A principal's job is complex, demanding, and multi-faceted. Effective principals shape a school's academic vision and foster a climate for learning. In addition, they develop leadership capacity in teachers and staff, promote sound instructional practices, and use resources and data to drive school improvement (Mendels, 2012). Given these…

In teacher inquiry, the metaphor of stance is used to describe a positionality towards teaching that includes questioning classroom practices, engaging in cycles of continuous improvement, and generating knowledge. We expand the metaphor of stance to include a metaphor for complicated movements while maintaining balance -- dynamic structural…

The purpose of this investigation was to explore through a historical case study the ways in which one principal mentored and built capacity with a school-based cohort of teachers who became school leaders themselves in a variety of capacities. Findings reveal a generative female leader who embraced strong philosophical and theoretical foundations…

This article focuses on a development project led by the lead author in her primary school. Samantha's story provides insight related to the pedagogical focus of the project but importantly highlights the challenges and triumphs involved in the process of improving and changing practice in the school workplace. Two vital conditions of support for…

This study aimed to identify the relationship between teachers' distributed leadership and perceptions of schools as learning organizations. This study used correlational survey model and made use of correlations to determine the relationship between the two variables. Study population consisted of 600 teachers employed at secondary schools in the…

Following educational reform in Israel, teacher-leaders create and lead professional development communities (PDCs), which are professional learning communities with a focus on in-service professional development and/or improving pedagogical effectiveness. Interviews with 30 teacher-leaders and all four district-level program coordinators revealed…

This action guide provides school leadership teams with a resource for integrating the social, emotional and academic needs of young people into the daily student experience, from the time a bus driver greets a student until the end of the day. It supports the school leader and her/his team in mapping out an approach for integrating the social,…

The purpose of this study is to discover the experiences and supports that influenced the development of teaching effectiveness at different career stages of National University alumni who were identified as County Teachers of the Year in California. National University is the second largest private, nonprofit institution of higher learning in…

This article describes the first implementation of the Future Educators Learning Community, and particularly, the impact of three linked courses and instructor collaboration. With supporting literature and the context and background of this learning community as the foundation, our experiences are structured into three distinct categories:…

The author suggests that increasing diversity in the roles, demographics, and institutional homes of faculty is the most consequential factor bedeviling the leadership of the faculty enterprise and, therefore, any transformation of the academy. He believes that to overcome the pressures pulling the academy apart, presidents and provosts, governing…

Teachers are starting to rebel against passive, one-size-fits-all forms of professional development and form their own learning networks through online platforms, edcamps, and so on. But free-choice learning experiences don't foster a community of shared professional inquiry or learning in a school or district. Rodman describes how any school…

Learning leaders have important roles in facilitating and supporting the effective and innovative integration of technology in schools. Many leaders who are charged with the task of technology integration have not received professional development to support a leadership role. Many teachers who assume the role of technology leaders develop into…

This report explores the premise that there's nothing more powerful than great teachers skillfully using great instructional materials to motivate and engage students in their learning. Three real-world examples illustrate how schools and school systems are working to support teachers to skillfully use high-quality, standards-aligned curricula, by…

The effective teacher in the classroom is both the starting point and the engine of excellent and meaningful education. That is because excellent teachers are not only the single most important in-school factor in student learning, the best of them are the key factor in improving the instructional practices and strengthening the skills of their…

According to the author, for any change to occur in language arts, it must originate from a classroom need and have the support of "teacher leaders" who are able to carry it forward. Learning environments would cease to exist without a teacher leading the learning. The essence of the profession is leadership, yet many teachers do not see…