Education in Ireland presents an idiosyncratic context. Study of this lends depth and insight to any international consideration of education, complex as this must be. This paper considers student teachers' perspectives and interpretations of leadership in primary (national) schools in Ireland. It focuses on the findings of research undertaken…

While such connection between an instructional leader and a vigorous teacher-leader team seems natural in the school with instructional effectiveness, the research evidence is surprisingly limited. To fill the gap, these factors are linked such that principals' effort on instruction will lead them to change the school's leadership structure by…

This paper charts the recent history of the STEM Learning UK contracts with local Science Learning Partnerships (SLPs) and identifies what leadership has been made available to support the Early Years and Primary school sector. A case study approach is taken using 'Super SLP' hubs in England. Curriculum Hubs exist in core subject areas such as…

In this multiple case study, the author analyzes the work of three elementary school teachers who served as instructional support specialists in reading, ESL, and gifted education.

This study explored K-4 teachers and school district curriculum leadership's understanding of and inclination to implement culturally relevant pedagogy as a framework for teaching reading, especially for African American students. This qualitative study sought the potential basis that teachers and educational leaders retain from their experiences…

This paper examines the experiences of four men working as Special Educational Needs Coordinators in primary schools in England. There is currently no published research that draws insights from the small population of male SENCos, nor that explores the gendered aspects of leading for inclusion. Set against recent SEN policy reform and a changing…

Educators in PK-12 schools were surveyed to seek their perceptions of colleagues who they considered informal teacher leaders, defined as leaders who were not appointed to a leadership role by a school or district administrator. The survey asked administrators, educational specialists, and teachers working in PK-12 schools across four states to…

Grounded in a close partnership between a university, school district, and non-profit organization, this 5-year mathematics professional development project involves 27 elementary teachers prepared and supported as Elementary Mathematics Specialists (EMSs). The project aims to develop EMSs who deliver ambitious mathematics instruction in their…

This article explores contextual factors that influenced teacher leadership behavior during the evolution of a dual language education program for elementary English-language learners. Teachers' narratives provide evidence of the relative strength of school leadership streams, that is, relationships, moral purpose, and commitment to action.…

The scholarly learning environment that characterizes the Mildred Avenue K-8 School, today seemed impossible five years ago, when the school was among the lowest performing in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. Between 2004 and 2013, the average tenure for a principal at the school was just 18 months, with five new principals arriving during those…

Purpose: This paper presents a study on how professional learning communities (PLC) are developed in an Asian setting, and the nature of leadership that helped to cultivate and sustain PLC in this setting. Research Method: The study adopted a sequential mixed method, starting with a survey followed by qualitative case studies, involving focused…

Despite the rhetoric, establishing effective home-school partnerships remains a puzzle for Turkish educators. Extant literature in Turkey provides some guidance, but these studies focus heavily on problematic cases and merely request educators' and parents' perceptions about existing problems. The current study focuses on an exemplary literacy…

Similarly to other Visegrád Group countries, the most recent curriculum reform in the Czech Republic brought substantial changes in the curriculum documents for schools. The purpose of this study is to investigate Czech primary and lower secondary teachers' current attitudes towards curriculum reform. The results of a survey (n = 701) indicate…

Pedagogical leaders are not always the leaders of pedagogy during pedagogical reform. In this paper, I argue that pedagogical reform can be enabled or constrained by pedagogical leadership. Pedagogical leadership and pedagogical reform require careful scrutiny within specific research contexts. Pedagogy itself has different meanings among…

This is the third special issue of "Primary Science," and it is one that offers primary school teachers an insight into an initiative that does wonders for primary science leadership, learning, and teaching -- the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM). In this article, Claire Burchell explains how the PSQM enabled her to make the…