This study investigates the impact of principals' instructional leadership practices on secondary school teachers' effectiveness in the North Central Geo-Political Zone of Nigeria. To answer the research question of the study, the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) and the Virgilio Teacher Behaviour Inventory (VTBI) were…

Over the past decade, there has been an increase of 1:1 laptop schools across the United States. Yet, minimal research exists which examines the experiences of school site administrators as they lead the implementation of a 1:1 laptop school initiative. This case study investigated the roles of principals and assistant principals leading 1:1…

This article deepens the knowledge of practices within school cultures and their dynamics in relation to improvement work. It investigates: Which practices can be identified in school improvement among principals at upper secondary school level? How are these practices shaped? How do they promote or prevent the improvement work of the principals?…

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'…

This article focuses on the importance of school leaders' commitment to socialising newly qualified teachers (NQTs) into the teaching profession. Framed by a social constructivist perspective, the article is based on four challenges novice teachers face as described by four school leaders. The aim is to illuminate how school leaders have…

Principals are being encouraged to distribute leadership to increase schools' organizational capacities, and enhance student growth and learning. Extant research on distributed leadership practices provides an emerging basis for adopting such approaches. Yet, relatively less attention has been paid to examining the principal's role in fostering…

This article explores leadership of place in the context of three urban middle schools in Morocco. School reform means that principals are changing from agents of authority to leaders with school improvement responsibilities. This shift in mission can be stressful for principals who are called to lead, but are often constrained by bureaucratic and…

A discrepancy exists between the ideal and the actual roles played by vice-principals (VPs). This gap between roles influences the level of job satisfaction, which, in turn, affects their desire for a principalship. This study used a questionnaire survey of about 300 Hong Kong VPs to examine the core responsibility dimensions pertaining to their…

The study of leadership in schools today tends to be dominated by a paradigm obsessed with the recent, the relevant, and the principal. Drawing on past and recent reviews of the literature on middle leaders in secondary schools in the UK, eight key criticisms of the field are identified and a case made for an inclusive view to knowledge in which a…

This qualitative study examined boundary spanning leadership in community-based contexts. The study focused on exceptional leaders of university-school-community partnerships in two urban regions of the USA. The findings indicate that boundary spanners are aided by contextual knowledge, interpersonal skills, trust and connectedness, but they also…

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether Exemplary, Recognized and Acceptable schools differ in their school climates, as measured by the 10 dimensions of the Organizational Health Inventory. Significant differences were found on all 10 dimensions of the Organizational Health Inventory, with Exemplary schools out-performing Acceptable…

This article examines the roles of deputy principals (assistant principals, deputy heads) in secondary schools and thus contributes to an under-researched area often overlooked in discussions about school leadership. Typically, these discussions have focussed on the principalship alone. Data were collected from deputy principals in one large…