Little is known about the role of local school boards in the policy-making process, particularly in terms of educational equity. Framed by concepts from existing scholarship on school board effectiveness, cultural responsiveness, and the opportunity gap, this article critically explores how school boards address policies and practices related to…

In this article, we draw upon notions of occupational professionalism and organizational professionalism to interrogate the complex, and sometimes contradictory, teacher learning practices that characterize educational policy enactment. We apply these understandings to the Growing Success assessment and evaluation policy in Ontario, Canada, and in…

The purpose of this study was to investigate New York State school superintendent job satisfaction and the potential contributing factors to their job satisfaction in an era of reduced resources and increased accountability. Sharp, Malone and Walter (2002) created a 49-item survey entitled the Positive Aspects and Motivation Survey and used it in…

Using a mixed methods approach this study explores characteristic spirit in the post-primary publicly managed sector as understood by teachers and key school personnel of Education and Training Board (ETB) schools and ETB staff. Prior to the Education Act (1998), characteristic spirit did not apply to the ETB sector, resulting in an absence of…

While state policymakers are ultimately responsible for public schools statewide, their influence over local school districts has always been incomplete at best. State chiefs, the ostensible leaders of state education agencies, have limited powers and local school boards ultimately control most of the money and staff. As a result, when state…

This paper aims to explore Academic Staff Governor (ASG) roles at three further education colleges in England. Uniquely, the research focuses on ASG activities, the understanding of ASG roles, and aspects of the role that can be reimagined, which may be of benefit to practising governors, particularly ASGs such as further education (FE) teacher…

Women superintendents have increased in number of positions held in the United States, but they are still underrepresented in the superintendent role. Women continue to be studied in their representation in the superintendent role. In this study, a content analysis was conducted of 51 U.S. dissertations relating to women superintendents located in…

Special education teachers' practice is influenced by an understanding of special education policy and knowledge of implementation practice. This study examined the perceptions of nine special education teachers related to their interpretation of assessment, progress monitoring, and transition mandates in a large urban district. Qualitative…

Public education has been transformed by the widespread adoption of accountability systems that involve the dissemination of school district performance information. Using data from Ohio, we examine if elections serve as one channel through which these accountability systems might lead to improvements in educational quality. We find little…

Parent-led boards of trustees have been a feature of the New Zealand education system for almost 30 years. Over that time there have been consistent reports of difficulties in getting parents to participate on the boards of low-decile schools. However, there appears to be little research on what influences parent participation on boards of…

A Pennsylvania high school newspaper published an editorial in Fall 2013 announcing its decision to cease using the name of the school's sports teams, Redskins. That decision prompted the local school board to institute a policy giving administrators more editorial control over the newspaper. The controversy resonated with U.S. professional…

The purpose of this study was to discover if food insecurity worsened in North American children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study explored the prevalence of social food programs during remote learning periods when the pandemic halted in-person learning. Through progressive theoretical sampling, I investigated American and Canadian newspaper…

Public teachers in Japan are subjected to a compulsory rotation system where the prefectural board of education governs their entire career paths. Past research has written of the macro- and micro-level impacts of rotation systems, including Japanese teacher rotation, but this paper, based on years of working in and observing Japanese schools, is…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of six women who navigated a pathway to the position of superintendent. The guiding research question was, how do women who lead suburban school districts of various sizes describe their trajectory to the position of superintendent? Themes that emerged from the…

Inquiry-based working contributes to teacher professionalization and educational improvements. This article presents the key findings of a qualitative case study carried out in three primary schools in the Netherlands. That study focused on the inquiry-based working of school boards, school leaders and teachers, with the goal of better…