Background/purpose: This study explores the different ways in which critical friend roles are conceptualized. The critical friend role is adaptive by nature, with significant ambiguity surrounding it, which has resulted in disjointed and fragmented literature. This study sought to provide insights into the varied and potentially boundary-spanning…

Purpose: Current school leadership research has primarily utilized quantitative methods to explore the relationship between leadership and teacher learning. However, there is a notable gap in understanding how principals facilitate professional learning, especially in centralized educational settings. This study aims to address this gap by…

This qualitative case study explored K-8 principals' perception of the contribution of job-embedded professional learning on skills and efficacy in instructional leadership, guided by Experiential Learning and Self-Efficacy Theory. The study addressed two research questions: the first explored how principals perceived the contribution of…

The aim of this qualitative study was to examine the strategies employed by districts and school leaders in recruiting, developing, and supporting instructional leaders to enhance student achievement across schools. By conducting research and interviewing experts, this study aspires to serve as a conceptual blueprint that districts and leaders can…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to describe the leadership styles of Catholic school principals in California who lead professional learning communities. It is not known how Catholic elementary school principals describe their leadership styles when leading professional learning communities. The overarching research question…

The teaching and learning of mathematics are essential to building daily discipline and encouraging logical reasoning and mental rigor. Engaging in mathematics helps to provide an overall understanding of the world. Exposing students to use mathematics to identify relationships and patterns is the basis for engaging in carrying out daily tasks.…

This study examines teacher professional development as part of the required K-12 continuous school improvement process. Through semi-structured, open-ended interviews and data (school improvement plans, PD agendas), this qualitative case drew from organizational theory to identify and describe information to better understand the role teacher…

The Learning Forward Academy is Learning Forward's flagship deep learning experience, committed to increasing educator and leader capacity and improving results for students in the ever-changing landscape of education. For over 30 years, the academy has supported the problem-based learning of teachers, teacher leaders, instructional coaches,…

Educator leadership requires continuous development, including extended professional learning opportunities for principals in the field. This is also true for district leaders who likely have even fewer robust opportunities to grow professionally. We conducted a comparative interrupted time series of publicly available student achievement data…

Teacher and headteacher assessments and professional development are deemed critical levers for improving quality education in an increasing number of countries and contexts. However, prioritising improvement is not always evident, given that sometimes those subjected to assessments are not effectively informed about their performance (e.g. from…

In today's educational system, there is a great emphasis on principals' leadership and impact on all students, particularly students with disabilities. Due to increased accountability, legal mandates, and the effects of the pandemic on student performance, strong elementary principals must lead the charge to improve the educational trajectory of…

Teachers have endured work-related stressors daily to provide the best educational experience to students. This applied research study addressed teacher stress levels to implement a teacher centered social emotional learning (SEL) program. This study was collaborative and involved teachers, administrators, and district staff who worked together to…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenographical article was to explore the different ways that elementary assistant principals experienced mentoring from their elementary principals as a way to provide the requisite leadership development that would lead them to become a principal. This research study was conducted using in-depth…

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to explore sustainability in mitigating managerial challenges faced by women principals in rural primary schools. The main research question guiding this study is: "What strategies can be employed to enhance sustainability in mitigating the managerial challenges experienced by women principals in…

This article discusses the impact of a professional learning activity called the Principals as Literacy Leaders (PALL) program on the strategies used by primary school leaders to support teacher professional learning with the view of assisting students to become more able readers. It uses data collected from participants in the PALL program,…