This study of a multi-district superintendency in rural Minnesota reveals how schools act as spaces where community boundaries expand as a result of partnership and collaboration. The project, informed by grounded theory, seeks to fill a key gap in understanding the experiences of school staff and community members in multi-district resource…

The COVID-19 pandemic posed many challenges to student learning, classroom instruction, and the management of school systems. Media, think tanks, and education groups have warned of a post-COVID fiscal cliff for K-12 schools after the $190 billion from the federal government in the form of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief…

This study delves into the complex dynamics of leadership within Alberta's K-12 education system, specifically focusing on the relationship between age, gender, maternity and parental leaves and women's career progression. Using an explanatory mixed-method approach, comprising a survey of 416 educational leaders and two focus groups of 20 women in…

The origins of power readily align with the construction of social norms that have restricted women from leadership roles in fields considered to be masculinized. In education, for example, White males have historically dominated the top leadership positions in school organizations. Traditionally schools have been organized along a vertical and…

The premise of this project was to determine if superintendents in the state of Missouri were aware of implicit bias and if districts were providing training to the administration, faculty, and/or staff to mitigate implicit bias in the classroom and thus, help all students maximize their learning. This was accomplished by constructing and…

Although there is a significant body of literature on superintendents and another on social justice, there is not a comprehensive body of research on superintendents who focus on social justice issues. It is important to study what actions superintendents with a social justice focus take to address inequities in their school districts. The primary…

In this paper, we study the role of expertise and independence on governing boards in the context of education. In particular, we examine the causal influence of professional educators elected to local school boards on education production. Educators may bring valuable human capital or experience to school district leadership, thereby improving…

A formal partnership between a state-level umbrella association of educational administrators and one of its constituent associations, the association of gifted education administrators, has resulted in successful legislative and policy advocacy for gifted education. The formal partnership encouraged leaders of the gifted education professional…

In early March 2020, the United States was first faced with the COVID-19 virus, which became a pandemic affecting 216 countries across the globe (Worldometers.info, 2020). This pandemic impacted approximately 1.5 billion learners globally by schools' closures and revised practices (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization…

Research has consistently shown that the quality of teachers working with students has a greater impact on academic achievement than any other school-related factor. However, close to a third of new teachers continue to leave the profession within their first 5 years of employment. In particular, hard-to-staff rural schools have struggled to…

At what point will educational actors recognize the limitations and utilize the possibilities of policy implementation processes to actualize long overdue reform measures for students--particularly those from historically marginalized backgrounds? Previous literature has attended to ways schooling processes replicate persistent historical, social,…

With little research as guidance, it is difficult for educators to know how to prepare to lead systems of professional learning at the district level. In this phenomenological study, the sensemaking framework was used to understand the experiences, knowledge, and beliefs of those who hold district-level leadership roles with responsibility for…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the ways in which cultural and gendered expectations affect the experiences of Latinas in their attainment of a superintendency in California public school districts. Six Latinas, currently serving as superintendents in rural, suburban and urban areas of Northern California, the Central…

Those tasked with leading large school districts direct incredibly complex organizations in what are often contentious political and social contexts, with powerful stakeholder groups espousing conflicting policy priorities. Because of their high-profile positions, superintendents often face uniquely persistent and powerful resistance and must…

This study profiles superintendents in North Carolina public-school districts for academic year 2020-2021. We focus on superintendent gender, race, educational experiences, highest degrees earned, and professional longevity; and personal characteristics such as age and marital and parenting status, and the relationship between gender and race and…