programs can better support leadership development. Researchers interviewed 20 early career…

This qualitative case study explored K-8 principals' perception of the contribution of job-embedded professional learning on skills and efficacy in instructional leadership, guided by Experiential Learning and Self-Efficacy Theory. The study addressed two research questions: the first explored how principals perceived the contribution of…

American schools are complex organizations responsible for the teaching and learning of students. Leading these dynamic institutions is the school principal and the influence of the principal is a leading factor in school outcomes and student achievement measures (Grissom et al., 2021). Thus, the principal is essential for school and student…

There is a growing understanding that, after engaging teaching, educational leadership is the second most important factor accounting for student success. Despite this fundamental declaration, educational leadership has fallen through the cracks. Little interest has developed concerning in-depth studies of this important position in education.…

This study investigated whether principals in high-needs schools reported different perceptions of a PSEL-based principal evaluation system than did principals in non high-needs schools. We employed a sequential mixed-methods approach in which semi-structured interviews followed an initial survey administration. High-needs and non high-needs…