This article nuances an ongoing discussion among researchers about external researchers in emancipatory action research in the educational field. It examines opportunities and challenges for emancipatory action research for participants in top-down and bottom-up initiated action research projects with external researchers. An analysis based on…

Purpose: This study explores the achievements and process of a group of Chinese primary school teachers learning from a research-based school-university collaborative project. Design/Approach/Methods: We used qualitative methods to construct our research design, collecting data through participatory observations of weekly meetings, teacher…

"Using Data for Continuous Improvement in Educator Preparation" provides case studies that illuminate and contextualize the ways in which educator preparation programs determine the data they need to improve, collect data, analyze data, share data with stakeholders, and close the loop by making focused improvements based on the data.…

This report focuses on how four high-performing systems of education designed and deliver high-quality leadership development programs for aspiring principals. While these systems have a strategic, system-wide approach that positions programs within the broader continuum of leadership development, this report focuses on programs that prepare…

This paper presents a comparative analysis of two high schools, one in the Arab Education system in Israel and the other in the English Education system in Europe. The comparative analysis focuses on two principals' perspectives of how they led their schools, in partnership with the authors from Higher Education Institutions, by implementing a…

This case study examined action research conducted by bilingual education teachers in urban schools as a tool for progressing from novice-to-expert teachers. We described a longitudinal study across four cohorts of first-year bilingual education teachers as action researchers (n = 9). The study investigated the following: (1) how school leaders…

Principal leadership has been identified as the key to successful implementation of inclusive education for students with disabilities. Prospective principals require knowledge, skills, and dispositions to equip them to work with key stakeholders to initiate and sustain inclusive practices within their schools. The purpose of this action research…

Leading, facilitating, and making decisions is central to school leadership positions. Decision-making simulations provide graduate students a vehicle for increasing their practice and fine-tuning leadership skills with guided support from college faculty. This action research study uses a case study method to reveal the perspectives of school…

This paper presents a new model of leadership that can improve the knowledge and skills needed by school leaders who undertake Masters of Business and Masters of Education. The model is called PIVOTAL which stands for Partnerships, Innovation and Vitality--Opportunities for Thriving Academic Leadership. The model is compared and contrasted with…

This paper draws upon empirical research to provide insights into current teacher learning practices under broader neoliberal conditions, and how the latter might be resisted. The paper contrasts neoliberal approaches to teachers' learning with the Nordic tradition of educational action research and "Bildung" as alternative resources to…

This paper introduces the use of action research to examine the content and outcomes of university-based leadership preparation programs. Using examples drawn from an ongoing action research project with candidates in a master's level principal preparation program, we demonstrate how the collection and analysis of candidate's written reflections,…

The contemporary challenges facing Catholic schools and Catholic school leaders are widely known. Effective and systemic solutions to these mounting challenges are less widely known or discussed. This article highlights the skills, knowledge, and dispositions associated with mission driven and data informed leadership--an orientation to school…

"One of the most persistent findings from research on school improvement is, in fact, the symbiotic relationship between professional development and school improvement efforts" (Hawley & Valli, 1999, p. 129). These researchers, and others in the field, argue that there must be a direct relationship between the professional…

This paper focuses on group coaching, one of the newer school leadership development approaches to recently emerge. Using a group-coaching methodology developed at the University of Oslo, we deconstruct the concept of leadership identity as it is reported in texts from students in the National Principal Programme. We suggest that leaders develop…

This study proposes participatory action research as a signature pedagogy for principal preparation programs. Signature pedagogies bring professional knowledge and core values together in distinctive teaching and learning arrangements. A rationale and learning results are presented that describe key components of action research intended to help…