After decades of calls to change science instruction, including the recent Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), classroom practices remain largely stable. Research has much to say about who principals are and what practices they engage in, yet there is little research explicating how principals and their school leadership practices influence…

The purpose of this study was to address the formidable effect that complex trauma has on children and their school success. Trauma impacts a significant number of school-age children and that impact compromises many developmental milestones and events, including learning and school success. This study examined one elementary school that has…

The state of Delaware has expanded its K-12 educational structure and now offers parents and students an alternative to public education. Some of the charter schools in the state have excelled academically, fiscally, and organizationally, while others have been criticized for being financially irresponsible, or not meeting the state's academic…

Districts around the country are grappling with teacher shortages. Given that attrition accounts for nearly 90% of the demand for new teachers, strategies that increase teacher retention are particularly important. Principal leadership plays a significant role in teacher turnover. Teachers identify the quality of administrative support as a key…

A growing body of literature recognizes the affordances of video in education, especially in relation to lesson observation and reflection as part of teachers' initial teacher education and continuing professional development. Minimal attention has been paid to the outcomes of video-enhanced observation as a source of multiple modes of data for…

Purpose: Principals' leadership has become a subversive activity that is carried out strategically to challenge and disrupt the status quo and resist policies and practices that are counterproductive to their work. The purpose of this paper is to reveal subversive tactics principals use in pursuit of justice and equity in schools and identify…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of instructional leaders in promoting culturally responsive practice in ways that make schooling more inclusive and humanizing for minoritized students and communities. Design/methodology/approach: The data pull from a six-month long case study of a mid-sized, Midwestern school district…

This qualitative study seeks to create a better understanding of the work of school superintendents. This study was conducted using ethnographic techniques as a way to describe the practice of a Latino superintendent in a borderland community in south Texas. Guiding questions for this study were: What goes on in the workday life of a…

The International Study of Principal Preparation has made major contributions to research on novice principals across the world. The network has carried out cross-cultural research on novice principals in 15 countries on five continents since 2004. ISPP employed a mixed methods research design. The first stage was qualitative and carried out…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the variations in the ways that principals conceptualize their basis of power in schools. Design/methodology/approach: Phenomenography was used as the research method of this study. The interviewees consisted of 16 principals, eight from public schools and eight from private schools. Findings: The…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the existing influences faced by today's urban inner-city elementary school principals that impact the successful implementation of reform strategies as measured by student achievement data. The study examines dynamics such as the characteristics and qualities, leadership style and behavior,…

Best practices for school boards include collaborative communication, setting goals focused on student achievement and these characteristics are found in district leadership teams in high achieving school districts. The specific problem is that some school district administrators in leadership do not implement clear communication practices; thus,…

The United States has undergone a revamping of education standards in an effort to systematize rigorous learning standards across the country and prepare students to be college- and career-ready. In addition, new accountability requirements have been put in place to determine the effectiveness of the school leader. Certainly, educational reforms…

This article focuses on the leadership practices that four public school principals in two Northern California large urban school districts used during the process of implementing the state-mandated reading curriculum. These four school principals' leadership approaches are described and analyzed through the lens of neoinstitutional theory to…

"System leadership", as applied to the running of schools, refers to a form of leadership that extends beyond a single institution, where headteachers work with establishments other than their own. This approach is predicated on certain beliefs about the role and purpose of collaborative school leadership and management in a marketised…