Principals play a major role in uniting faculties into collective action to improve teaching and learning. Researchers have found that schools that function as teaching and learning communities are successful in raising student academic achievement. To create a learning community, principals must transform their school cultures from places of…

Recent advice on improving schools has centred on the distribution of responsibilities within schools. Whilst the focus of leadership in schools has traditionally been upon the Headteacher, there are now strong arguments to support a greater participation in leadership from teachers (Gold "et al", 2003). This article reports on…

The employee-employer relationship has changed. Previously, employees believed that their employers would recognize their loyalty and good work with steady compensation increases and job security. Since the mid-1980s, however, a steady stream of events has eroded this relationship: globalization, unfriendly takeovers, downsizing, and the efforts…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how Canadian adult students collaboratively learn with peers in both formal and non-formal adult literacy programs. A multisite case study research design was used involving several local literacy organizations. Data collection occurred over a four-month period and focused on nine different program…

This author, superintendent of Winnetka Public Schools (a K-8 district in the northern suburbs of Chicago), shares a board president's perspective that may help shed some light on one of the superintendent's most challenging jobs: successfully working with a board of education. Why is it so challenging? Certainly because in the current culture of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine the influence of organizational factors such as leadership commitment, incentives and interaction on learning outcomes defined as performance improvement and organizational climate. Design/methodology/approach: Different aspects of knowledge acquisition, sharing and utilization were examined,…

Recent work on distributed leadership extends an ongoing critique of conventional "heroic" leader portrayals. This article examines work in this area seeking implications for democratic school governance. With material from case studies of two Texas schools, it considers frameworks presented by Spillane, Halverson, and Diamond and by…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine decision making and resource allocation in a small, rural district in a Midwestern state of the USA during a time of economic retrenchment. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative case study methods were used, including focus groups and personal interviews with current and former district…

In this paper, we critique the study of school leadership for its normative, singular, and evolutionary tendencies. Through an empirical study of leadership we offer an approach that suggests new possibilities for the field. Through the use of a qualitative, grounded theory methodology, we developed profiles of principals that illustrate a variety…

The problem of this study involved the identification of differences in leadership practices between master's-level students at Dallas Theological Seminary based on the independent variable of ministry leadership involvement. A total of 1,254 master's-level seminary students enrolled on the main campus of Dallas Seminary during the fall Semester…

This paper presents findings of a study that explored the changing roles of principals and other school leaders in Israel as the system moves toward autonomous school organization. Specifically, the study examined the extent to which principals employed supervisory behaviors, teacher-activating behaviors, and school-restructuring initiatives. Data…

This paper summarizes research regarding the changing role of the principal and methods for assessing school-communication skills within a competency-based educational administration program. It examines the leadership-competency areas of the principalship and describes how expanding school-communication skills may enhance the principal's…

This book contains 14 articles that examine the role of women in creating a new order of leadership--one that is dedicated to a quality education for all learners. It offers a "women-inclusive" model for educational administration, which reconceptualizes research, theory, and practice by taking the female perspective into account. Following the…

This book argues that the literature on leadership, especially business leadership, has neglected ethical issues by focusing on approaches and strategies that emphasize individualistic concerns. The book calls for an end to the traditional separation of personal and public morality. It also argues that ethics of leadership is consistent with the…

"Strong leadership" is almost always listed as an attribute of successful schools. To learn the views of outstanding school leaders, each regional representative of the U.S. Department of Education (USED) convened a meeting of 25-30 local educators well known for their leadership in sustained school-improvement efforts. The groups were composed of…