In states that fund public prekindergarten and kindergarten in elementary schools, principals are central to ensuring these programs support children's learning and development. Yet few studies explore how principals position these programs within their instructional leadership and what they perceive should be done by district leaders to support…

Teacher curriculum leadership is a key driver of curriculum reform in basic education and of improvements in student literacy. The mechanisms that underlie its development therefore constitute an important area of study. This case study analyzed the developmental trajectory of three teachers who became curriculum leaders. Results showed that from…

The Collaborative Minnesota Partnerships to Advance Student Success (COMPASS), a statewide education system designed to support schools' and districts' efforts to accelerate student learning, offers professional development opportunities with various levels of support. Through COMPASS school districts and charter schools are provided a variety of…

We center the voice of Dwyan Moore, a Black 12-year-old boy, during his transition of being diagnosed with a learning dis/Ability. We do so to grapple with the problem of disproportionate representation in special education along race and dis/Ability, with particular attention to educational leadership. Disproportionate representation is a…

In an era of decline and crisis, Catholic school leaders have been encouraged to find innovative ways to enhance a school's operational vitality. Yet to this point, most research on educational change in Catholic schools has focused on the technical tasks school principals can take to "save" individual schools. In this article, we apply…

Using qualitative case study methods, we examine how educators describe continuous improvement and craft coherence for implementation. We find that educators attempted to build system-wide improvement capabilities, taking into consideration theories of action for continuous improvement and managing change given the realities of their local…

Pedagogical leadership is increasingly emphasised in education policies and leadership standards. Yet conceptualisations of pedagogy and pedagogical leadership vary from a focus on compliance that operationalises the role of formal school leaders, through to notions of pedagogical leadership as a praxis-oriented practice. This paper focuses on…

This paper is a case study of clinical supervision to support early childhood leaders in times of a natural disaster. The case is of five Directors working in long day care services in regional New South Wales, and their Manager, following catastrophic flooding in the region. Data were gathered through individual interviews and thematic analysis…

Limited research examines the process of leading innovative school change from the perspective of principals. In this case study, three school principals implement a novel school model, franchise model schools. Using interviews, the researchers examined the successes and challenges principals experienced while implementing and leading this change.…

In 2009, a major metropolitan urban school district in Southeastern Michigan, under state emergency management, implemented a massive school restructuring plan affecting 100+ elementary, middle, and high schools. The consequences of the plan included a high turnover rate of staff and students, violence at local school campuses, low morale among…

Primary mathematics leaders work together both with and between school leadership and teachers as middle leaders, balancing expectations and responsibilities of themselves, school leadership, and teachers. This paper presents a case study of mathematics leaders in a school with a diverse community and frequently changing staff. It explores the…

This qualitative case study explored the pivotal role of staff development teachers (SDTs) as instructional leaders and their impact on teacher professional growth within elementary schools. While ample research has illuminated the essential components of effective professional development, there remains a gap in understanding the intricate…

The value of Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) for school and system improvement is widely acknowledged in education research and policy. Still, the question of how learning happens for teachers and education leaders involved in PLNs remains largely unanswered. Moreover, little research exists on the increasing number of international networks…

This research examined how stakeholders (n = 40) from one school district experienced "accountability" within a context where responsibility for student learning was being distributed across the system. Using a case study design, we examined: what conditions supported stakeholders in multiple roles to exercise responsibility for student…

Emotions influence the cognition, motivation, and behavior of an individual. However, the role of leaders' emotions in navigating organizational change remains relatively underexplored. This study examines the role of emotions in educational leadership during a period of organizational crisis through a case study analysis of an assistant…