This qualitative study explored whether novice principals believed their principal development program had adequately prepared them for high-performance ratings on the principal evaluation rubric. Over the past two decades, legislation has stressed that student achievement is an essential component of leadership effectiveness (Pannell &…

In this qualitative study, researchers used critical race theory to examine the experiences of social studies standards committee members in 18 states and the District of Columbia. They found that while many participants articulated goals of increasing the teaching of race and racism in their state's social studies standards, at least in part,…

The Principal is arguably the most influential person on a school campus. If a unified school district employs principals, they have a centralized support system to assist them in their quest to advance the community they serve. This work uses a phenomenological approach to investigate the perception principals have towards the support systems in…

Across the United States, school districts are reshaping the role of principal supervisors to include supervision practices intended to enhance the instructional and leadership skills of the principals they supervise. The purpose of this research study is to add to the existing body of research involving the predominant practices that principal…

This qualitative study seeks to illuminate the leadership stories of classified staff who participated in prototype leadership development courses in a Southern California school district. Interviews with eight participants revealed that leadership development impacts classified employees' perceptions of leadership, but few support staff members…

Over the past 2 decades, worldwide research has established that the district office of education matters. Various policy initiatives are directing district offices to shift from limited managerial functions and begin to directly support learner instruction. The intention of this article, therefore, was to tease the question: How do school…

This multiple case study explored the relationship between school district and school site environments and the character of instructional coaching. Across the US billions of dollars are spent every year on professional development for teachers, and over the last few decades, coaching, as a form of professional development, has grown in…

Research on school districts has repeatedly found that focusing on student learning and instructional leadership is a key component to effectiveness (Murphy & Hallinger, 1988; Leithwood, 2010; Anderson & Young, 2018). Districts are currently undergoing a redefinition of roles in order to specifically support principals as instructional…

This article summarizes lessons and examples from a learning community of leaders from 78 large and medium school districts across the U.S. that has been meeting monthly throughout the pandemic, that other educators might apply to their work as they continue to navigate difficult and ambiguous times. The learning community members have identified…

The role of school leader is increasingly complex, and the impact of the pandemic made these jobs almost impossible at times. Principal burnout is often high, and morale is often low. Retaining and supporting strong principals, who have a measurable impact on the success of their students, is a priority for the field. This case study describes how…

This paper presents the findings of a multi-site case study focused on the role of mid-day supervisors in English primary schools. Ethnographic approaches were employed to gain an understanding of the role and how this is experienced by those who undertake it. This included a fully participatory phase where the researcher inhabited the role of a…

Des Moines (Iowa) Public Schools is one of six urban districts participating in an effort to redesign the role of principal supervisors. The Wallace Foundation's Principal Supervisor Initiative provides four years of support for these districts to transform the role, which has traditionally focused on operations and compliance, into one that…

To learn more about school district library supervisors, the authors set out to collect baseline data on their roles, responsibilities, challenges, and professional development needs. This work became known as the Lilead Project (rhymes with "Gilead"). Through research grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the authors…

This qualitative study examines the perspectives of secondary teachers characterized as passionate on the critical incidents that shaped, negatively or positively, their levels of passion. Vallerand and colleagues describe passion as a strong inclination or desire toward an activity that one likes and finds important enough to invest time and…

Culturally responsive and socially just leadership is crucial in today's world. The author implemented a qualitative research method using a bounded case study. These terminologies: "culturally responsive, socially just, and equitable leadership" (Khalifa, 2020; Lopez, 2016; Peters & Luke, 2021; Shields, 2017) consciously formed the…