The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of a relationship between second-order change leadership behaviors of high school administrators and changes in student achievement on the Florida Standards Assessment English Language Arts/Reading component and the Algebra 1 End of Course examination in two large urban school districts.…

Using qualitative survey data and focus groups, this statewide study explored the experiences of the North Dakota rural principal. The intent of this study was to develop an understanding of the rural principalship in a state with a predominantly rural population and informed by personal experiences of principals. Using qualitative thematic…

Focus on the development of instructional leadership skills for school principals in the U.S. continues to be at the forefront of educational research and reform in response to the increased call for accountability. In this article we review relevant literature regarding instructional leadership from a historical perspective, then present a…

Principals in one Western state were surveyed about teacher evaluation systems commonly used across the state. Findings suggest that principals' beliefs about aligning practice to performance expectations, about how much the view of professional practice is growth-oriented, and the degree to which systems use multiple measures are the variables…

Public school district leadership is dominated by males while teaching is dominated by females (Blount, 1998; Glass, Björk, & Brunner, 2000; Grogan, 1996). Some may not recognize this as a problem while others might refer to this underrepresentation as a glass ceiling, a sticky floor, a concrete wall, or a glass cliff. In any case, the…

In England, despite making up 60% of the secondary school teaching workforce, women continue to be underrepresented in secondary school headship. In this paper, we focus on the experiences of women working in the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) as a site for headship preparation. This paper draws on survey findings from a study of women's and men's…

The authors of this article review the development and discuss potential uses for a new instrument that evolved from follow-up research conducted after completion of a five-year study of innovative curricular and instructional practices. The instrument is A Stakeholder's Perceptions of Innovative Reform Efforts (ASPIRE). The primary purpose of…

Due to an aging population of currently practicing superintendents, research predicts a large turnover in public school superintendent positions in this decade. Questions exist regarding whether there are sufficient numbers of potential superintendent candidates in training to fill these positions. Although principals have been recognized as a…

Recent state policies demand universities restructure principal preparation programs. Mandates, though unfunded, provide an opportunity for universities to engage representative stakeholders who benefit from context specific instruction. This article demonstrates how professors in one research university used collected programmatic information and…

Since the early 1980s, educational policy has increasingly been focused on improving student performance (Conley, 2003, Murphy, 1990). School governance in general, and school boards in particular, have often been viewed as either the means of implementing needed reforms or as roadblocks in their way (Boyd, 2003; Delagardelle, M.; 2008; Howell,…

The mixed-method study presented in this article evaluated the effects of Supplemental Educational Services (SES), a federally mandated component of No Child Left Behind, on student achievement in Jefferson County (KY) Public Schools. SES provides free tutoring outside of school to disadvantaged students who attend Title I schools in their third…

The value of good communication practices in schools is important to their overall operation and to how efficiently and effectively teachers and students perform (Sobel & Ornstein, 1996). The challenge of communicating as often as needed and with the appropriate method is ever present for the school administrator, in particular. Communication…