This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the various leadership models applied in the education sector, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. The models of administrative/managerial, instructional, transformational, distributed, transactional, ethical, contingent and participative leadership are presented, focusing…

School leaders have a significant impact on student outcomes; however, there has been a shift from viewing school leadership as the actions of an individual, to seeing leadership as a collaborative endeavour, including in Aotearoa New Zealand. The traditional heroic model of leadership is making way for a new leadership paradigm which considers…

The COVID-19 pandemic and the rapidly changing societal issues that it occasioned have accelerated the dynamic nature of the principalship. Changing demographics, technological advances, teachers' working conditions, social unrest, and in particular the global pandemic are among the factors driving this continuous role transformation. This study…

Ongoing worldwide crises have imposed profound challenges on school leaders. Principals face increasing pressure to understand and address the multifaceted needs of their communities. However, traditional paradigms often isolate principals by emphasizing individualism, patriarchy, and management, thus maintaining separation between school leaders…

This study investigated whether and to what extent shared leadership in school was associated with a positive and equitable sense of school belonging among students from diverse backgrounds in the United States. We denoted shared leadership as collective practices that take place in schools in which principals enact inclusive practices in the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore successful school principalship in Cyprus based on a ten-year research project, and in particular, by analysing leadership knowledge based on concrete actions of successful school principals derived from multiple case studies from the primary and secondary education sectors in Cyprus.…

Purpose: Building on arguments drawn from Upper Echelons Theory, this study provides insights into how certain demographic characteristics related to principals--gender, age, tenure, and formal education--may facilitate or hinder the adoption of three generic modes of strategic decision-making: autocratic, participative, and collaborative. Design:…

Susan Moore Johnson, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and leading scholar on school staffing, highlights research from the Project on the Next Generation of Teachers showing the importance of inclusive leadership and team-based structures in improving teacher recruitment and retention. School context is key in determining…

Effective leadership comes from different educators on school campuses, including school counselors (SCs) and special education (SE) teachers. Recent studies showed how important and effective school counselor and special education teacher leaders can be at school sites. Having a shared or collaborative leadership model supports diversity and…

Although current education reform models have been in place for over a decade, the number of U.S. public schools identified as underperforming continues to rise. While the federal government has imposed increasingly stringent achievement requirements, practical instruction on improving schools remains inadequate. Learning from principals…

For many years, teachers have been involved in developing the national curricula in Finland in various ways. Teachers' involvement in curriculum design and implementation has, during the last national curriculum implementation process, increased locally to strengthen their confidence in and knowledge of the national curriculum's multifaceted…

An ethnographic case study was used to examine roles of a principal in implementing and maintaining positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) in one North Dakota elementary school. Observations, school documents, and semi-structured interviews were analyzed to identify the role of a principal. Skinner's reinforcement theory and…

The authors share insights from interviews with a dozen innovative principals who have instilled a collaborative ethos that deepens learning, engages students, and supports the teaching staff.

In "Navigating the Principalship," James P. Spillane and Rebecca Lowenhaupt look at the major challenges of the principal position, examining how new principals adapt to the role, set an instructional agenda, and build cooperation and collaboration. They focus in particular on the dilemmas that mark the principalship--the inevitable,…

In this action research study, I explored and developed a means to address the challenge of developing, supporting, and retaining effective elementary school principals skilled in instructional leadership and serving in historically marginalized communities. Evidence from the research literature and earlier action research cycles indicated…