English languages learners (ELLs) are the fastest-growing student population in the United States. Federal mandates, including the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, provide guidance and resources to states and local school districts to remove barriers for ELL students. Despite guidelines from one northeastern state to increase…

District and building administrators in the United States are struggling to integrate academic and career and technical education (CTE) as required by Every Student Succeeds Act and Perkins V legislation. One solution school district leaders have developed to address this legislation is the creation of CTE magnet high schools. However,…

This study explored teachers' involvement in decision making processes in instructional leadership teams (ILTs) in three high-poverty high schools. Two factors influenced the extent of teachers' involvement and authority in decision making processes on the team: (1) the design of teachers' roles on the ILT and (2) routines used for agenda setting,…

This qualitative research explores the effects of a gendered educational organization on female leaders at the district office and building leadership level. In explaining the theoretical framework of gendered organizational structures, the literature review describes how inequitable access to power within education produces excessive challenges…

Background: This study addresses the nexus of two significant yet under-researched areas of instructional leadership: the role of central office administrators in developing principals as instructional leaders and the potential for the instructional leadership team (ILT) to serve as a structure for supporting administrators and teachers in working…

As technology continues to permeate all aspects of modern society, it is critical for PK-12 students to participate in computer science (CS) learning opportunities that prepare them to navigate and leverage technology in their future careers. However, research consistently shows that Black, Hispanic/Latino/a/x, and Native American students,…

Purpose: In this study, we trace the work of refugee student-family mentors (mentors) in an Arizona school district who work across school-family boundaries. Utilizing boundary spanning theory, we examine how education leaders--teachers, school principals, assistant principals, and district administrators--work with the mentors. We document the…

The purpose of this study was to examine how school leaders in the state of North Dakota define success in their schools or districts without using test scores as a measurement. The information shared by these school leaders will be shared with other school leaders in North Dakota with the intent that test data becomes less of a driving force in…

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to examine how the interorganizational relationship between school administrators and law enforcement personnel with diverse cultures, missions, and objectives collaborates to create, implement, and sustain emergency management readiness. The theoretical concept that guided this study…

This study explores trust and positive working relationships among teachers in communities of practice as an avenue for professional development in high schools in South Africa. A mixed methods research approach was employed for this study with the use of a semi-structured interview and semi-structured questionnaires as data collection…

A principal's job is complex, demanding, and multi-faceted. Effective principals shape a school's academic vision and foster a climate for learning. In addition, they develop leadership capacity in teachers and staff, promote sound instructional practices, and use resources and data to drive school improvement (Mendels, 2012). Given these…

The following study provides a unique internal perspective on changes made in schools that "turned around" versus schools that are in the process of "turning around" versus schools that are "stuck." After comparing and contrasting these three groupings of schools who received similar state-level support, we learned…

Purpose: Secondary school leadership provides multiple challenges in terms of the diversity of tasks, multiple demands on time, balancing communities and attending to instructional programming. An emerging scholarship suggests the importance of a distributed instructional leadership approach to high school leadership. However, what has been less…

We apply a utilization-focused evaluation [UFE] approach to an evaluation of Virginia's latest comprehensive accountability policy--the Standards of Accreditation (SOA). Our study focuses on the implementation experiences of district and high school level administrators in four urban districts. This study is significant in two important ways.…

The current educational climate of increased accountability requires school principals to improve student learning for all students, implement national and state policies, maintain a positive culture, provide professional development, and supervise and evaluate faculty members. In order to improve learning in schools, education reform mandates…