Purpose: This study replicates and extends prior research on principal hiring preferences and conceptualizations of teacher "fit." We investigate the specific fit dimensions principals value, the contextual factors informing their fit conceptualizations, and the implications of fit-based hiring for schools and candidates. By shedding…

This paper presents a conceptual model which explains the challenges of providing high quality sustainable, teacher professional development at scale. It provides a framework to support holistic thinking at a systemic level, applicable across different systems. It draws on sociocultural theories of learning and encourages the user to think about…

District central offices are increasingly partnering with external organizations, such as professional development providers, to facilitate instructional improvement. Given the highly interdependent nature of partnership work, partners often need to coordinate their work together. We define coordination as how partners align different actions so…

Effective school-level leaders impact student achievement. McREL's analysis of research found that effective leadership is not about leader personality or style; rather, it's about a set of 21 specific actions and behaviors that are significantly associated with higher levels of student achievement. This report translates the 21 actions into a…

Purpose: This study examines the sources and intensity of moral distress among school district leaders during the first full school year of the COVID-19 pandemic and investigates their coping mechanisms for addressing issues that create moral dilemmas for them. Design and Evidence: We draw on semi-structured interviews with 26 school district…

The success and failure of education reform policies often depend on the strategies of reformers. This article suggests a framework to understand the "positionality" of reformers, as they vary in their strategy (i.e., technical vs. relational) and focus for change (i.e., process- vs. outcomes-focused). Using the case of individuals who…

In spring 2024, the authors surveyed 156 American School District Panel member districts about principal pipeline activities across seven domains -- leader standards, principal preparation, selective hiring and placement, on-the-job support and evaluation, principal supervision, leader tracking systems, and systems of support -- to estimate the…

The 21st century places significant demands on our educational system. It is an opportune time to re-imagine the mission, operations, and skills expected of school district offices. The focus of this study was on the school district's role in strengthening principals' instructional leadership capacity for improving educational outcomes. Using a…

There is currently considerable interest in system leadership and how it can support school change at scale. System leadership aims to move learning beyond school boundaries through leveraging experience and expertise. The success of system leadership depends on how key educational players can move effectively between and across traditional…

Research provides ample evidence that positive social relations and access to knowledge are supportive for educational change. However, few studies have examined how personnel turnover and restructuring in school districts influence these processes, specifically as they relate to leaders' access to research evidence and perception of…

The current study sought to explore potential candidates' (PCs') interest in becoming primary school principals in the towns bordering Addis Ababa in Ethiopia's Oromia Regional State. The study adopted an interpretive phenomenological design. Participants in the study were ten purposively selected PCs and educational officials. The data were…

This paper presents a case study of a caring school district located in a farmworker community composed largely of Latinx families. I examine how central office leaders create or maintain care supports under crisis conditions. Findings suggest that district-level care was multidimensional and distributed, involving mobilization of community…

This study examines school leaders' implementation of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) negotiated between teachers' unions and school district administration. Using interviews with school leaders and drawing on a structure-agency perspective, the research highlights the interplay between school leader decision-making, union power, and…

District-level central office administrators (COA) and school principals influence the efficacy of reforms aimed at improving outcomes for marginalized students. This qualitative case study examines the experiences of COA and principals from one reform-oriented school district during their participation in a master's degree program in leadership…

Background and Purpose: District school improvement efforts have increasingly focused on improving the quality of support principals receive from the central office. This study uses the theoretical lens of recoupling to examines efforts by one urban district in the midst of change to revise the role of principal supervisors. Analysis focuses on…