With the demands of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the focus of the principal's role is providing instructional leadership in the school. However, one of the first things a school community expects from the principal is that management issues--particularly for special events that occur every year--are successfully administered and organized.…

In this article, the author reflects on the ability to have schools that can develop students for the 21st century. He states that despite the constant search for reform solutions, the future of school improvement depends on people, not programs. Schools must hire excellent teachers and strive to make all teachers as good as the best teacher in…

This article reports how secondary principals perceive the status of the accountability movement and their professional job responsibilities in the context of accountability. The data were collected from a nationally representative sample of secondary principals during the Schools and Staffing Survey 1999-2000. Respondents reported that there were…

This article takes a broad, and somewhat personal, sweep across the last 30 years or so of educational history in the United Kingdom (UK)and highlights some of the challenges concerning research, policy and practice on teaching and learning which developed over the period. Issues associated with academic agency are considered and a narrative of…

Times are changing, and changes create different responsibilities for educational leaders. The most significant recent change is the absolute necessity that they be strong instructional leaders; that is, leaders of learning. Their primary learners are the members of the administrative staff and the teaching faculty, followed closely by students,…

Twenty women who are mothers and primary school headteachers were interviewed regarding their understanding of the self and how this interacts with the role of parent and professional. The data are read as an illustration of dialogic identities where the self is in constant negotiation regarding how to position as mother and as headteacher, and…

This investigation sought information about principals and their relationship with computer technology. Several questions were fundamental to the inquiry. Are principals prepared to facilitate the attainment of technology's promise through the integration of computer technology into the teaching and learning process? Are principals prepared to use…

A persistent and pervasive disparity in academic achievement exists between ethnic minority and English Learner students and their White and Asian peers. This qualitative single-case study of a high-poverty, high-performing middle school focused on the cultural norms, practices, and programs that were perceived to be contributing to narrowing the…

The purpose of this paper was to explore the role and purpose of school administrators in international schools and obtain data helpful in redesigning principal preparation programs. An ethnographic case study was designed to obtain perceptions of issues related to leadership, curriculum, teachers, students, and parents in two U.S. accredited…

This paper measures effective leadership preparation and assesses its relationship to what principals learn about leadership, their leadership practices, and school improvement progress and improved school climate (particularly for academic press and continuous improvement). This paper draws on survey research conducted in 2005 with 125 principals…

Recent child welfare research has identified supervisors as key to retaining qualified and committed workers. This paper describes implementation of a federally funded child welfare training initiative designed to improve worker retention largely through developing, implementing, and evaluating a statewide supervisor training program in a…

Background: School leaders must make sense of the messages they receive from multiple, overlapping contexts of their school environments. Equally important, they must shape meaning of school issues and events with and for other school members. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which school leaders defined and made sense…

School-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) has been identified as an effective and efficient method to teach students prosocial skills. It requires both effective behavior support practices and systems that will support these changes, including data-based decision making among the school leadership team. There are many practical and systemic…

Recently, Argyle Middle School in Montgomery County, Maryland faced the prospect of corrective action for failure to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act. The county's Office of School Performance designed the Strategic Monitoring/Intervention Process to help schools identify students' academic progress both…

Beginning teachers continue to exit the classroom in alarming numbers, despite numerous recruitment and retention strategies. High teacher turnover rates result in a deficit of quality teachers and instruction; a loss of continuity and commitment; and time, attention, and funds devoted to recruitment versus support. The purpose of this empirical…