Leadership in educational settings, especially in schools, has a long history. Instructional leadership is a leadership style that is seen to increase school effectiveness. This study aims to map bibliographic data on instructional leadership over the past eight decades (1941-2022). The quantitative research approach to analyzing bibliographic…

This publication focuses on professional development, a key element of school reform. In order to improve instruction and learning, schools need to increase the capacity of teachers to promote academic excellence in their classrooms. As part of their school and district plans, educators need to include professional development for teachers that is…

Over the last 10 to 15 years, a variety of efforts to transform American high schools have gained both public and private support. Significant among these are initiatives to implement Small Learning Communities (SLCs), part of a larger school reform and restructuring effort designed to address a variety of goals, including "downsizing large…

Americans are increasingly disenchanted with what they perceive to be lackluster efforts to improve schools. Some new approaches are needed. Schools must be re-created by local school leaders and by teachers who will focus on their vision or visions of what their school culture, learning, and teaching would be like if all conditions were as they…

Outcomes of a restructuring project implemented in a North Carolina high school in 1987 are described in this paper. The Lead Teacher Model restructured the decision-making processes for both resource allocation and school scheduling. At the Alpha County High School, eight elected lead teachers taught part-time and, in addition assisted the…

When Kentucky established a comprehensive reform of its schools in 1990, it targeted the nature of professional culture, norms, and activities in education. To explain this reform movement, a narrative analysis of research reports targeting various aspects of the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act is reported here. The focus is on identified…

Every month, "Leadership" features articles written in an informal, conversational style that provide practical information for school administrators. This issue of "Leadership" contains the following titles: (1) "A Culture of Greatness"; (2) "Achieving and Sustaining Greatness" (Sandra Carsten); (3)…

Findings of a study that identified factors contributing to the maintenance of the collaborative action research process in public schools are presented in this paper. Specifically, the study evaluated outcomes of Project LEARN, the League of Educational Action Researchers in the Northwest, a university-sponsored school improvement initiative. The…

Describes the Padeia schools of Chattanooga (Tennessee), where the Padeia movement has taken root. In keeping with the founding proposal of Padeia (the Padeia Group, 1982), the course of study is generalized and has a single-track curriculum. Concepts of democracy, participation, and responsibility pervade the schools' climates. (SLD)

Social, cultural, political, and organizational characteristics of urban schools that make them difficult settings for teachers are discussed. It is suggested that, while an emphasis on professional community would be beneficial for all students, it is particularly pressing for urban schools where other resources for school reform are limited.…

In 1988, only one-half of Philadelphia 9th-graders in comprehensive high schools moved into 10th grade. In the same year, The Pew Charitable Trusts funded the Philadelphia Schools Collaborative (PSC) to seed the restructuring of the city's 22 comprehensive high schools. With a set of programmatic guidelines culled from successful efforts across…

A two-year qualitative study of mathematics and English teachers in two urban comprehensive high schools investigated how teacher community serves as resource for teacher development and school reform. A school engaged in whole-school reform sustained high teacher commitment and school-level community by constituting professional community…

The first wave of school improvement, largely perceived later as a failure, responded to Sputnik-era fears the United States was falling behind other nations, and focused on minor reforms of the educational system. Larry Cuban distinguishes the first-order changes of the first wave from the more fundamental changes implied in second wave efforts.…

Quantitative and qualitative analyses show that in 24 selected restructuring elementary, middle, and high schools, professional community is strongly associated with technical (measured as authentic pedagogy) and social (measured as social support for achievement) dimensions of classroom organization. The relationships between authentic pedagogy…

The papers in this collection describe how education is being reinvented in urban school systems in the United States. Selections discuss the urban landscape, the social context of schooling, and the theory and practice of multiculturalism. Papers include: (1) "Introduction: Reinventing Urban Education" (Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz); (2) "The…