Educational policy makers continue to promote non-instructional service consolidation as one method to reduce operating costs through "economies of scale". Unfortunately, there is essentially no empirical evidence on the size or source of cost savings associated with such measures. Using panel data from 2004-2010, this mixed methods…

Dobie and Hummel (2001) asserted that the school superintendency is the most male-dominated position within the field of education. According to a 1992 study, 72% of educators were women; however, only 13.2% of superintendents are women (Glass, 1992). The most recent survey by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) found that…

The article discusses a legislation that would effectively terminate Mexican American Studies programs in k-12 was passed in Arizona in 2010. In this article, the author traces how this legislation drew from discourses of anti-Americanism and wickedness initiated by the state's superintendent of public instruction against Mexican American Studies…

In the wake of the Common Core State Standards and teacher evaluation reform, school leaders increasingly look to district leaders for support, coaching, and leadership. District leaders--superintendents, assistant or area superintendents, specialists, principal supervisors, and school business administrators--can hold varying and multiple roles…

The 2010 National Educational Technology Plan argued that online communities of practice should be an integral component of the future of professional learning for educators. Building on at least two decades of existing scholarship, this report summarizes three years of exploratory research conducted by the Connected Educators project and…

This article is a follow-up to Mary Devin's report on the collaborative efforts required to create the "Kansas Educational Leadership Institute" in 2010. The Kansas Educational Leadership Institute (KELI) moved from planning to implementation on March 30, 2011, as a statewide systematic support system for the recruitment, development,…

Focused on the absence of a viable population of African American women in the superintendency, this study addressed barriers described by 10 credentialed, district-level Southern women who hold advanced education degrees coupled with years of leadership experience. This phenomenological study used interview methodology to uncover the lived…

In the World War II era, many United States educators recognised that the claims of racial superiority underlying German anti-Semitism and Japanese imperialism challenged the fundamental democratic idea of human equality that is the bedrock of US political ideals. At the same time, these educators realised the importance of national social…

This study examines the impact the California School Boards Association's (CSBA) Masters in Governance (MIG) training program has on effective school board governance practice. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between effective school boards and a commitment to seek and attend school board training. This…

The underrepresentation of women who are school superintendents is problematic, especially given the number of women who are classroom teachers and principals. This oral history study examines and describes how one African-American female superintendent, despite the conditions of racial and gender marginalization and oppression, attained her…

When it comes to reforming American education, today's would-be reformers only get it half right. On the one hand, they correctly argue that statutes, rules, regulations, and contracts make it difficult for schools and school system leaders to drive improvement and lead. On the other hand, they wrongly overlook the fact that school officials have…

This dissertation evaluated the implementation of professional learning communities in a large suburban school district in North Carolina. The presence of shared and supportive leadership, shared values and vision, collective learning and application, shared personal practice, supportive conditions for relationships, and supportive conditions for…

The roles and responsibilities of a superintendent may have a significant effect on school reform. The purpose of this study was to examine the roles and responsibilities of a transformational superintendent as viewed by district leaders. The superintendent's behaviors and their effects on principals, and key staff are unknown. This research…

The purpose of this study was to investigate, through narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000), the leadership evolution of five female superintendents in California with longevity of 5 or more years in their current school district positions. The research question addressed was, "How do California female superintendents evolve to…

Lack of trust is an issue in doing research with schools. A School-Based Research and Practice Network was established by the University of Pittsburgh to create a regional research agenda. Over the past two years, Network staff held meetings with school staff in 43 districts to determine specific research needs, interests, and concerns. The most…