This paper reports the results of a study that examined the ways a group of department heads in Ontario, Canada, describe their role. Despite their ubiquity and importance, department heads have been seldom investigated in the educational leadership literature. The study uses the metaphor as an analytic tool to examine the ways participants talked…

School principals deal with a variety of increasingly complex responsibilities (Trudeau, 2013). They must therefore develop and hone professional competencies that will enable them to effectively perform their pedagogical, organizational, relational, or administrative duties (Barber, Whelan & Clark., 2010; Bisaillon et al., 2009;…

Universities in most countries have become more managerial, but in different ways, for different reasons, and with different results. This article explores the collegial and managerial roles and qualifications of Canadian university deans. The study analysed 223 job advertisements published between 2011 and 2015. The analysis distinguishes between…

For teachers seeking formal school leadership roles the key choices have been either the vice- principalship or the principalship. In Ontario, Canada, however, the principalship has traditionally been considered the premier leadership goal with the vice-principalship regarded as merely a necessary transitional step toward achieving the…

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the scant Canadian research regarding concrete social justice leadership practices. The critical, qualitative case study discussed examined the following question: "What strategies or practices do principals develop and engage in to do their social justice work in schools?" A description of…

This research examined Grade 6-10 Ontario Certified Teachers' (n = 24) perceptions of assistive technology (AT) and the factors correlated with perceived usefulness of AT. A mixed methods design that included a survey consisting of open- and closed-ended items elicited information about teachers' AT knowledge and training, their basic computer…

To optimise school-based service delivery for students with disabilities, it is important to understand roles and needs of school staff. This study aimed to clarify ideal and actual roles of school staff (teachers, special educators, administrators) working with students with special needs, and to identify potential strategies to support actual…

This qualitative investigation addresses three "new universities" in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta and their presidents' ascriptions of organizational identity to their universities. Through extended, semi-structured interviews and narrative analysis, this investigation uses organizational identity theory and…

Alternative high schools may be a better fit for many students than traditional high schools, but this group transitions to post-secondary studies at a significantly lower rate than do traditional school students. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the practices of alternative high school principals of British Columbia,…

The integration of technology into classrooms at all levels of education is ubiquitous, however, some educators are experiencing challenges in implementing technology into their instruction. This study sought to identify ways to support Kindergarten educators (teachers and Early Childhood Educators [ECEs]) to enhance reading instruction with…

This study explores how school principals perceive subversiveness and how they exercise subversion to transform policies, regulations and practices that they believe are counterproductive. This qualitative research employed semi-structured interviews with 18 elementary and secondary school principals in Metro Vancouver. Role theory was used to…

Children and youth with mental disorders require support from multiple service providers, and therefore intersectoral collaboration is required. Community schools, as accessible hubs, with broad-based partnerships, may provide the conditions that foster much needed intersectoral collaboration for this population of students. In order to examine…

This case examines a rural teaching principal in a small K-12 school in a prairie province. The case examines the work intensification of Mrs. Hayes, whose school has been affected by reductions in student enrolment, staffing, and administrative time. Overwhelmed by myriad responsibilities, the principal feels inadequate as both a teacher and a…

This paper reports on the ways in which teaching principals in rural schools in Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, Canada enact instructional leadership within the five leadership domains conceptualized by Robinson, Lloyd, and Rowe (2008). Although participants suggested that they were "not where they wanted to be" in their efforts to…

A three-year collaborative research project in a K-6 elementary school is underway. The collaboration entails participating educators and their students exploring curricular enactment that embraces critical and creative thinking within its conduct. This article reveals whole-school efforts over Year One to build educators' and students' confidence…