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…

The central aim of this paper is to undertake a critical review of arguments which propose that chess should be taught in schools and other educational settings. In particular, I offer an answer to the question: "Should chess be taught in early childhood?" Many claims have been made about the educational benefits of chess instruction. In…

School leaders play a central role in affecting the educational development of the young people for whom they have responsibility. This is especially the case where school leaders are operating in challenging low-income environments. This paper argues that a focus on Sen's notions of individual agency and freedom are a necessary but not a…

This article outlines an attempt at realizing mutuality between evaluation and action science in feedback within an aspiring principal leadership development programme in New Zealand. The evaluation was specifically designed to overcome the formative-summative divide through ongoing, often immediate, dialogue using an action science approach. The…

In school districts across the country, central office staff members are working to improve how they lead district-wide instructional improvement, but are finding few guides or supports for that work, what design researchers might call limited "designs" for their leadership. Superintendents frequently elevate school-based staff to…

Principal preparation around the development of reflective practices has traditionally focused on the individual reflective practices of principals. Recently, reflective discourse between principals and students has facilitated principals' understanding of student perspectives regarding school policies and processes. We explore the use of digital…

No textbook that an aspiring principal encounters in preparing for the role of school leader discusses what steps to follow when a member--or members--of the school staff challenge standards of professional judgment and moral rectitude. Instead, the most reliable guide at the principal's disposal may be the "moral compass" upon which the…

In this article we investigate educational leadership as a site of practice, utilising the notion of "practice architectures" as our lens. The latter shifts Etienne Wenger's more individualising notion of 'learning architectures' to a broader study of the systems and organisations that prefigure educational practices and potentially,…

Investigates the extent to which primary headteachers have become "chief executives" since introducing "market forces" to schooling. Contrasts heads as managers with a more holistic view of heads as leading professionals. To manage current reforms, heads are forced to adopt a managerial approach at the expense of more highly…

Discusses a new approach to studying the principalship that embodies a dialectic of biography and autobiography. The head (or principal) is not regarded as merely the subject of another's research but rather as a full partner within the research process. The article discusses the full partnership idea against the backdrop of Great Barr Grant…

The distinction between first-order and second-order research in action research is explored in the context of work on the Management for Organizational and Human Development (MOHD) project in Italy. Researchers worked with two groups of heads of primary schools in Italy to develop a path of reflection and research on their roles and functions and…

The Quality Schools Consortium is composed of approximately 140 elementary, middle, and high schools in North America. An action research project was conducted to develop and refine a survey instrument to determine the perceptions of principals in the Quality Schools consortium with regard to the interpretation and implementation of the Quality…

Offers insights gathered while supervising two school-based, action-research investigations. Conceptualizes reflective teaching and practitioner research. Analyzes why a loosely conceived investigation generated developments in staff expertise and curriculum innovation, while a more rigorous project attracted academic praise and dust. Debates…

This paper focuses on the work of a teacher whose school-based action research was awarded a Post Graduate Diploma. The paper attempts to show how the excitement of what is learned in a community of teacher researchers is transferred to classroom communities of students. The story is told by the teacher, her deputy principal, a student teacher,…

Describes action research that helped a school community recover from a music teacher's suicide. Summarizes an external counselor's advice to the principal and various stages of coping with trauma, dealing with loss, and negotiating a new stable state. Finds the principal central to the politics of grief. Explores an educative grief management…