Learning another language is considered a key 21st century subject, something that all students should begin in elementary school. However, most school districts in Illinois do not offer students the opportunity to learn another language in elementary school. There are effective and high quality programs available to learn another language that…

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…

The role of district research leaders (DRLs) in central offices has emerged as a strategy for improving the creation, flow, and use of research knowledge in decision-making. However, there is limited information about the responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges inherent in these roles. This exploratory qualitative study features document…

Currently there is a gap in research literature that displays examples of how central office and building level administrators interact, collaborate, and make decisions concerning dual language immersion programs. This qualitative single case study attempts to answer the following questions concerning this problem of practice: What are the forms…

Strategic resourcing is an important goal for K-12 policymakers hoping to better ensure that financial investments result in high-quality instruction and student achievement. But it's a topic where research evidence and district practices are still evolving. Given the emergence of new practices and challenges, data on districts' purchasing…

This narrative study, examined the experiences of six school district leaders related to decision-making about professional development for a research-based instructional strategy in their school districts. The study incorporated James G. March's, Organizational Decision-making as a framework. A central research question guided this study: How do…

School district central offices make consequential decisions about teaching and learning every day that impact the educational opportunities and outcomes for millions of students in our nation's public schools. Given the consequential nature of these decisions, it is important that district leaders use the highest quality research, alongside other…

Do school district central offices and school principals have the same level of influence on school decisions? What does the district-principal power relationship look like? These two questions are discussed but are rarely examined in the literature. Based on a nationally representative sample from the 2007-2008 Schools and Staffing Survey data,…

The effects of competition from public charter schools on district school budget decisions are theoretically ambiguous. Competitive pressures could increase desired budget autonomy since they give district school leaders more flexibility; however, competition could decrease desired budget autonomy if district school leaders are generally…

While past studies on school district decentralization found that central office leaders can limit school leaders' decision-making power, the studies did not examine how they do so. We investigated this in eight elementary schools in two large urban school systems with official policies of school site-based decision-making. We found that even…

While past studies on school district decentralization found that central office leaders can limit school leaders' decision-making power, the studies did not examine how they do so. We investigated this in eight elementary schools in two large urban school systems with official policies of school site-based decision-making. We found that even…

The purpose of this study was to examine administrators' use of data, their perceptions of data, and what their expectations were in terms of teacher use of data. In conjunction with this examination will be a closer look at the new Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) to determine the connections as well as the disconnections to…

Research has explored the use of evidence-based practices within schools but less is known about evidence-based decision-making among school district central office administrators. This study explored how individual and school-level characteristics of administrators were related to the implementation of evidence-based practices. Findings suggested…

This study examined the effect of various district and site level conditions that influence the frequency of teacher data-driven decision-making behaviors. This study is motivated by four research questions: 1) Among various kinds of data available to teachers and principals in making data-driven decisions: a. What is the relative level of…

Despite the importance of computerization to data use, little is known about the work of a central office when it comes to preparing for and implementing computer data systems. This study illuminates such work by drawing upon interviews and observations collected in three school districts over 11 months. We describe how central offices thought…