This art-based research study seeks to examine teaching artists' current perspectives on the models of training and support provided to them by their employers. The study was conducted with a group of teaching artists exploring two key research questions: What models of training and support do teaching artists receive? What are teaching artists…

In this action research study, I explored and developed a means to address the challenge of developing, supporting, and retaining effective elementary school principals skilled in instructional leadership and serving in historically marginalized communities. Evidence from the research literature and earlier action research cycles indicated…

Being a cross-national analysis, the aim of this study, which draws on data from school principals, is to evaluate parents' involvement in decision-making processes comparatively in Turkey, Germany and France, which are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and were included in the study in terms of some…

This article shows how City-As-School, a progressive public school in New York City, used descriptive inquiry to deepen shared decision making, which is a central value of the school and part of a democratic way of life. Descriptive inquiry is a democratic knowledge-making process that was developed at the Prospect School in North Bennington,…

This study examines the strategic partnership and bottom-up style of management used by Wake Technical Community College (WTCC) in Raleigh, North Carolina. WTCC uses a strategic partnership initiative called SAIL (Succeed, Achieve, Improve, Learn), which engages employees to become involved in the process of institutional improvement. In the SAIL…

This article is a review of theoretical and empirical literature on Wenger's community of practice (CoP) theory and Lave and Wenger's legitimate peripheral participation. It is organized into four broad parts: (a) Characteristics of CoPs in Music Communities, Education, and Teacher Education; (b) Benefits and Challenges Faced by Members of CoPs;…

International education has become an increasingly important, yet complex policy sector in Canada. When shared responsibilities and competing interests exist across governments and educational institutions, the need for policy coordination emerges. This study focuses on the province of Manitoba and its policy coordination practices in K-12…

The purpose of this study was to identify barriers and facilitators to family engagement in schools implementing schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS). Participants consisted of 1 representative member each from 204 school PBIS teams across 3 states. Qualitative analysis guided examination of responses to 1 question…

The COVID-19 pandemic widened existing educational inequities for Black and Latino students, students who are English learners, and students with disabilities. Research shows that family engagement has a positive impact on student outcomes; therefore, forging connections between schools and families as enrollment rebounds will be especially…

Communities of practice (CoPs) can provide opportunities for diverse and inclusive groups to convene, share, collaborate, and support others. Using a self-study research approach combined with a visual research method, this study explores both scholarly and practice-based insights to describe the anticipated attributes of a high functioning CoP…

Home-school partnerships between teachers and caregivers of students with or at risk of emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) are critical to support positive student outcomes. Yet, effective home-school partnerships may be particularly challenging to foster for students with or at risk of EBD, and little is known about how teachers and caregivers…

Context: An emerging body of research has begun to re-envision how nondominant families and communities might become powerful actors in equity-based educational change when issues of power, race, culture, language, and class are integrated into family engagement efforts. Beyond the commitment to more equitable engagement, the field offers little…

Middle leadership is a dynamic area of policy in Scottish and Irish education to build leadership capacity. This article reports on a critical policy analysis of sequential sets of Scottish and Irish policy on middle leadership to identify codes of meaning. Two aspects are reported: (1) constructions of the purposes of middle leadership and (2)…

Trust and fairness are essential components in building strong, positive relationships with union representatives. Although negotiating contracts with faculty and employee unions can be challenging, it's easier and less contentious when the two sides approach the process not as adversaries, but as partners in improving education. Even with strong…

Although the literature abounds with factors that contribute to organizational commitment and commitment to change, it is still unclear what factors influence teachers' affective commitment to change. This study attempts to examine the relationships between two perceived distributive leadership functions, namely, leadership team cooperation and…