This qualitative case study explored the relationship between teachers' trust of their principals and their decisions to implement feedback. Four tenured teachers who teach in a public school district in Pennsylvania participated in the study. Through semi-structured interviews, participants shared their experiences receiving feedback and their…

The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly changed the context of higher education during the Spring 2020 semester. As the virus began to spread across the United States, colleges and universities canceled inperson classes and activities, closed campus, and moved all operations online. Within the communication discipline, introductory communication course…

Staff meetings are a regular occurrence in schools, yet both teachers and principals typically report dissatisfaction with these meetings. The current investigation seeks to understand the viewpoints of public-school teachers on silence during staff meetings. This was the first known investigation on the topic using Q methodology. Data analysis…

Online learning is transforming education. Not only has online learning grown in higher education, but it also continues to rise in K-12. The number of students seeking flexibility and personalized learning is driving the growth of online programs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, school districts were obliged to keep pace with the high demand for…

The global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related closures that began in spring of 2020 created an unprecedented challenge for higher education broadly and social work education specifically. This article describes qualitative data collected from a survey of social work educators in the spring of 2020. Social work educators from across the…

Without the development and implementation of appropriate reforms directed by school district leaders, struggling schools may continue to achieve low scores on state-wide evaluations. Addressing this issue requires cooperation between administrators to identify areas of need, develop a plan of action for change, and implement and monitor a shared…

Were those gunshots I just heard? Between 1990 and 2014 school shootings more than tripled when compared the prior 30-year span of 1960 to 1990. FBI data from 2000-2013 shows active violent incidents were resolved or ended due to citizen engagement of the perpetrator in 16.2% of the total incidents. Common police response times to an active…

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between principals' self-perceived social and emotional competence and their leadership performance assessed by supervisors and faculty members. Principals completed the self-assessment of a social and emotional competence instrument that includes 39 items from the Widener Emotional…

Professional development is supposed to increase instructional capacity in teachers. It is well funded by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which also provides clear expectations for activities and programs that research suggests make it effective in improving student learning (Ball & Cohen, 1999; Banilower et al., 2006; Gersten et…

Reflecting post-bureaucratic organisation theory, education reformers intended charter schools to empower school-level leaders, most typically principals, with autonomy to pursue clear, student-centred missions. Yet little research explores whether charter school principals have more power than traditional public school counterparts. We summarise…

Schools with similar demographics have varying school performance; these differences exist among schools across Western Pennsylvania. Questions remain as to why some schools perform at higher levels than other schools in similar regions. Some researchers posit that leadership practices in different schools may influence student learning and school…

In response to federal accountability measures, the Pennsylvania Department of Education introduced the School Performance Profile, shifting the student achievement spotlight from school districts to individual schools, thus placing the onus squarely on the shoulders of teachers and school leaders. Shared leadership has been touted in the…

Teacher leaders are people who lead by example and, in this school, most are not afraid to speak up even if it is not politically correct. Teacher leaders are selfless people who are looking out for what is best for all, especially the students. They are risk takers. With the introduction of technology and accountability measures, education…

The purpose of this case study was to examine the leadership team of one successful school district to identify the characteristics, vision, and practice of the team. The study examined specific situations that the members of the administrative team identified as significant in their growth. Specifically, the study identified the perceptions and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles of doctoral program specialists in Big Ten universities. Face-to-face interviews with 20 doctoral program specialists employed in institutions in the Big Ten were conducted. Participants were asked to describe their roles within their work place. The doctoral program specialists reported their…