This qualitative case study research examines the perceptions of three U.S. principals as they work for social justice in the school level meso context as enacted through the lens of their micro contextual values and beliefs. Through interviews with three rural high school principals, we look to the influence of context on decision making through…

In this article we discuss a collaborative research project meant to ground community members' voices in curriculum design. We argue that performing collaborative research with students and parents can better inform curriculum design decisions, particularly for communities whose identities, knowledge(s), and ways of being have been historically…

Photovoice, a Participatory Action Research method developed by Wang and Burris, has gained popularity as a pedagogical tool to engage youth with environmental, sustainability, and conservation issues. Influenced by Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy, feminist theory, and documentary photography, photovoice supports reflection about place, critical…

Provision of education during/after violent conflicts remains a global dilemma with many conflict-affected children excluded from/within education. Likewise, school leadership is increasingly seen as a key element in developing inclusive schools across communities. This single intrinsic case study with aspects of ethnography was conducted in one…

As a principal, Sarah E. Fiarman learned that developing teacher leadership requires more than merely soliciting teacher input. "School leaders," she writes, "need to create a culture in which each professional feels an urgent responsibility to influence the achievement of all students." To promote such a schoolwide leadership…

Parental participation in the initial Individual Education Program (IEP) meeting is a critical component of the process. Even though parents have rights to be equally involved in making decisions at the IEP meetings, frequently parents aren't prepared to be equal members on the team with school personnel. This study focused on a preparation…

This article's purpose is to make humanities professors' assumptions and beliefs about assessment more visible. It is important to understand how humanities professors view the assessment of general education, especially since those conceptions affect how they approach teaching and learning, and how they react to calls for assessment in their…

With the expansion of school choice systems, policymakers and researchers are increasingly focused on making the school choice process accessible and clear for families. Essentially, school district offices of enrollment and outreach are acting as "choice architects" for parents and students: those who design the environment or organize…

Interprofessional education (IPE) aims to introduce students to the importance of team-based decision making. This article presents evaluation data from an IPE poverty simulation event. The goals of the project were to increase students' understanding of the barriers faced by families in poverty, and to increase students' confidence when working…

Since the granting of Native American materials -- excavated in archaeological projects sponsored by federal and state governments across the United States in the 20th century -- to public repositories, museum professionals have sought to manage such collections with care. At the University of Missouri, students responding to the local mandate of…

Social capital has recently emerged as an effective approach to rethink schools as wider learning ecosystems where students, teachers and families have greater access to learning resources through social interaction. Literature has not provided research-based assessment tools that document school leaders' abilities to weave social relationships…

The school reopening debate has reached an inflection point as districts weigh both the safety and learning implications of returning to in-person education this fall. Challenges with transitioning to distance learning during the spring made it clear that teachers, parents and students needed more and different resources to make supportive,…

This study examined how intentional change decisions impacted the organizational culture of a newly constructed and reconfigured elementary school in Central Massachusetts. District administration enacted seven intentional change decisions during the project to influence the culture of the new school. Semi-structured interviews were held with nine…

Teachers are spending more of their time and making more decisions within teams. Effective teacher-based teams provide academic and behavioral support for students as well as professional development for teachers. Learn how the best teams function.

Governments and other stakeholders in education are beginning to recognize the important roles school leaders can play in school development and efforts are being made to allow them to become more involved in managing schools. However, despite these efforts, head teachers are challenged with the perfect leadership style to improve schools. Many…