The current education system is failing our children. Yet the system shifts the blame as well as the search for possible solutions to teachers and learners, avoiding responsibility for its role in the existing oppressive structures. In turn, it fails to address the needs of a vastly diverse student population. This article looks at the development…

This qualitative phenomenological study examines the leadership development activities of Illinois community college presidents and sought to understand not only how presidents prepare for their leadership roles, but what challenges presidents are currently facing, what advice they have for emerging leaders about effective leadership practices,…

The field of early childhood education and care (ECEC) has an educator retention problem (NAEYC, 2021). While the field's administrator retention crisis is less publicized, it is arguably no less important. Administrators are the gatekeepers to program quality and the linchpin for an array of program functions that impact staff satisfaction and…

Purpose: If PK12 administrators aspire to interrupt bias-based bullying, they need to understand their role in perpetuating structural and social inequality. The purpose of this study was to examine administrators': 1) awareness of gender-based bullying, 2) initial intentions to address bullying, and 3) actions that interrupted or perpetuated…

Interfaith America's 2023 Landscape Analysis explores the purpose, range of desired outcomes, promising models, challenges, and opportunities of bridgebuilding efforts across U.S. higher education. This article articulates the importance of bridgebuilding for the sector and summarizes key findings from the Landscape Analysis. It highlights…

The role of the school leader continues to evolve. As the roles of principals and superintendents become more complex and demanding, there is a necessity to explore the perceptions of Illinois public school principals, superintendents, and Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools (IARSS) regional superintendents on the need for…

To best train and support school leaders in their evolving roles, they require high-quality preparation and in-service pipelines that both address the changing demands on their positions and acknowledge the cascading effects that well-prepared leaders have on both student outcomes and in school culture and retention. Including school leaders in…

This narrative study explores the leadership life stories of five women serving as community college presidents in Illinois. The purpose of this study is to explore women's experiences in leadership skill and identity development on the way to becoming community college presidents. Hearing the women share their leadership life stories directly…

Partners to Lead (PtL) is a school leadership professional development (PD) project funded by a 5-year Education Innovation and Research grant and implemented by the DuPage, Illinois, Regional Office of Education (ROE) in 37 public elementary, middle, and high schools in four Illinois ROEs. The American Institutes for Research® (AIR®), the…

School leaders enrolled in CPED-influenced and practitioner focused doctoral programs require specific research-based skills and knowledge that bridge both educational scholarship and practice in order to be relevant for both their dissertation process and school practice. In doing so, these doctorate in education (EdD) programs must critically…

Within special education policy and practice, parents are expected to advocate for their children to receive appropriate special education and related services. However, the majority of parents report feeling disempowered to advocate; families from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds may feel especially disempowered. Federally…

The high stakes testing and school accountability movement are steadily increasing at a staggering pace. Improving student outcomes through standards-based reform has become an ever growing and urgent focus for school leadership. The continued study of leadership within the context of our educational systems remains an area to study as it…

This descriptive study explored how community colleges are teaching leadership in technical programs. Leadership education curricular offerings were identified via a survey and selected programs reviewed. 68 Deans, Directors, or Chairpersons of a Business, Management, or Technology program completed the survey, representing 61 community colleges.…

Leadership education must evolve to keep pace with the growing recognition that effective leadership happens in a complex environment and is as much a systemic variable as a personal one. As part of a program review process, a graduate leadership program at a private Midwestern university conducted a qualitative review of 18 online graduate…

Numerous studies have provided evidence that interracial interaction can contribute to the development of leadership skills and behaviors for university students. Yet, little empirical research has been dedicated to understanding the effects of structural (compositional) racial diversity within leadership programs on program participant outcomes.…