The role of school principal, often deemed crucial for school success, is under strain due to high stress levels, isolation, and demanding responsibilities, especially in high-poverty districts, leading to a significant turnover rate. This study employed a mixed methods approach, involving an electronic questionnaire completed by 156 principals,…

Universities rely on Department Chairs as faculty, middle managers, and leaders. Chairs' professional development, which includes leadership training, can help them build the efficacy to tackle the demanding tasks required by the role. However, Chairs typically receive little to no preparation. This convergent parallel mixed methods study found…

To influence student achievement and improve learning outcomes, building leaders are expected to exercise key elements of instructional leadership. School leaders experience barriers to engaging in efforts to increase teacher effectiveness and guide instructional improvement, due to the demands on their time as they balance the operational,…

There is a growing emphasis to improve every student's academic, social-emotional, and career and college development as schools strive to design and deliver comprehensive counseling programs that support students' development in these areas. The purpose of this study is to explore a large urban high school teachers' counselors and admins'…

Despite major changes to teacher evaluation since 2009, scant research examines how principals enact these policies. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 44 principals in 13 Connecticut districts, we use structure-agency theory to characterize how principals improvised when implementing the state evaluation model. We find that principals' use of…

The purpose of this qualitative narrative study was to examine the sources of stress experienced by urban high school principals and to explore the extent to which stress factors contribute to sustainable leadership practices. The study also sought to provide insight into what urban high school principals perceive as being most supportive and…

Weighted student funding (WSF) decentralizes control over resources and empowers principals as financial leaders of their schools. In this study, we set out to understand how principals are making use of those leadership opportunities. Based upon a 2017-18 survey of 639 principals in 14 school districts implementing WSF, we find that principals…

Despite growing momentum to overhaul teacher evaluation policies and practices, scant research examines how educators at the street level of such reform--principals and teachers--make sense of them, and almost no research examines the implications of current evaluation reforms for equity. This article provides findings based on a study of 14…

Purpose: Educator evaluation systems have recently undergone scrutiny and reform, and district and school leaders play a key role in interpreting and enacting these systems. This article uses framing theory to understand district leaders' interpretation and advancement of a state's new educator evaluation policy. Research Methods: The article…

The purpose for this study was to determine what is the relationship between the degree of trust that the principals of middle schools and high schools invest in each other and the comprehensiveness of their eighth-to-ninth grade transition programs. Data were gathered through the administration of a three-part survey designed to collect…

The purpose of this research was to determine building administrators' perceptions of their role in literacy reform and how their perceptions may influence policy. This investigation utilized a mixed-methods approach through a Likert-style survey instrument that contained opportunities for constructed responses which was developed by the…

Sixteen disability service providers from 2-year and 4-year public and private postsecondary institutions were divided into 2 focus groups, each with 8 participants. When asked to share their perspectives on the implementation of Universal Design for Instruction (UDI) on their campus, service providers described strengths and weaknesses of UDI,…