Despite increasing attention to the importance of caring in education, most research on caring in schools focuses on narrow dyadic relationships between individuals. The present study explores the processes used by school leaders as they strive to generate a culture of caring in schools. We find that leaders influence caring through the way in…

This study explores school district leaders' strategies for managing the intersecting challenges of ambiguity, befuddlement, and contestation produced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on interview data from district leaders in the United States, the analysis is framed in existing research regarding how public administrators navigate competing…

Schools are characterized by nearly constant internal and external demands to change, grow, and improve. Past research has found that the way educators "make sense" of what they are being asked to do bears on the effectiveness of reforms and the way changes are implemented in practice. Much of this past work takes a cognitive approach to…

Educators' efforts at fostering social and emotional learning are grounded in, and closely related to caring: a belief that developing social and emotional skills will help students to flourish both personally and academically. Yet, research has shown that many middle grades students do not feel cared for in school and find educators' efforts at…