In this integrative literature review, we synthesize the scant literature from the last 40 years of educational research on how school principals make difficult decisions. Reviewing 15 peer-reviewed articles, articles were coded for the methods used and their substantive findings. We review sampling techniques, the types of problems and methods…

This article presents the development and application of a model that can be utilized to compare the autonomy of principals in various historical and national contexts. Drawing on former conceptual work on autonomy in education, the model conceptualizes principal autonomy as two-dimensional. The first dimension is the decision making expected from…

Education researchers claim collaboration between school district leaders and principals is one of the key factors in successful school districts. Collaboration creates alignment and coherence throughout the organization. Factors that foster this collaboration are limited throughout education literature. This qualitative study explored factors…

This article shares the findings of a qualitative case study examining the experiences of teacher leaders as they engaged as teacher evaluators alongside school principals. Data collection included observations and interviews with four teacher leaders and three school principals to answer these research questions: (1) What TDEM structures have…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to know the extent to which a decision-making framework assists in providing holistic, comprehensive descriptions of strategies used by school leaders engaging with distributed leadership practices. The process by which principals and other education leaders interact various school-based actors to arrive at a…

Should the topic of judgment have a place in the preparation and development of school leaders? This question serves as the focus for an examination of the nature of judgment and obstacles to good judgment. Judgment is defined as the ability to arrive at and make a choice when faced with incomplete information, uncertain conditions, and/or…

We conducted a multi-year study of specialization in elementary mathematics and/or science, using data drawn from a local sample of teachers and a nationwide sample of principals. Using the theory of planned behavior, we compare and contrast teacher and principal views and decision-making processes related to elementary content specialization…

Educational leaders are faced with multiple ethical decisions every day. This article presents the Values-Issue-Action (VIA) Model as a tool for developing ethical decisions in K-12 schools. The model is presented with three scenarios from K-12 education to practice using the model into practice. The model can be used by current school leaders and…

This study is a descriptive research study aiming to: 1) test the fitness between the theoretical model of the mindful leadership indicators and empirical data and 2) investigate factor loading value of the main elements, sub-elements, and indicators with models. The population of the research is 27,718 primary school principals under the office…

In this study, we apply a distributed leadership framework to better understand the nature of leadership practices distributed in schools by grade configuration. In this analysis we examine the following research question: What are the differences between school-level grade configuration (elementary school or secondary school) and the extent and…

This qualitative study identified and analyzed the occurrences of the Garbage-Can decision making model in public schools. The study was based on semi-structured interviews with 34 teachers from elementary and middle schools in Israel. Data analysis showed three major decision areas in which the Garbage-Can model was employed, and the conditions…

Training School Principals as Talent Developers: An International Perspective focuses on how to prepare school principals to lead their schools by training and supporting teachers in their craft. The main goal of schools is improving teaching and learning in order to maximize students' potential to be college ready and career ready. Principals…

In this study of high-poverty schools in Trinidad and Tobago, we (1) identified recurring patterns and generative mechanisms for successful principal leadership and (2) explored the utility of transformational, shared, and instructional leadership models. We argued that situational and country context are central to understanding school leadership…

The purpose of this action research study was to link together theory and educational leaders' practice to give form to and improve their ability to make ethically sound decisions. The questions that guided the study included: 1. How can I, as a superintendent, lead the principals I work with to use all four ethical paradigms in their own decision…

Educational institutions--and, more specifically, principals--are faced with meeting the mandates and demands set forth by local, state, and federal initiatives. Accountability has forever changed the context in which the traditional role of a principal leads. This study examines the beliefs, attitudes, and opinions of public high school…