Many countries around the globe are focusing on improving the quality of education for student achievement. In this global pursuit of educational enhancement, Turkey has implemented a School Improvement (SI) programme, specifically demonstrating the importance of change leadership (CL). The current study aimed at examining the optimisation of…

Our education systems must provide access to quality and equitable educational opportunities so all students can reach their full potential. Increasingly urgent issues, such as environmental threats, economic crises, and the recent global pandemic, have highlighted the need for education systems to be flexible and resilient in times of stress to…

In a time when fewer resources force school leaders to make critical decisions, the data-driven decision-making model continues to offer promise. This research project provides observations about factors used for decision making from 14 district leaders across five Iowa school districts. Placing these factors for decision making within the…

Networked improvement communities (NICs) aim to build capacity for school-based educators to work collaboratively as active agents of problem solving and change. Yet, the benefits accrued to educators from participating in improvement networks have been sparsely researched. Using survey responses from the members of 34 improvement networks, we…

Purpose: The involvement of organizational development (OD) consultants in schools has become widespread in recent years. In Israel, their presence increased in the past 2 decades when the Ministry of Education encouraged their entry as support for the self-management reform and improvement of failing schools. Despite accumulated experience and…

Readiness for change is a multi-dimensional, multi-level, multifaceted construct. Readiness is arguably one of the most important factors involved in individuals' initial support for change initiatives. Organizational readiness for change is a critical precursor to successful change implementation. There is voluminous literature on organizational…

In the spring of 2023, the authors set out to gather stories from people across the field of education who identify as using continuous improvement and improvement science in their work. More than 300 people offered their reflections about their experiences and their work through a survey, interviews, user-generated video reflections, or focus…

While the COVID-19 pandemic forced the rapid development of adaptations in educational systems, these innovations often disappeared as schools returned to so-called pre-pandemic normalcy. This essay explores the role of the Education Doctorate (EdD) programs in equipping candidates with the necessary tools to foster sustained change within their…

Although the role of leadership in school improvement is widely recognized, there is less understanding of what leaders can do to support (and mitigate barriers to) the implementation of mandated educational change. This systematic literature review analyzed findings from 191 relevant primary studies published between 2000 and 2020 and identified…

This essay highlights the value of an applied methodology course in program evaluation in the education doctorate program by exploring several benefits that it offers to enhance a doctoral student's ability to solve complex problems of practice. Observations and recommendations are made based on designing and teaching two cohorts of EdD students…

Most efforts to increase equity in schools treat students as subjects of improvement efforts designed and implemented by adults. This paper provides conceptual framework, suggested protocols, and examples of how schools can and are disrupting that paradigm and systematically including students as partners with adults in equity improvement work.…

This paper elaborates three leadership roles to turn school networks into vehicles for powerful learning and democracy. These leadership roles were identified through a review of four school networks, three in the Global South and one in the English-speaking world. The networks were selected for the availability of case studies about their…

In education systems around the world, planners and policymakers are calling for more attention to whole-system improvement. To best address teaching and learning outcomes, teachers and head teachers need whole-system support to build professionalism and improve their practice. The middle tier of education systems, composed of professionals…

Early childhood pedagogical practice in primary schools is often challenged by academic demands, debate about best practice and ongoing change through new policy initiatives. This paper reports an investigation of how early childhood pedagogical leaders assist early years teachers in schools to embrace change and embed early childhood pedagogy.…

In this article, the authors propose a department-level curricular committee structure, called Strand Committees, as a mechanism to facilitate oversight and enact significant change to policies and practices in specific courses. The primary goal of the Strand Committees is improving both student success and instruction while upholding a high…