Collective responsibility means that teachers work in cooperation and collaboration, act, and solve problems together. When teachers act together, they can be more productive. Urban schools' principals prefer activity and project-based approaches in order to better integrate students into urban life, and for this, they work to ensure that teachers…

This applied dissertation was designed to increase the understanding of novice principals' perceptions of mentoring to support and improve the professional abilities of new principals. Although the advantages of principal mentoring are acknowledged, it is not widespread. There is a dearth of literature discussing the perspectives of mentees on…

Despite rich and growing school choice and school marketing literatures, little is known about if and how principals of zoned public elementary schools engage in marketing. We address this gap by drawing on in-depth interviews with principals of nine schools--in different neighborhoods--in the Baltimore school district. We find that principals…

In Barbados, there has been an increase in violence and disruptive behavior among students at urban secondary schools. The problem is that some Barbadian urban secondary principals struggle to implement the Schools' Positive Behavior Management Program (SPBMP), while other principals successfully reduce disruptive behaviors. This basic qualitative…

The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine how mentoring support systems, race and gender intersectional challenges shape the pathway for five African-American women principals in a South Texas urban school district. The researcher used a semi-structured interview question protocol, audio-recorded, and professionally transcribed…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how alternatively certified teachers who teach upper elementary in urban public schools describe the support needed in the teacher learning process to develop and retain alternatively certified teachers in the western United States. It was not known how alternatively certified…

Principals' instructional leadership has been the focus of research for decades. Research shows that principals' impact on student achievement is second only to teachers (Grissom et al., 2021; Herman et al., 2017). Student literacy achievement concerns that continue trending nationwide, and specifically in North Carolina, indicate the need for…

Principals' roles have been transformed from solely managerial and now include instructional leadership. Principals were formerly responsible for hiring teachers, communicating the vision and mission for the school, and overseeing the daily operations. Currently, the primary focus of school principals is student achievement for all students. The…

This dissertation presents a phenomenological qualitative study that examines the lived experiences of six Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Directors representing county, urban, and suburban school districts. The study aims to explore the perspectives, challenges, and strategies of SEL Directors in implementing SEL programs district-wide. The…

The study was applied in the context of scholarly literature guided by the framework of social cognitive theory (SCT) to examine the role of urban elementary school administrators in school programming to support students with exceptionalities. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of an administrator in a teacher's ability to support…

This qualitative study examines leadership challenges and lessons learned from 27 months of crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic as described by educational leaders in an urban public school district. Interviews were conducted with sixteen public school administrators: the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Principals, Assistant Principals…

Schools are complex and dynamic systems that require innovative leaders who are willing to invest in classroom teachers by giving them opportunities to lead beyond the four walls of the classroom. Because principals play an integral role in the academic achievement of students in their schools, it is incumbent upon principals to invest in teacher…

Literacy disparity is a widespread problem for schools across the country. Children with reading difficulties are present in every school in the United States. Although literacy is the foundation of all academics, many students lag behind regardless of their socioeconomic, racial, or gender status. There is mounting pressure on schools to produce…

While the demands of teaching continue to escalate, teacher development has changed relatively little over time, leaving many of today's teachers feeling underprepared, overwhelmed, or demoralized with few opportunities to make real change. Teacher leadership holds promise for both addressing challenges within schools and empowering teachers.…

Over the past decade, there has been an increase of 1:1 laptop schools across the United States. Yet, minimal research exists which examines the experiences of school site administrators as they lead the implementation of a 1:1 laptop school initiative. This case study investigated the roles of principals and assistant principals leading 1:1…