Utilizing a phenomenological approach, this dissertation explores how principals perceive and use their roles in developing and maintaining inclusive special education programs. Specifically, this study has examined principals' beliefs and ideals in decision-making to support inclusion in classrooms. Its goal is to provide insight into principals'…

While the demands of teaching continue to escalate, teacher development has changed relatively little over time, leaving many of today's teachers feeling underprepared, overwhelmed, or demoralized with few opportunities to make real change. Teacher leadership holds promise for both addressing challenges within schools and empowering teachers.…

"Pathways to Personalization" offers an innovative five-step framework to help school leaders and teacher teams design and implement blended and personalized learning initiatives based on local needs and interests. The book draws on principles of improvement science and change management, as well as work in nearly five hundred…

Principals play a vital role in setting the direction for successful schools. With the emphasis on preparing highly qualified school leaders for the 21st century, this article investigated aspiring school leaders' and their perception of preparedness to serve as instructional leaders, talent and organizational system managers. Particularly, the…

Principals in the United States are responsible for creating educational environments that enable students, including those with disabilities, to achieve both academic and postschool goals. Unfortunately, many principals lack the preparation necessary to effectively lead special education programs. To support principals and ensure that students…

The heart and soul of any successful organization is outstanding leadership. In education, school divisions are always striving to increase school achievement and as such hold school leaders accountable for this growth. Leaders require explicit leadership skills. This article shares a proposal in which school leaders participate in direct literacy…

Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs (CSPAPs) have been identified as an intervention toward improving physical activity opportunities for youth throughout the school day. One of the five elements of a CSPAP is afterschool programming. This paper translates the varied research about youth engagement in physical activity into a…

The majority of school-age children with or displaying characteristics of a mental health disorder do not independently seek help, often go undiagnosed or undetected, and fail to receive treatment or intervention leaving them susceptible to and at risk for poor school and life outcomes. In response to these concerns and in an effort to improve the…

Physical education is critical to addressing childhood obesity, yet many school-based programs do not meet established quality standards and teachers are called upon to change. Little is known about how change is initiated and its associated internal and external factors. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate physical education…

Efficient and equitable use of financial resources has been one of the education policy objectives to achieve quality in education. Subsequently, the achievement of efficient and equitable use of financial resources in schools depends on the principals' understanding of their role in managing financial resources. However, evidence spanning…

School communities are looking for new and innovative ways to educate children. One effective reform strategy that schools are using to better prepare teachers to meet these needs is the development of professional learning communities. Much of the literature presented in this area focuses on teachers and their growth as collaborative working…

In this webinar, Dr. Stephanie Hirsh, Executive Director of Learning Forward, presented the research on effective PLCs and shared her experiences in creating, assessing, and leading PLCs. This Q&A addressed questions participants had for Dr. Hirsh following the webinar. The webinar recording and PowerPoint presentation are also available.

Purpose: The researcher emphasised with current research the need for an induction programme for beginning teachers in the South African context to overcome the challenges experienced by beginning teachers while bridging from pre-service teaching to in-service teaching and to introduce and illuminate the design of a new multimodal induction model.…

To stem the tide of students dropping out, many schools and districts are turning to early warning systems (EWS) that signal whether a student is at risk of not graduating from high school. While some research exists about establishing these systems, there is little information about the actual implementation strategies that are being used across…

We developed and pilot tested the effectiveness of a physically active academic program, Active Breaks (AB), whose objective is to increase school time moderate/vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among first graders, through daily 15-minute bouts of MVPA, at the beginning of the first lesson. Initially, 240 cards including one game each were…