Purpose: This study explores the community-building practices of a school leader at a middle/high school in a Latino/a and African American community. I analyze how the principal leveraged his immigrant identity and experiences to connect with immigrant families and adapt to their needs to form a sense of belonging in the school and neighborhood.…

The culture of a school influences how people think, feel, and act -- whether that be expressed as positive or negative behavior (Barth, 2002; Peterson, 2002). Research shows that teachers are more inspired to instruct and students are more motivated to learn in schools that foster a positive culture (Barth, 2002). Conversely, schools with…

With this study, it was tried to reveal which leadership characteristics of school principals are effective in ensuring and increasing students' academic, cultural and sportive school success and the effects of these characteristics on student development. There are many factors and reasons for students to be successful not only in the academic…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore high school principals' perceptions of how a supportive environment, strong family-community ties, and trust assist educational leaders in improving the culture within their schools. Participants of this study included 15 high school principals in the New York City Department of…

Principals have traditionally served as the instructional leader in a school, significantly impacting school culture and effectiveness. Despite this importance, little work has been conducted to examine how administrators view and impact school-based agricultural education programs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how the…

Career and technical education (CTE) prepares disadvantaged students for employment or secondary education. The problem addressed by this study was that many African American high school students are not enrolling in CTE despite efforts to prioritize historically underserved students. A qualitative exploratory case study was used to address this…

This qualitative study explores school principals' perceptions and enactments of shared sense-making processes during a generally-outlined pedagogical reform, i.e. "a broad-policy reform allowing educators to exercise their discretion in meeting its pedagogical goals," aiming to inquire what makes such processes critical to schools'…

The purpose of this study was to contribute to the body of literature regarding decisions school leaders make when developing strategic plans to improve student outcomes. This study investigated whether there is a significant relationship between school climate and graduation rates for public high schools in the state of Georgia when controlling…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide concrete examples of what leadership behaviors and strategies look like in high-poverty urban schools in Chicago that are successful at improving student outcomes. The authors compared the strategies used by principals who were rated by their teachers on annual surveys as being strong instructional…

Non-rural students are repeatedly outpacing rural students in postsecondary enrollment rates. Lower enrollment and college completion rates among rural populations can often be problematic for many communities whose economies depend upon an educated workforce to increase the demand for economic growth. One of the problems of low college enrollment…

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine the impact on the leadership style of high school administrators as they navigated the move to distance learning due to school closures because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study results are based on interviews with four school administrators, lead counselor, and one teacher leader. The…

Students with disabilities are entitled to attend a school of their choice. In order for the rights of students with disabilities to be honored during the high school choice process, principals must create school structures and systems that are alignment to federal policies to lead in the best interest of students. This mixed methods, qualitative…

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…

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore effective methods for student engagement and the overall impact student voice had on student achievement and school culture within the secondary (9-12) educational setting. The researchers sought to identify methods of student engagement to facilitate student voice and determine if…

Securing attendance is challenging at rural high schools with a high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic states (low-SES) households. Best practices of principals to achieve high annual attendance rates (> 90%) were studied. Interviews were held with principals from 8 of 12 high schools across rural West Virginia that met the…