Women are underrepresented in the superintendency of public schools. They are also underrepresented in the research about superintendents. Researchers report that male superintendents have been studied in terms of demographic makeup, stresses, career paths, leadership traits, and other indicators of success. Only in recent years has there been a…

The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study is to explore how assistant principals describe their choices regarding survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun regarding whether to seek promotion to principal in southern Arizona. A principal shortage exists in the United States in part because assistant principals qualified to be…

Purpose: In recent years, a new wave of teacher-led political action has erupted resulting in work stoppages in several states across the United States. This study examines how superintendents navigated this Red for Ed movement in two representative states. Methods: Framed as a multisite, embedded case study, we drew from public documents and…

Novice public-school principals face tremendous external pressures (e.g., high-stakes accountability, market forces, legitimization) and internal pressures (e.g., identity (re)construction, identity verification, authenticity) in the enactment of their role as a novice principal. These pressures converge in the dissonance of competing values,…

The 21st century public school principal is faced with complex challenges and issues as would be expected to befall a key influencer of student success. Among others, these challenges include accountability demonstrated through high stakes testing, data-driven decision making, effectively incorporating innovative technology, recruiting and…