Purpose: The study aimed to explore the authority and power of kindergarten superintendents in public education to elucidate their leadership dynamics. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 Israeli kindergarten teachers about the authority and power of their superintendents. Thematic analysis was used to…

Both superintendents and principals create a foundation for student achievement, school culture, and the vision of a school building or district. When combined, these two similar yet distinct administrative roles become one unique position with less time and resources to fulfill individual job responsibilities. A dual-role administrator is defined…

This study makes use of a data set detailing instances of public school superintendent turnover in the commonwealth of Kentucky between 2014 and 2023. A quantitative research design was used to analyze descriptive statistics and salary changes based on a set of demographic and descriptive variables in the sample of 205 superintendent turnovers…

Members of school learning communities and researchers recognize that partnerships between families and schools are critical to the success of student learning (Epstein et al., 2018; Galindo & Sheldon, 2012). This qualitative descriptive multiple case study aimed to understand how five school superintendents from culturally and linguistically…

This paper examined leadership practices which supported the diffusion of an innovation in a cluster of schools in Singapore, through the lenses of complexity leadership theory (CLT) and ecological leadership. The approach is a qualitative case study, with the unit of analysis bounded by the innovation and a cluster of schools involved in the…

Background: Schools are important contexts for preventing sexual violence (SV) among adolescents. Evaluating whether programming is effective requires surveying youth about SV experiences. However, school communities often have concerns about asking students, particularly those in middle school, about these experiences. This study sought to…

Outcomes-Based Contracting (OBC) ties vendor payments to performance metrics, aiming to enhance accountability in public education. This study examines its implementation in tutoring services through the Southern Education Foundation pilot program. Interviews with district leaders and vendors reveal that OBC fosters collaboration, improves service…

Hub-centered improvement networks are emerging as an organizational form that has the potential to empower local educators, families, communities, and students to respond positively to ever-rising ambitions for educational access, quality, and equity in the United States. A problem, however, lies in a disconnect between (a) hub leaders as the…

Globally, schools continue to espouse commitments to equity and racial justice, yet racialized opportunity gaps continue to exist in schools, especially schools located in urban communities. In this research, we offer an empirically based explanation for this phenomenon by demonstrating how white district leaders resist enacting meaningful…

The prevalence of educator shortages has long been a topic of research and policy discussions in Illinois. Across multiple years, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools (IARSS) have collected data and reported on the magnitude, severity, and impact of shortages statewide. Prior…

The purpose of this study is to understand how and what leaders (a principal, district coach, regional coach, and district assistant superintendent) professionally noticed within a video club context as they watched mathematics lessons. Professional noticing refers to the extent to which leaders are able to move beyond forming general descriptions…

According to Maine's Education Commissioner, the pandemic has stretched both the Maine Department of Education (DOE) staff and local educational leaders. To ensure efficiency and effectiveness of limited time, the Maine DOE sought to increase communication opportunities with the field. Specifically, the Maine DOE prioritized communications on…

While recent research provides insights into how district and school leaders responded to the extraordinary disruptions created by the COVID-19 pandemic, less is known about the role of influential state-level education leaders during the crisis. In this paper, we draw on interviews with state leaders to examine their efforts to support students'…

Our recently completed research project investigated strategies being used by Wisconsin rural school districts to address educator shortages, including a diverse set of "grow your own" (GYO) initiatives such as Educators Rising that involve partnerships with educator preparation programs (EPPs) and other local partners to identify,…

Florida's Banyan School District attempts to implement culturally responsive teaching (CRt) in the midst of critical race theory (CRT) challenges. This case illustrates how negotiations among the superintendent and stakeholders are multifaceted and fraught with the dynamics of political pressures, funding issues, personal beliefs, professional…