This study examines the work of US school principals from the perspective of their workday using a distributed perspective to frame the investigation. Using data on 38 school principals in one mid-sized urban school district in the US, it describes school principals' work practices, examining both the "focus" of that work and…

This article examines the significance of materiality for management and leadership in education using resources provided by actor-network theory (ANT). Espousing the idea that human interactions are mediated by material objects and that these objects participate in the production of practices, ANT affords thinking management and leadership in a…

This paper will look more closely at how educational organizations function with respect to its goals and mission statement, and those theories surrounding their effectiveness.

The corporate approaches introduced in the late 1980s and now prevalent in universities in Australia have led to irrevocable changes in the way universities are managed and academics work. The management approaches widely applied in Australian universities are largely based on a top-down corporate management model, with central control over policy…

How do student teachers gain confidence in their teaching abilities as part of their school-based practicum experience while increasing their self-efficacy from the successes of their practicum? To understand this question better, we explored preservice teachers' post-practicum accounts of experiences of success in relation to efficacy (Bandura,…

In this mixed-methods study, we examine the degree to which district- and building-level administrators accommodate teacher-quality and test-based accountability policies in their hiring practices. We find that administrators negotiated local hiring goals with characteristics emphasized by federal and state teacher-quality policies, such as…

This report presents selected findings from the Public School Principal and Private School Principal Data Files of the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). SASS is a nationally representative sample survey of public and private K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. School districts associated…

There is great interest in educational leadership in the early part of the twenty-first century. This is because of the widespread belief that the quality of leadership makes a significant difference to school and student outcomes. In many parts of the world, including both developed and developing countries, there is increasing recognition that…

This case was written for use in courses dealing with school administration, specifically those related to organizational change, school improvement/turnaround, and the principalship. It explores a veteran principal's first year as a "turnaround specialist" in a low-performing middle school, where she works with a sense of urgency to achieve an…

This paper explores some of the reasons that primary head teachers in urban schools give for staying in a highly complex and demanding professional occupation. The paper is divided into two sections. The first section contains an overview of what is involved in primary headship in the English setting and what is distinctive in the urban setting…

In recent years, governors, chief state school officers, business leaders, and college faculty have grown increasingly concerned that American students are not adequately prepared either for college or for the workforce. Governors and chief state school officers understood that the changing economy and persistent achievement gaps required a…

Central Falls is, by far, the poorest community in Rhode Island. More than 40 percent of the children under 18 live in poverty, and 40 percent of that group live in severe poverty. At Central Falls High School, low-income Latino students have fallen behind their white counterparts, with shockingly low graduation, poor literacy, and low…

This report synthesizes what has been learned about how leaders in urban systems focus their leadership on the improvement of learning, and what it takes to support their leadership in these settings. The report brings together findings from three sub-study strands, concerned with efforts in seven urban districts to: a) invest staffing and other…

Chief academic officers (CAOs) of independent colleges and universities are the principal leaders and managers of the academic programs of the institutions they serve. The core functions of higher education--teaching students, conducting scholarly research, and service to the academic community--usually fall under their purview. Despite these…

Principal preparation programs in colleges throughout the country are being initiated and redesigned using diverse models and approaches. Creating change in any organization requires the involvement and support of supervisory personnel in leadership positions. Thus, although supervisory roles in colleges and universities tend to be less direct…