The United States has a long history of political tension around education at the federal, state, and local level. District and school leaders must balance students' learning and social needs while working to address political tension barriers on education decisions. Political tension involves the feeling of strain or anxiety around topics aligned…

Over five decades of research have documented a central challenge: School leaders are confronted with a deluge of simultaneous demands. These demands have intensified in the past few decades, amidst the standards-based accountability movement and the COVID pandemic. Yet, school leaders - like all people - have limited time, energy, and effort…

The aim of this article is to investigate the pastoral work carried out by Course Leaders of College-Based Higher Education (CBHE), asking the question of how does the pastoral work of Course Leaders for CBHE happen? Taking the standpoint of Course Leaders for CBHE and using the work of Dorothy E. Smith, I adopted an institutional ethnographic…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Final Rule on School Wellness Policy requires schools to self-evaluate wellness policies and environments. To understand the utility of this information, this study evaluates the validity of school-reported wellness information against directly observed data. Wellness leaders at 10 Midwestern elementary schools…

Classroom observation is an accountability practice which promotes the evaluation of teachers' capacity to meet standards, improve teaching practices, and enhance student learning outcomes. Prior research has revealed that these practices are not without bias: the reliability of observation can be challenged because of classroom or observer…

The need for social-emotional learning for adults has emerged due to accountability stressors and the COVID-19 pandemic. While many school leaders believe in SEL for adults, major disconnects exist between their understanding and belief in SEL and their plans to implement it. The main problem this research sought to address integrated two ideas in…

Public schools in the United States are prone to crises that can have major effects on the student, parents, teachers, and school community (Smith & Riley, 2012). In addition to all school leaders in the country experiencing the COVID-19 crisis, others also experienced crises related to extreme weather, wildfires, and weapons offenses. Through…

This capstone provides college students a virtual open-access library resource that focuses on effective listening practices in academic, professional, personal, and community settings. A review of related literature was conducted to identify research into various listening dimensions and to recognize listening leaders who have an exceptional way…

The global outbreak of COVID-19, subsequent lockdown of universities, and suspension of on-campus learning have caught many higher educational institutions off-guard, challenging their ability to adapt to a new delivery system. Distance learning has come under the spotlight as the only option to avoid the disruption of the teaching-learning…

This dissertation delved into the complex interaction between gender dynamics and leadership perceptions within outdoor recreation, particularly in the context of higher education. Utilizing Transformational Learning Theory, Critical Feminist Theory, and Conditional Outdoor Leadership Theory, this study aimed to uncover the nuanced ways in which…

Research shows that oral dialogue has a positive impact on educational leadership wellness and practice. Having regular focused and informal conversations about educational issues and daily challenges is instrumental in reducing stress, anxiety, and emotional distress among educational leaders. However, diverse tensions related to personal and…

The way in which school leaders implement professional learning communities (PLCs) is important for realizing sustainable school improvement. The assumption is that school leaders act based on their interpretation of the PLC, which is based on their underlying educational beliefs. In this study, we explored these latter aspects by interviewing six…

Purpose: This case study explores different perspectives on integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in universities to achieve university transformations. This study recognises that university actors think differently about the purpose of universities, hold diverse perspectives on the SDGs, and, thus, prefer specific types of SDG…

The benefits of youth voice and meaningful and informed youth participation in social and systemic change initiatives are well-documented (Gonzalez et al., 2020; Gonzalez & Kokozos, 2019; Ginwright & Cammarota, 2007), and storytelling has shown promise as an effective pedagogical tool for nurturing and amplifying youth voices. Inspired by…

The purpose of this study was to explore how educational leaders incorporate the ethic of care into their practices. The theoretical perspective was authentic leadership. The research question was: How do authentic leaders working from an ethic of care maintain consistency between their espoused values of developing and maintaining relationships…