Principals need support throughout their careers in order to lead effectively and promote continuous improvement. However, some elementary school principals of small, rural schools lack access to structured systems of support that could increase their knowledge and skills as instructional leaders. The purpose of this study was to examine a central…

Rural America is rapidly becoming more diverse, yet rural communities remain different from their urban and suburban counterparts. Despite several decades of economic hardship in rural areas, rural schools are under researched by scholars and under prioritized by policymakers. Therefore, this study was designed to better understand how school and…

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine rural high school teacher leader perceptions of roles, characteristics, and skills as well as identifying the various motivations these teacher leaders have for assuming teaching and leadership roles in rural schools. Specifically, the study explores the perceptions of teachers and…

A survey of rural Washington school board presidents posed conflict scenarios and asked the presidents to choose one of five possible recommendations for resolving the conflict. Recommendations corresponded to five power bases used by people in leadership positions. Results showed that power base preferences varied significantly among school board…

The federal Experimental Schools (ES) project was not successful in the rural school district of Quilcene, Washington. The ES project was not helped by the pervasive and powerful social split between "public employees" and "locals." Each group had its own world-views, values, symbols, and life styles, and the school provided an…