The term "kindergarten readiness" refers to a child's development of skills to effectively learn in a classroom setting, a school's ability to educate students at varying ability levels, and a community's available resources for preparing children to start school. Families living in rural communities, where early childhood education…

The purpose of this study was to examine the conceptualization, measure and impacts of school principals' sense of efficacy for instructional improvement. Based on social cognitive theory and prior research, we hypothesized that principals' sense of efficacy for instructional leadership would directly predict teachers' collective efficacy beliefs…

Each year, SC TEACHER publishes different workforce profiles, sharing details and demographics around South Carolina educators for a better understanding of our public school workforce. Among these publications, this report is the first to examine the state's school "administrator" workforce. The analysis in this report uses statewide…

The scarcity of teachers worldwide has led to educators teaching multiple subjects outside their area of expertise. This challenge of teaching out-of-field or multi-subject instruction raises the need for (re)constructing the identity of multi-subject generalist teachers (M-SGTs). However, the matter has received little attention in current…

Concerns about a strong positive correlation between leadership and student success (Wood et al., 2013) coupled with community input around hiring from outside an organization, as opposed to hiring from within, contributes to the complexity of filling superintendent vacancies The limited research available on this issue is amplified due to the…

School and educator responses to the immigration policy environment may depend on what educators know about who is in their school community. This paper examines whether and how educators in a rural Midwestern community recognize undocumented and mixed-legal status students in their school community. We utilize concepts from recognition theory to…

The main reason for the research significance is misconceptions arising in the field when implementing Sekolah Penggerak Program, which started in 2021. Thus, the objectives of this study are to describe programs for enhancing exceptional human resources, and to explore the Kurikulum Operasional Satuan Pendidikan (Education Unit Operational…

School districts across the country are experiencing a mass exodus of teachers and administrators while those who stay struggle to maintain the level of productivity needed to lead our schools and ensure a high-quality education for our nation's students (DeMatthews et. al., 2021; Peters-Hawkins et.al., 2018; Superville, 2020). Black women, in…

Servant leadership is a central focus of organizations in and outside of public education. This leadership philosophy is centered on the idea that a leader serves his or her stakeholders. While service in leadership is not a new phenomenon, it has gained acceptance in many areas of research and practice within public schools as a measure of both…

Expectations for reading achievement in the state of Iowa require all students to be proficient by the end of third grade (ELI, 2012). This requires both teachers and principals serving elementary schools to improve reading achievement. Although teachers are proven to have the most immediate impact on student achievement, it is principals'…

Purpose: This study builds on research scrutinizing school autonomy in policy and school governance by shifting the focus from a formal structural view of autonomy to examining how principals negotiate autonomy in their daily work. Drawing on multiple dimensions of autonomy and street-level bureaucracy, this study examined how principals, as both…

Students who develop proficient reading skills are more likely to experience positive outcomes both in and beyond the school setting. If students start developing strong literacy skills at a young age, they are more likely to perform well in school and achieve academic success. Despite ongoing efforts to support students' development of reading…

Identifying an appropriate class size is an important decision public schools face as they weigh balancing their budget with the impact class size may have on student achievement. This study examined perceptions of South Dakota kindergarten through third-grade teachers, elementary principals, and superintendents concerning optimal class size and…

Effective K-12 leaders remain a central concern for schools and communities of all types. The purpose of this research is to examine critically the literature on issues facing leaders in rural and urban settings and present a synthesis of cross-cutting themes. The authors reviewed the theoretical and empirical literature on K-12 leadership issues…

This article examined the extent to which administrative decisions that affected the implementation fidelity of Direct Instruction programs were related to student achievement. Data from three studies showed that administrative decisions that disregarded recommended protocols regarding teacher training, teacher preparation, and student schedules…