Educational leadership and informal teacher leaders are the heartbeat of school initiatives, successes, and growth, and they serve as the foundation of positive school reform. However, it is not known to what extent teacher leaders engage in informal leadership roles or how they use these informal leadership roles to enact change and make positive…

This essay provides a grounded critical discussion of why a professor might limit their undergraduate students' sovereignty of educational decision-making to promote an opportunity for a democratic dialogic culture in the class situated in a conventional university. On the one hand, both democracy and dialogue require voluntary participation by…

This article presents a comparative interview study (N = 45) with Swedish and German special educators working in inclusive school settings in order to gain an understanding of how inclusive education is operationalized by the provision of special education needs (SEN) support; and how both aspects are conditioned by nation-specific…

This dissertation examines teachers' job satisfaction and discusses teachers' prediction of their longevity in Jewish day schools. These attitudes are researched through the lens of the teachers' perceptions of their principals' leadership style. The hypothesis of this study is that the greater the role principals allow teachers to play in the…

It is acknowledged that principal leadership, particularly principals as instructional leaders, is critical to student achievement and the success of a school, yet the roles principals are expected to take on in schools are varied. Principal time use is divided among an array of tasks and responsibilities that often do not leave adequate time or…

Background: This study explores the experiences of early childhood education (ECE) leaders during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, drawing insights from case studies in Finland and South Africa. Theoretical frameworks of contextual and pedagogical leadership inform the understanding of ECE leadership. Aim: The aim is to analyse…

Educational reform in the United States has been flawed since the first big attempt when "A Nation at Risk" was released under President Ronald Reagan. As our first national educational "shake-up," this document set afire educational reform that continues today. It vilified the educational system, teachers, and teaching, and…

This study explored teachers' involvement in decision making processes in instructional leadership teams (ILTs) in three high-poverty high schools. Two factors influenced the extent of teachers' involvement and authority in decision making processes on the team: (1) the design of teachers' roles on the ILT and (2) routines used for agenda setting,…

Student voice has gained momentum in improving educational landscapes recently. With the aim of creating opportunities for empowering educational systems, student voice rests upon the premise that curricula are co-created, mediated dialogically, and co-designed by teachers and students. Yet, student voice expression might be restricted by power…

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education in a multitude of ways. During this time, school districts struggled to provide students with disabilities access to services and supports under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). School personnel were required to continue holding meetings to review students' Individualized Education…

Teacher leadership is an important pillar in building school capacity. Using an interpretive qualitative research design, the theoretical lens of Mezirow's (1978) transformative learning theory and Spillane's (2005) distributed leadership theory were used to inform the research questions in this study. With shifts in education reform, student…

This qualitative study conducted at a Midwestern U.S. elementary school with a 'strand' bilingual programme examines the ways that administrators, teachers, and parents create learning environments for emergent bilinguals (EBs) that promote a positive view of bilingualism. To frame the study, the author used distributed leadership to emphasise the…

Student voice has held a prominent place in the tradition of progressive and democratic schools and classrooms around the world. Once engaged it offers a chance to develop and use crucial skills for democratic living and to shape meaningful contexts for learning as students bring their own personal questions, cultural experiences, resources, and…

This article uses Gresalfi and Cobb's (2006) definition of "mathematical authority": "the degree to which students are given opportunities to be involved in decision making and whether they have a say in establishing priorities in task completion, method, or pace of learning. Thus, authority is not about 'who's in charge' in terms…

Background: Popular commentary portrays private liberal arts colleges (LACs) as ensnared within a "death spiral" due to unprecedented enrollment and financial challenges. But, in contrast to ominous predictions, recent evidence suggests strong levels of innovative activity and resilience in the sector, as reflected in the creation and…