Self-efficacy significantly influences the success of school leaders in managing the school environment, offering instructional programs, and working morally with the community. In this study, I addressed the following questions: What are school leaders' self-efficacy and its various components of management, instructional, and moral leadership?…

The case study contained within this dissertation is a part of the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP). The aim of this project has been to examine successful school principalship in Alabama through in-depth analysis of qualitative interview data. The primary focus of the study is the nature of school…

To examine support for comprehensive counseling program implementation, we explored principals' and school counselors' perceptions and experiences from programs awarded the Alabama School Counseling Program of Distinction. A mixed-methods explanatory sequential design was employed. We found substantial agreement and no statistically significant…

Among all in-school factors that impact student learning, teachers carry the most weight -- but school leaders are not far behind. Decades of research have proven the positive influence principals can have on student achievement, school climate and teaching quality. New evidence suggests that their impact may be even greater than previously…

Adolescents experience challenges navigating psychological, physiological, and emotional transformations. This article contributes to research into how middle school and high school environments can reinforce the needs of students through the transition from middle school to high school. In this grounded theory study, we interviewed 11…

This study investigated the structured mentoring program provided to novice superintendents by the SSA (School Superintendents of Alabama). This study examined new African American superintendents' perceptions of the facilitating factors and barriers that influenced the success of the program and the benefits in terms of attaining district goals…

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to examine how the interorganizational relationship between school administrators and law enforcement personnel with diverse cultures, missions, and objectives collaborates to create, implement, and sustain emergency management readiness. The theoretical concept that guided this study…

This quantitative research study examined the characteristics and experiences that are significant in contributing to secondary assistant principals' perceptions of readiness to serve as instructional leaders. Secondary assistant principals were the only group used in this study. Very little can be found in the literature pertaining to assistant…

Oliver Cromwell Carmichael, the University of Alabama's 19th president, was president during a time of controversy. A native of Alabama, President Carmichael was aware that segregation was a deep-rooted tradition in the South, and, having worked in New York, he was aware of the progressive liberal ways of the North. President Carmichael found…

The assistant principalship is a vital and necessary pathway to the principalship. There are more demands for the principal to be the change agent for a school system and there is great concern about the quality of preparation for assistant principals who may become the future principals of the school. Taylor and Martin (2007) suggest that…

Community college sports teams don't play in nationally televised bowl games or championship tournaments that inspire betting pools in offices across America, but athletic teams at community colleges, especially those in rural areas, play a vital role in attracting a cohort of students who are culturally diverse. This article discusses the…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify the characteristics and experiences of elementary assistant principals that contributed to their perceptions of readiness to serve as instructional leaders. Data were collected from survey responses of 118 elementary assistant principals across the state of Alabama. Six key findings were: (1)…

The purpose of this reflective essay is to encourage the discussion of community-engaged scholarship (CES) that does not progress as planned. Insufficient attention is given to lessons gleaned from missteps and outright failures experienced by scholars in the field, which results in a paucity of documented cases and recommendations for…

The reliance on alternative teacher certification to address teacher quality and quantity is an educational issue worthy of study because non-traditionally prepared teachers fill the nation's classrooms. This qualitative case study explored the experiences of secondary education teachers with no preservice training who earned a professional…

This article reports findings from a study investigating the capacity of assistant principals to be instructional leaders. Analyses of survey responses yielded four interesting findings: (a) years of experience as a teacher and age had no significance on assistant principals' perceived readiness as an instructional leader; (b) those completing…