School leadership is broadly acknowledged to be the lynchpin for school success. Yet, amongst the countless demands that school leaders face, making wise leadership choices is increasingly challenging. On what should leaders focus their attention and how should they prioritize their improvement efforts? How can they identify, understand, and make…

Whilst young children are affected by educational policy decisions based on research evidence, their abilities to make decisions based on evidence are often disregarded by policymakers and professional adult researchers. This article reports on elements of the Young Children As Researchers (YCAR) project, an interpretive empirical study that…

The leadership role of the school business official has changed during the past two centuries. Initially, a lay board oversaw the area of school business. That responsibility then moved to selectmen of the town and later to a committee of men. In 1910, the role of school business official was formalized with the establishment of the National…

Many schools have problem-solving teams that support teachers by helping identify and resolve students' academic and social problems. Although research is limited, it has been found that teams sometimes fail to implement problem-solving processes with fidelity, which may hinder the resolution of problems. We developed the Team-Initiated Problem…

Stemming from my article entitled, "Teachers and the Policy Reform Agenda: What is Policy?," this article refers to the changing landscape of educational policy analysis. Policy influences the nature of teaching and learning and if teachers are to re-centre teachers' voices and combat the neo-liberal agenda underpinning public education, they must…

As zero tolerance policies and retributive disciplinary codes proliferate among public schools throughout the country, this essay reflects upon one school's nontraditional model of school "discipline" as an alternative to such punitive policies. In particular, this essay explores the fairness committee at Humanities Preparatory Academy…

Stemming from my article entitled, "Teachers and the Policy Reform Agenda: The Changing Emphasis in Educational Policy Analysis," this article describes the changing landscape of educational policy analysis. Here, I illustrate that traditionally teachers have been, to a certain degree, involved in policy processes. However, the degree to which…

For the leader of an early childhood program, the ability to delegate is an important skill to develop. Increased staff motivation, increased competence, and more vibrant connections between team members are just some of the positive benefits that can occur when delegation is used as a leadership tool. Delegating is not about dumping work on…

The purpose of this study was to examine the decision-making processes of superintendents. Using a democratic lens and ethic of care, this researcher used a multiple case study design to examine two superintendents' perceptions of their processes. Analysis of interview data from the two cases showed that superintendents use a deliberative…

Using Bereiter and Scardamalia's (1993) hidden expert knowledge, we explored what knowledge counts from the perspectives of working small school-district superintendents and the ways in which they gain that knowledge. This qualitative study used focus groups as its primary data collection method. Participants were 37 superintendents of districts…

The New Zealand Council for Educational Research's (NZCER's) Families and Communities Engagement (FACE) project is investigating ideas and practices involved in bringing together teachers, families, local communities and students to contribute to collective conversations and decisions about education. This report concerns a sub-project of FACE…

Educational Theory into Practice Software (ETIPS) is an online case study program in the testbed stage of development intended for use by professors of education administration. The program is being developed by Sara Dexter and Pamela D. Tucker of the University of Virginia and is being tested by various other universities throughout Virginia. As…

The purpose of this article is to improve our understanding of data-driven decision-making strategies that are initiated at the district or system level. We apply principal-agent theory to the analysis of qualitative data gathered in a case study of 4 urban school systems. Our findings suggest educators at the school level need not only systemic…

This study focused on participative decision making which is considered an important way of developing subordinates in mentoring relationships. Subjects were managers (N=73) from diverse organizations. Scores were obtained for overall participation and decision quality. Further, it was determined how different aspects of the situation interacted…

Shared decision-making (SDM) is becoming a part of many American schools. Shared decision making is based on a premise that relies on four main assumptions: (1) those closest to the children will make the best decisions concerning the children's education; (2) teachers, parents, and school staff should have influence in policies; (3) those who…