This article presents perspectives on how principals in schools in northern Norway value the school reform "The Knowledge Promotion" and the new National Curriculum (LK06). It is based on a survey of all primary schools in the region of Finnmark and interviews with five of these principals one year later. The region of Finnmark in Norway…

In the 2006-07 school year, North Brunswick High School--a rural, racially and economically diverse high school in Leland, North Carolina--was identified as a priority school by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Overall student proficiency was at 48.6%, indicating that less than one-half of all students earned a score of…

As the American immigrant population continues to expand, immigrant children and children of immigrants are entering the public school system. To be most effective, new teaching pedagogies must take cultural diversity into account. "Cross-Cultural Considerations in the Education of Young Immigrant Learners" explores some of the…

Responding to the lack of clarity related to the defined role of the school counselor, the authors investigated school principals (n = 538), in a rural Midwest state, and their perceptions of the role of the school counselor. The survey utilized was developed based on professional standards of service delivery for professional school counselors as…

This study explores the types of principal mentoring/coaching programs delivered in Wyoming school districts, USA, and the areas of need perceived by principals at different levels of experience. Some formalized district principal mentorship programs existed in larger school districts but these mainly targeted beginning principals. Most of the…

Case studies of Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) in the Iowa project included four high schools that have been practicing this professional development model for the last five years. The schools, AHST Secondary School, Cedar Falls High School, Spencer High and Middle Schools and Valley High School were visited in April, 2011. The visits included…

A rural superintendent used action research principles in conducting a series of focus groups with community members, students, and staff. The focus group data informed strategic planning. At the end of a carefully designed process, district administrators found more agreement among residents than they had expected. Community members were grateful…

This article reports the results of an inquiry into the dynamics of principal selection in rural school districts in two mid-American states with high numbers of rural schools. The study focuses on two questions: (1) are rural school districts experiencing a shortage of qualified applicants for vacant principal's positions; and (2) what…

Since Herb Broda published Schoolyard-Enhanced Learning, his groundbreaking first book on outdoor learning, many schools across North America have embraced the benefits of "greening" their learning programs. Herb has visited dozens of these schools and nature centers, and he showcases the very best examples of schoolyard-enhanced…

The purpose of this study was to investigate secondary school principals' perceptions of multicultural education in a rural southeastern state. The researchers wanted to ascertain whether or not the race or gender of school principals have a role in how those principals view multicultural education in theory (its theoretical value). For the…

As members of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Task Force on Principal Preparation, the authors recently completed a study of the changing role of the secondary principal. One striking finding was that multiple roles and responsibilities leave today's principal feeling chronically harried and overworked. For…

The Central Region states have greater percentages of rural students and schools than the U.S. average. This report describes how nine teacher preparation programs in the region prepare their graduates for teaching positions in rural settings. The study found that, of 120 institutions in the Central Region that offer teacher preparation, only 17…

In this study, 206 teachers, 35 school board presidents, and 37 superintendents/principals (n = 278) were surveyed regarding their views of effective leadership behaviors demonstrated by school leaders with dual role responsibilities through serving as both a school principal and as a superintendent in small rural school districts. Data were…

This article explores the responses of school principals of small rural schools in Victoria, Australia to leadership challenges they identify as characteristic of these contexts. The research is an exercise in grounded theory building, with the focus on the principalship as it is enacted in small rural settings. The article also seeks to trace the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the job satisfaction of Iowa public school principals and contrast the job satisfaction to the perceptions six years previously. The population for the 1999 and 2005 study was a sample of principals from Iowa K-12 schools. The study revealed significant differences in overall job satisfaction, in gender of…