Teacher turnover, or those teachers who either move between schools or leave the profession entirely, is a growing problem in today's education system. Though education research is flush with studies about turnover's causes and the success of certain policy initiatives, little attention has been paid to the perspectives of those policymakers often…

The past few years have seen a rise in interest in local elected offices, specifically in school board seats. These seats hold unequivocal power over what school districts can do in terms of advancing equity and excellence in education. We explore one facet of what became a playbook of anti-equity efforts in school districts during the COVID-19…

This study sought to determine whether there was a statistically significant correlation between school board behaviors and characteristics, and a superintendent's use of a transformational leadership model. The study was grounded in four research questions: Is there a statistically significant correlation between board behaviors and…

The 21st century places significant demands on our educational system. It is an opportune time to re-imagine the mission, operations, and skills expected of school district offices. The focus of this study was on the school district's role in strengthening principals' instructional leadership capacity for improving educational outcomes. Using a…

In spring 2024, the authors surveyed 190 American School District Panel member districts about what interventions (e.g., tutoring, additional staff, additional instruction time) they were still using during the 2023-2024 school year to assist with students' learning recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic-related setbacks.…

Perhaps no relationship is as crucial for practicing superintendents as the relationship with their school board presidents. This study examined which leadership traits of superintendents were most important according to superintendents and school board presidents in a rural state in the Midwest. A researcher-developed survey studied how important…

Background: Branding involves "labeling" (for identification) and "meaning" (for understanding) to a product, service, person, idea, or other entity. We are familiar with "brands" of soft drinks, automobiles, mobile phones, soups, cigarettes, and sports teams, and some brands have greater "market share" than…

This study represents a repeat of Simmons's (1996) study to determine to what extent large schools that are members of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) are conducting board member evaluations of chief administrators 25 years after the original study was conducted. The study involved analyzing the schools by conducting…

Purpose: The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to identify the political styles of superintendents and school board members as perceived by superintendents. In addition, it was the purpose to identify and explain the political strategies superintendents use to work with the different political styles of school board…

The purpose of this sequential exploratory mixed-method study was to discover the factors that lead to a school board hiring a non-traditional superintendent qualified through a Commission Qualification Letter over a superintendent qualified through a traditional Letter of Eligibility in Pennsylvania. The researcher used surveys and interviews to…

Teacher voice health is an important but overlooked issue with consequences for educators, students, and schools. This qualitative study examined administrators' perspectives of teachers' vocal complaints and relevant policies. Focus groups made up of 18 administrators yielded key insights: 1) Reliance on voice amplification, 2) Attitudes and…

Higher education governance of community colleges is understudied. Driving an increased focus on community college coordination and oversight at the state level are the role of access from dual enrollment to adult learners, the need to smooth the transfer function of community colleges, jobs requiring educational attainment beyond high school, and…

Teacher shortages are often viewed as a national issue and through a national lens. But individual states' challenges in addressing special education teacher shortages differ in degree and kind, and states thus enact varied solutions to address them. A state's geography, resources, and political climate are just a few elements that can drive…

Created by partnerships of educator preparation programs, school districts, and community-based organizations, grow-your-own programs recruit, prepare, and place community members as teachers. They typically recruit and prepare high school students, school classified staff (e.g., paraeducators, afterschool workers, bus drivers), career changers,…

Neoliberalism is a pro-capitalist ideology that cycles money and power to the elite class by deregulating or privatizing the public sphere and is fueled by economic exploitation and oppression. This dissertation examines the neoliberal construct at work in the privatization of Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) from an ethnographic lens using the…