bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Political Risk-Taking: Leading Literacy Education in an Era of High-Stakes Accountability
Authors: Ylimaki Rose M.
Published: January 2019

In the current accountability environment, many school districts have mandated test preparation courses, canned programs, and otherwise limited teacher risk-taking in all but very high-performing schools. This article further suggests that extant literature on risk-taking as part of educational change is no longer sufficient for understanding risk-taking in the current political environment. The author uses findings from a multicase study that investigated what happens in school districts that makes educators willing to take risks and resist the pressures of current accountability policies to redefine risk-taking as a political act. Through the use of interview data, field notes, and literature, the study describes four conditions that support political risk-taking in the current accountability context.
Toward Glocality: Facilitating Leadership in an Age of Diversity
Authors: Goddard J. Tim
Published: January 2019

As a result of inter- and intranational migrations, urban schools in early 21st-century Western nations serve more ethnoculturally diverse populations than ever before. The impact of global events resonates in these schools at the local community level. In this article1 I argue for the administrative fusion of local and global perspectives, a leadership of glocality that facilitates educational renewal and the enhancement of a socially transforming culture.
Leadership and Intercultural Dynamics
Authors: Collard John , Wang Ting
Published: January 2019

This article explores issues related to the delivery of leadership training courses by Western universities in developing nations. It argues that past theories, including cross-cultural perspectives, are too limited to comprehend the complexity of the processes involved. Instead it posits a more dynamic concept of intercultural understanding as an explanatory framework. It also argues that the pedagogy employed is a more powerful instrument of change than subject content. This is illustrated through analysis of responses from 52 participants in a leadership training program conducted in China in 2002.
U.S. Preservice Teachers and Their Media Worlds
Authors: Flores-Koulish Stephanie A.
Published: January 2019

This study provides a baseline of experiences and understandings that undergraduate elementary preservice teachers have with media and popular culture. Through a qualitative investigation, future teachers reveal their childhood and current media habits. What also emerges is a glimpse of their future pedagogical skills related to the media as a subject matter. Additionally these preservice teachers express fear over the power of the media, with particular indignation when it comes to children as viewers. Implications for policy in teacher education related to media literacy education are discussed.
Critically Reading Race on Television: Implications for Leadership toward Democratic Education
Authors: Gaudelli William
Published: January 2019

Media, particularly television, are increasingly prevalent in contemporary life and yet the pedagogical potential of this resource remains largely untapped. Racism, insidious in its manifestations, is frequently the subject of media spectacle that tends to fixate, frame, and fracture discourse about this vital issue. This study1 examines how three focus groups of high school students interpreted race as it was depicted in a televised town meeting following a brutal hate crime. Data drawn from transcription and analysis of student dialogue are situated around three themes: insolubility of racism, racial affiliation, and individualism. Implications are drawn from these findings and situated within a particular view of a democratic society, one rooted in developing the critical capacity of autonomous individuals, the shared intercourse of ideas, the ability to communicate those ideas freely and to diverse populations, the commitment to a shared public ethic, and a movement toward a society of judging actors. Processes are considered for educational leaders intent on reading visual media toward democratic ends.
Turn up that Radio, Teacher: Popular Cultural Pedagogy in New Century Urban Schools
Authors: Duncan-Andrade Jeffrey M. R. , Morrell Ernest
Published: January 2019

Synthesizing literature from critical pedagogy, sociocultural psychology and cultural studies with popular cultural texts and experiences from actual classroom practice, this article conceptualizes the critical teaching of popular culture as a viable strategy to increase academic and critical literacies in urban secondary classrooms. Relying on scholarship that views youth popular culture as a powerful, but often times underutilized, point of intervention for schools, these authors discuss the impact of using youth popular culture to reconnect with otherwise disenfranchised schooling populations. The authors rebut criticisms associated with the teaching of popular culture by showing how teachers can simultaneously honor and draw upon the sociocultural practices of their students while also adhering to state and national standards. Further, the article demonstrates the social relevance, academic worthiness, and intellectual merit of hip-hop artists such as the controversial Eminem and popular film texts such as the Godfather trilogy. They conclude with a call for postmodern critical educational leaders—vigilant advocates for students who are willing to combine academic content knowledge with a commitment to an engaging multicultural curriculum.
The Inner Life of Transformation: A Philosophic Investigation of Leadership, Media, Justice, and Freedom
Authors: Hudak Glenn M.
Published: January 2019

This article investigates the philosophical terrain of transformational leadership by first providing a phenomenology of school leadership within the context of a media-saturated environment. Second, the article investigates transformational leadership by comparing and contrasting leadership in Plato's Republic with leadership in postmodern America.
Meeting the Needs of All Students: Contributions of Effective School Leaders
Authors: Furney Katharine Shepherd , Aiken Judith , Hasazi Susan , Clark/Keefe Kelly
Published: January 2019

A policy implementation study1 was undertaken in 65 schools in order to explore practices and outcomes related to state policies requiring schools to establish comprehensive educational support systems and teams. The purpose of these systems and teams was to enhance the capacity of schools to support students with diverse needs in general education classrooms to the greatest extent possible. A focus of the study related to the ways in which school principals played a role in facilitating the development of effective support systems and teams. The following four themes related to school leadership emerged in schools identified as the most highly developed in their efforts to support all students: (1) fostering shared vision, planning, and decision-making processes; (2) creating collaborative structures and processes; (3) using data to make decisions about curriculum and instruction; and (4) understanding and utilizing policy to create comprehensive school and districtwide systems. Each of these themes points to potential implications for the content and approaches used in leadership preparation programs.
Defining Spirituality: Critical Implications for the Practice and Research of Educational Leadership
Authors: Hafner Madeline M. , Capper Colleen A.
Published: January 2019

This essay problematizes the current discourses on spirituality and leadership, particularly in terms of how spirituality is defined. To this end, the authors provide a brief overview of the different definitions of spirituality as explicated in the literature on spirituality and leadership, identify the underlying epistemologies of these definitions, and discuss why epistemology matters when thinking about spirituality and leadership. Additionally, the authors outline how an “endarkened feminist epistemology” (Dillard, 2000) can assist our thinking about spirituality and leadership, and advance not a definition per se but perspectives to consider when teaching and conducting research on or about spirituality and leadership, and when practicing leadership that takes into account social justice.
Mentoring within Internships: Socializing New School Leaders
Authors: Enomoto Ernestine K. , Gardiner Mary E.
Published: January 2019

Framed by organizational socialization, this qualitative study examines the use of a formal arrangement of mentoring to socialize prospective school administrators. Participants were eight interns paired with eight principals from three school districts. Our ethnographic approach solicited an insider's view of mentoring based upon participants’ own narratives. Four types of relationships emerged from the data: (1) mentor-protégé dyad, (2) administrator-intern dyad (3) peer dyad, and (4) mentoring team. Distinguishing organizational socialization from quality mentoring, we describe how some interns received mentoring how other interns enabled their successful completion of internships even without mentoring, and how one intern failed. We offer four recommendations for the school organization to improve mentoring within internships and suggest avenues for further research.
A Response to Glickman's “Preparing Thoughtful Educational Leaders”
Authors: O'Hair Mary John , Reitzug Ulrich C.
Published: January 2019

This is a response to an article by Carl Glickman entitled “Across the Void: Preparing Thoughtful Educational Leaders for Today's Schools” that appeared in the September 2005 issue of the Journal of School Leadership. In his article, Glickman argues that the preparation of educational leaders must shake the assumptions that are generally held about education and schools, and presents three cases that purportedly do so. We have reservations about the cases Glickman selects to illustrate his arguments and detail our reservations in this response.
Pedagogical Practices for Social Justice: A Movement Approach
Authors: Conners Dennis Arthur , Kingrey Joan U.
Published: January 2019

This article describes the structure and social justice orientation of Gonzaga University's Leadership Formation Program, an innovative, nontraditional graduate program preparing principals, program administrators, and superintendents. Highlighting the virtual school district and complex case study approach used in the program, the article details three pedagogical practices central to preparing leaders to engage issues of social justice. Through the use of seminar readings, rigorous coaching of specific skill capacities, and case study simulations, the faculty engage candidates in the program to understand their roles as educational leaders and work as activists for social justice. The program teaches educational leaders that the answer does not lie “out there” but rather “inside” and that individuals committed to collectively reducing injustice can be a powerful force. Finally, a movement approach to confronting issues of social justice and taking action underscores the program's mandate that justice demands transforming the system.
Leadership for Bilingual Education: Reflections on Social Justice
Authors: Fierro Elsy , Rodríguez Mariela A.
Published: January 2019

The role of administrator preparation programs should be one of creating the conscientization (Freire, 2000) of aspiring administrators. Administrator preparation programs with a social justice perspective support and agitate aspiring administrators to act and address equity issues affecting all of those involved in the school learning community (Cambron-McCabe & McCarthy 2005; Marshall, 2004). Conscientization leading to action is a key component in preparing school leaders to embody a social justice philosophy. The types of activities required of aspiring school administrators within the two courses described here encourage aspiring administrators to reflect and act on the social, economic, and educational inequities perpetuated in schools. This article describes assignments required within educational leadership preparation programs in two Hispanic-serving institutions in the Southwest. The purpose of each assignment is presented, followed by process, implications for social justice, and recommendations to enhance the projects.
Segregation, Desegregation, and Resegregation in Cincinnati: The Perspective of an African American Principal
Authors: Brown Lionel H. , Beckett Gulbahar H. , Beckett Kelvin S.
Published: January 2019

Recent research on Brown v. Board of Education has emphasized continuing disparities in the education of White and African American students. This research has used the failure of desegregation to account for persisting gaps in White and Black school funding, teacher qualifications, and student achievement. But the current focus on the failure of desegregation has overshadowed an equally significant but underreported success in the area of improving education for African American students. According to the most recent findings on student achievement, for example, the gaps between African American and White students are again narrowing, in some cases approaching zero. The present article shows that the failure of desegregation is not the only, nor is it likely to prove to be the most enduring, legacy of Brown. At the same time that desegregation was being resisted and ultimately reversed in Cincinnati, as elsewhere, Brown was inspiring an emphasis on quality education that resulted in two of the city's worst-performing Black schools’ being transformed into schools of excellence.
Teacher Job Satisfaction in a Reform State: The Influence of Teacher Characteristics, Job Dimensions, and Psychological States
Authors: Winter Paul A. , Brenner Doris B. , Petrosko Joseph M.
Published: January 2019

Despite the importance of job satisfaction, little research exists about this factor as it relates to teachers working in a school reform environment. This study addressed teacher characteristics, job dimensions, and work-related psychological states that predict public school teacher job satisfaction in a school reform state. Teachers (N = 578) completed a modified version of the Job Diagnostic Survey. Hierarchical multiple regression results indicated that the job dimension of teacher autonomy (* = .178) and the psychological states of experienced meaningfulness of the work (* = .431), experienced responsibility for the job (* = .129), and knowledge of results from the job (* = .220) explained 46% of the variance in overall teacher job satisfaction. This result greatly exceeded established criteria for a large effect size in multiple regression analysis. Implications for practice, theory, and future research are discussed.
Guest Editor's Introduction
Authors: Hipp Kristine Kiefer
Published: January 2019

My premise is that this culture, and we as members of it, have yielded too easily to what is doable and practical…. In the process we have sacrificed the pursuit of what is in our hearts. We find ourselves giving in to our doubts, and settling for what we know how to do, or can learn to do, instead of pursuing what matters most to us and living with the adventure and anxiety that this requires.
It's Everywhere, but What is it? Professional Learning Communities
Authors: Roy Patricia , Hord Shirley M.
Published: January 2019

This article first explores the characteristics of professional learning communities (PLCs) identified in the research literature. Second, it examines the staff and student outcomes derived from the implementation and integration of a PLC in a K–12 school or a university. Third, it provides suggestions for school leaders about creating and operating a PLC and its highly democratic and participatory way of working and about supporting and guiding the staff to become a PLC. Noted are structural features that support collegial interaction. These opportunities for open discussion and debate inevitably lead to conflict, which must be managed and used constructively. Thus, the article includes counsel about developing trusting relationships, positive regard, and other human capacities.
Building Schools, Building People: The School Principal's Role in Leading a Learning Community
Authors: Mitchell Coral , Sackney Larry
Published: January 2019

This article describes the work of the school principal in building a vibrant learning community for staff and students. The descriptions emerged from a series of investigations into teaching, learning, and leading practices within schools that have high capacity for effective teaching and learning. These investigations demonstrated that the direct and consistent involvement of the school principal is essential for building a culture of learning for staff and students. In successful schools, principals serve four broad functions: center, holder of the vision, builder, and role model. These roles yield cultures and structures that sustain, energize, and vitalize teaching and learning.
The Coprincipalship: It's Not Lonely at the Top
Authors: Eckman Ellen Wexler
Published: January 2019

The coprincipalship has been suggested as an organizational structure that addresses the increasing workload and time demands of the principal as well as the shortage of qualified applicants for the position. This article presents the findings of a qualitative study of coprincipals in public and private schools in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Oregon, and Wisconsin. The participants describe the rationale for the model, its strengths and weaknesses and how it functions. The coprincipals expressed particular satisfaction at sharing workloads and decision making because they were not isolated as solo leaders. Though the coprincipalship model offers possibilities for making the role of principal attractive, additional information is needed to develop a sustainable model.
Visioning Parent Engagement in Urban Schools
Authors: Auerbach Susan
Published: January 2019

Parent involvement has increasingly been mandated as a key component of school reform, and school–community relations courses (as well as standards for administrators) call for collaborating with diverse families and communities. Yet the role of school leaders in engaging parents is underdeveloped in the literature and in preparation programs. How do leaders envision parent engagement and construct their role in promoting it in a large urban district? What contextual factors enable and constrain leadership for parent engagement? This qualitative study of 12 urban administrators known for their commitment to parent engagement shows how their leadership style promoted a family-friendly climate but fell short of the comprehensive partnerships and shared leadership models envisioned in the literature. Implications for preparation programs are discussed.
School Structure and the Identity of Teacher Leaders: Perspectives of Principals and Teachers
Authors: Angelle Pamela S. , Schmid Jessie B.
Published: January 2019

This qualitative study examines the concept of teacher leadership from the perspective of those who practice it. Viewed through the lens of identity theory analysis yielded five categories that define and describe a teacher leader—namely as a decision maker, an educational role model, a positional designee, a supra-practitioner, and a visionary. Findings reveal that the social structure where leadership is practiced shapes the definition of teacher leadership. Role identification within the social structure can assist principals in developing a healthy work climate that promotes distributed leadership.
An Exploration of Administrative Heuristics in the United States and the United Kingdom
Authors: English Fenwick W. , Bolton Cheryl L.
Published: January 2019

This article is a report on a study of the use of heuristics, shortcuts, and rules of thumb by middle-line managers in institutions of higher education in the United States and the United Kingdom. Using a nonprobability convenience sample, the coinvestigators interviewed 13 middle-line managers over 5 months from eight institutions. The results indicate that managers employed a range of heuristics in response to a variety of decision-making situations and that choices to determine which heuristic was most appropriate revolved around the respondents’ perceptions of personal risk, situational ambiguity, and level of emotionality. An intriguing metaphor that emerged from the study is that of a DNA strand; that is, the three elements of emotionality, ambiguity, and risk were constants in an interactive relationship between administrators and line managers and their connection to the institution. Even at middle-management levels, administrators maintained some independence from their institutions at the level of personal and moral decisions.
Changing of the Guard: How Different School Leaders Change Organizational Routines
Authors: Enomoto Ernestine K. , Conley Sharon
Published: January 2019

While providing stability and uniformity, organizational routines can foster continuous change. Using Feldman's (2000) performative model of routinized action theory, coupled with leadership succession research, we examined how three successive administrations in a California high school revised a student attendance (tardy-monitoring) routine over 7 years. Although the changes made by the different leaders did not translate into large shifts in action and behaviors, each administration altered the way that tardies were monitored, thus demonstrating routines’ continuous and dynamic nature. Administrators also shifted resources to accommodate changes. Given our findings, we draw implications to help new leaders better understand change in daily school routines.
The Values of School Administration: Preferences, Ethics, and Conflicts
Authors: Begley Paul T. , Johansson Olof
Published: January 2019

This article reports the findings of two studies focused on the personal and professional values of school administrators. Two themes were employed as general organizers for the research: the influence of personal preference and trans-rational principles on the problem solving actions of school administrators and the value conflicts that administrators experience in their work. One study was conducted in Umea (Sweden), the other in Toronto (Canada). The conceptual framework integrates Hodgkinson's (1991) values theory with information processing theory. Action research methods were adopted as a way of overcoming the special problems associated with conducting research on values. Findings suggest that administrators’ personal values are significant influences on problem solving. Specifically, the rational value types of consensus and consequences predominate in the valuation processes of school principals, personal preferences are infrequently articulated, and trans-rational principles are employed under particular circumstances.
Time Use by Special Educators and how it is Valued
Authors: Franz Dana Pomykal , Vannest Kimberly J. , Parker Richard I. , Hasbrouck Jan E. , Dyer Nicole , Davis John L.
Published: January 2019

Recent federal legislation is affecting how special educators assess students, select curricula, document growth, teach, and consult—in short, how they spend their time during a school day. This study empirically measured special educators’ use of time over the course of several weeks. It compared actual time use with its perceived value by both the teachers and their principals. Congruence between actual time use and its valuation was generally high but not so in select areas. Likewise, special education teachers and their administrators largely agreed in valuation but were far apart in some areas. A better understanding of the administrative duties required of teachers may help administrators appreciate the scope and demands of such nonteaching duties. A new level of communication may lead to more administrative support, as related to prioritizing administrative duties, thereby allowing teachers the time to engage in the tasks they value most.
Gender and Perceptions: Females as Secondary Principals
Authors: Nogay Kathleen , Beebe Robert J.
Published: January 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of teachers and supervisors toward the principal leadership behaviors of female secondary principals in Ohio. Principal self-perceptions were also included to complete the study. The literature shows that women continue to be underrepresented in a field in which the majority of professionals are women; therefore the reasons for underrepresentation warrant investigation. Although women are beginning to move into such ranks more frequently, line administrative positions continue to be dominated by males, and few women hold the positions of high school principal and school district superintendent, positions which continue to be particularly resistant to the advancement of females.

Random selected school districts in Ohio were involved in this investigation, the participants of which completed a copy of Philip Hallinger's Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS), a scale which afforded the opportunity to compare the perceptions of superordinates, principals, and subordinates. The results indicated significant differences between principal gender and the responses of others on most of the subscales of the PIMRS. The mean subscale results were much higher for female principals than for male principals as well. The conclusions of this study indicate that there is significant difference in perceptions of principal leadership behavior regarding gender. Principals also judge their own leadership behavior significantly different based on gender.
Drivers of Success: One District's Process for Closing Achievement Gaps in a Post-No Child Left behind Context
Authors: O'Doherty Ann , Ovando Martha N.
Published: January 2019

In this original qualitative study, we examined the processes employed by a school district that had made progress in closing achievement gaps in a post-No Child Left Behind context. The district served more than 26,000 students in an economically and ethnically diverse community. Secondary analysis of the findings uncovered a primary driver—effective, sustained district-level leadership—which drove two secondary drivers: district-developed and deployed systems and a culture of shared accountability. Results of this study suggest that these three drivers caused reported changes at the campus and classroom levels, which in turn contributed to the progress that the district made in closing achievement gaps.
Intersecting Leadership Knowledge from the Field: Diverse Women Secondary Principals
Authors: Sherman Whitney H. , Wrushen Barbara Rivers
Published: January 2019

This qualitative study elucidated differences and commonalities among eight practicing women secondary leaders from different ethnic backgrounds. Its purpose was to add to the existing body of knowledge on women leaders in general and to contribute to the dearth of research on minority women leaders and women in the secondary leadership role in particular. Personal narratives were collected through interviews and interpreted through the lens of feminist standpoint theory. Findings hold significant implications in regard to the importance of women mentoring other women, women forming supportive networks for themselves, and women overcoming the practice of acting as roadblocks for one another, as well as the exploration of alternative avenues of support, such as spirituality and religion.
Leadership Practices for Social Justice, Democratic Community, and Learning: School Principals’ Perspectives
Authors: Wasonga Teresa A.
Published: January 2019

The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover leadership practices that integrate social justice and democratic community for student learning. Data were gathered through focus group discussions with school principals. The responses were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed for emerging themes. Leadership practices that were identified as themes in this study included shared decision making, advocacy, dispositions and relationships, and social control with purpose. Participants perceived public participation in decision making and “doing what is best for kids” as shared values. However, they were concerned that such participation was not always an honored ideal.
Teaching Gil to Lead
Authors: Davis Stephen H. , Leon Ronald J.
Published: January 2019

The complexities of public education today require new, distributed models of school leadership in which teachers play a central role. The most effective teachers assume leadership roles as instructors and professional colleagues. In this article, we propose a framework for developing teacher leadership that consists of four intersecting domains: instrumental, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and organizational. These domains are mediated by the principal's beliefs, social context, organizational culture, work tasks, and district philosophy. In our framework, developing teacher leadership begins at the level of individual expertise and progresses outward across the layers of a school organization. Guided by the principal and the development of instructional expertise, a teacher's leadership skill emerges through increased exposures to boundary-crossing experiences within the school organization.
“Where I came from, Where I am Now, and Where I'd like to Be”: Aspiring Administrators Reflect on Issues Related to Equity, Diversity, and Social Justice
Authors: Hernandez Frank , Marshall Joanne M.
Published: January 2019

This study explores student reflections about issues related to equity, diversity, and social justice from an educational foundations course. Online reflections and course assignments were analyzed from 15 aspiring administrators for patterns. Findings indicate that (1) students were willing to engage and reflect on their experiences and cultural identity, (2) students used their worldviews as filters for these experiences, (3) students were not necessarily willing to experience discomfort for the sake of learning about difference, and (4) students thought about their identities in a range of distinct developmental ways. If educational administration programs are to prepare future administrators who are reflective practitioners and critical thinkers working for social justice, professors must prepare these individuals to acknowledge their cultural identity and its implications for the schools they lead, and professors must account for their students’ developmental differences in class.
The Impact of Organizational Justice on Climate and Trust in High Schools
Authors: Dipaola Michael , Guy Stephanie
Published: January 2019

In the private sector, organizational justice has consistently demonstrated a strong correlation with trust in management, employee commitment, and performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether organizational justice has a similar relationship with social processes in the educational arena. This study examined the relationship between organizational justice and school climate and sought to replicate earlier findings of a significant link between perceptions of justice and faculty trust in schools at a different level. In the representative sample of 36 high schools, a significant positive relationship was found between organizational justice and school climate. Additional analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between justice and each school climate dimension: collegial leadership, teacher professionalism, academic press, and community engagement. When regressed with the other climate dimensions, collegial leadership alone demonstrated a significant independent effect on organizational justice. A significant positive correlation was also found between organizational justice and all three faculty trust dimensions: trust in principal, trust in colleagues, and trust in clients. However, only trust in the principal demonstrated a significant and independent effect on organizational justice when regressed with the other trust dimensions.
Democratic School Leaders: Defining Ethical Leadership in a Standardized Context
Authors: Gerstl-Pepin Cynthia , Aiken Judith A.
Published: January 2019

The purpose of this article is to learn from active educational leaders engaged in the practice of democratic, ethical leadership. In this article, we share findings of a qualitative study that used narrative inquiry to examine the stories of eight educational leaders. We discuss three themes arising from the participants’ narratives that define ethical, democratic leadership: understanding ethical sensitivities and personal narratives; actions that leaders engage in to support their democratic, ethical beliefs; and balancing ethical, democratic responsibility and standardized accountability. From these themes, we offer suggestions to expand leadership preparation, research, and practice.
The Roles and Practices of Specialists in Teamed Institutional Leadership
Authors: Dexter Sara , Louis Karen Seashore , Anderson Ronald E.
Published: January 2019

This article explores the role of leadership, experts, and expertise and the functioning of teams in nine schools that modeled an exemplary integration of technology to support schoolwide instructional improvement. Through cross-case analysis, we identified three different staffing patterns and two different support patterns in how the technology integration specialists worked with teachers to integrate educational technology. Despite having no supervisory authority, these specialists provided support and pressure for instructional change. Their power to make change came not from line authority, but from their expertise and teachers’ need to learn what they could offer. Although research on instructional leadership typically focuses on principals or designated teachers, we argue for expanding such research to include support provided by nonteaching professionals.
Teacher Fear of Litigation for Disciplinary Actions
Authors: Holben Diane M. , Zirkel Perry A. , Caskie Grace I. L.
Published: January 2019

The present study determined the extent to which teachers’ fear of litigation limits their disciplinary actions, including any significant differences by period, demographic factors, and item type. Teachers’ perceptions of limitations placed on their disciplinary actions do not substantiate the “paralyzing fear” of litigation that inhibits student discipline, as tort reform organizations claim. Teachers perceive greater limitation for nonintervention in a student fight than for intervention, with significant differences for self and others performing the action. Demographic differences support interpreting findings within context to prevent overgeneralization. Future research should examine other job-embedded scenarios to determine appropriate discipline policies and effective professional development strategies.
Leadership Dynamics Promoting Systemic Reform for Inclusive Service Delivery
Authors: Scanlan Martin
Published: January 2019

This article presents a multicase study of two systems of schools striving to reform service delivery systems for students with special needs. Considering these systems as institutional actors, the study examines what promotes the understanding and implementation of special education service delivery within a system of schools in a manner that strengthens the capacity of schools to welcome students with special needs. Key findings illustrate how central office support and relationships across horizontal, vertical, and diagonal dimensions mediate efforts to reorient organizations, establish policy coherence, provide instructional leadership, and maintain the focus on reform. The article concludes with implications across school sectors for policies and practices that promote inclusive service delivery for students with special needs.
A Typology of Partnerships for Promoting Innovation
Authors: Barnett Bruce G. , Hall Gene E. , Berg Judith H. , Camarena Margaret M.
Published: January 2019

As educational partnerships and collaboratives have become more popular in the last several decades, researchers and practitioners have sought to understand why these arrangements flourish or flounder. Taking into consideration the contextual factors affecting partnerships, we have conceptualized a framework of the types of partnerships that can develop between a school system and an external resource agency. The framework reflects the dynamic nature of partnerships, including the growing complexity of interorganizational arrangements that exist as partnerships move from a cooperative to a collaborative relationship. We conclude by discussing the value and utility of this framework as school districts and external agencies consider establishing short- or long-term partnerships.
Explaining Teachers’ Instructional Use of State Assessment Data: A Multilevel Study of High School Teachers in Washington State
Authors: Monpas-Huber Jack B.
Published: January 2019

Accountability policies imply much about high school teachers’ abilities and willingness to use state assessment data to improve instruction. This study asked what teacher- and school-level variables best predict how frequently teachers use state assessment data and how much instructional benefit they derive from use of data. Research has identified several potential predictors at multiple levels of analysis. This study used hierarchical linear models to analyze data from a survey of high school teachers in western Washington. The results carry several implications for educational leadership and future research.
The Place of Autonomy in School Community: Taking a Closer Look at Teacher Collaboration
Authors: Gates Gordon S. , Watkins Millie
Published: January 2019

Teachers hold the key to school reform. Professional learning communities—as well as other related strategies, including collaborative and distributive models of leadership—offer much that is promising. Yet, weaknesses documented in research require attention. We conducted a study of teachers in two elementary schools identified as exemplary professional learning communities to explore the ways that teachers’ collaboration, shared decision making, and leadership were resources for development and innovation. For this study, we coded and organized transcribed interviews and field notes, forming a typology of teachers’ practices and interpretation about the paradoxical value and role of autonomy in community. We conclude this article by discussing the importance of teacher inquiry and research on student learning as mechanisms for aligning autonomy and heteronomy in school community.
Wisdom and Compassion in Democratic Leadership: Perceptions of the Bodhisattva Ideal
Authors: McClain Leslie , Ylimaki Rose , Ford Michael P.
Published: January 2019

At the heart of democratic leadership rests a deep respect for what it means to be human, the cultivation of the common good, and the need to act according to one's own direction. If democratic leadership aims to create an environment in which people are encouraged and supported in “aspiring to truths about the world” (Woods, 2005, p. xvi), then wisdom and compassion must be critical components of such leadership. Through qualitative study, we interviewed administrators and teachers for their perceptions about wisdom and compassion as related to democratic leadership in schools. Such expressions have not been characterized and discussed in the mainstream educational leadership literature; however, they have been documented for centuries across philosophies and religions, including the Mahayana Buddhist teachings of the six virtues of the Bodhisattva, the awakened spiritual leader. The purpose of this article is to explore, through extant literature and empirical research findings, administrators’ and teacher leaders’ perceptions of wisdom and compassion as being relevant and essential to democratic educational leadership.
Grievance and Arbitration Practices and Decisions in Schools: Outcomes of Rational Decision Making?
Authors: Osborne-Lampkin La'Tara
Published: January 2019

Some researchers suggest that grievance procedures and the arbitration process are effective tools that encourage careful decision making by school districts and administrative staff in the handling of personnel decisions (Shipley, 1974). Others contend that grievance procedures, which typically include arbitration as the final stage of the process, may be a hindrance in administrators’ ability to exercise discretion in school management operations (Hess & Kelly, 2006; Johnson & Donaldson, 2006). For this empirical study, multiple case studies were conducted in the state of Florida. Semistructured interviews were conducted with district and school administrators, union leaders, and teachers to explore grievance and arbitration practices and to understand how grievance and arbitration decisions are made in districts and schools.
Improving the Physical and Social Environment of School: A Question of Equity
Authors: Uline Cynthia L. , Wolsey Thomas Devere , Tschannen-Moran Megan , Lin Chii-Dean
Published: January 2019

This study explored the interplay between quality facilities and school climate, charting the effects of facility conditions on student and teacher attitudes, behaviors, and performance within schools slated for renovations in a large metropolitan school district. The research applied a school leadership–building design model to explore how six characteristics of facility quality—movement, aesthetics, play of light, flexible and responsive classrooms, elbow room, and security—interact with four aspects of school climate: academic press, community engagement, teacher professionalism, and collegial leadership. Because the schools were older and participants in the research perceived them as being in great need of maintenance and repair, the school building characteristics were often described as absent qualities. The survey data revealed moderate to strong relationships between the quality of school facilities and school climate. The interviews further explicated these relationships. Two additional themes—counterbalance and equity—emerged as being significant to occupants’ interactions with their current facilities. This study used a mixed-methods triangulation design–data transformation model. Specifically, school climate surveys, photo interviews with students, walking tours of the school facility, and formal interviews were triangulated to obtain complementary data and a more complete understanding of the educational facility to be renovated and its impact on occupants.
Parents, Principals, and Power: A Historical Case Study of “Managing” Parental Involvement
Authors: Horvat Erin Mcnamara , Curci Juliet Dileo , Partlow Michelle Chaplin
Published: January 2019

Scholarship on parent–principal relationships often ignores how some parental involvement can create challenges for school leaders. We analyze parent–principal relationships at an urban public K–8 school over a 30-year period, exploring how three different principals “managed” parental involvement. Our analysis reveals how these principals negotiated relationships with parents across the shifting race and class terrains of different eras. We argue that future investigations of parent–principal relationships should focus on the tensions and challenges inherent in these relationships, as well as the effort expended and the skill required by principals to effectively manage relations with parents in diverse school communities.
The Invisible Crisis: Connecting Schools with Homeless Families
Authors: Shields Carolyn M. , Warke Amy
Published: January 2019

Children and youth represent a growing proportion of the homeless population. Using the lens of transformative leadership, this multifamily case study explores the realities of homeless children, the challenges their families face, and the role of school leaders in ensuring that they receive a quality education. It recommends that leaders (1) recognize that homelessness is not a homogeneous experience, (2) ensure that all teachers understand the rights of the homeless according to the terms of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, and (3) have the moral courage to develop strong relationships that help teachers address the unique needs of each child and family.
Secondary Mathematics Course Trajectories: Understanding Accumulated Disadvantages in Mathematics in Grades 9–12
Authors: Schiller Kathryn S. , Hunt Donald J.
Published: January 2019

Schools are institutions in which students’ course taking creates series of linked learning opportunities continually shaped by not only curricular structures but demographic and academic backgrounds. In contrast to a seven-step normative course sequence reflecting the conventional hierarchical structure of mathematics, analysis of more than 17,000 high school transcripts indicates that students followed remarkably diverse pathways through high school mathematics. Students from less socially and academically advantaged backgrounds were more likely to deviate from common course sequences, thus contributing to their not progressing as far through the mathematics curriculum by the end of high school. Modeling course enrollments as growth trajectories indicates that gaps in mathematics progress related to demographic and earlier educational differences widen most rapidly in the later years of high school. The implications of our findings for schools’ course scheduling and monitoring of students’ progress are discussed.
Information and Communications Technologies Support for 21st-century Teaching: An International Analysis
Authors: Rutkowski David , Rutkowski Leslie , Sparks Jason
Published: January 2019

Beginning in the 1990s, national educational policies around the world have mandated massive investments in information and communications technologies (ICT) to transform teaching and learning in ways appropriate for developing “21st-century skills.” Recent research indicates significant success in bringing teachers and students into contact with ICT in many national education systems; however, significant challenge remains in integrating ICT into the pedagogical practices aimed at developing 21st-century skills. This article inquires into one commonly cited obstacle to pedagogical change around ICT: school-based support. Using data from the 2006 Second Information Technology in Education Study survey, we investigated whether the availability of school-level support for 21st-century skills teaching activities predicted the increased use of ICT in conjunction with those 21st-century teaching activities in the classroom. We studied 18 national education systems and found that in only three—namely, South Africa, the Russian Federation, and Thailand—was school-based support for ICT use in 21st-century teaching activities consistently associated with the odds of using ICT on such activities. These counterintuitive findings are interpreted against the literature framing the inquiry.
Educational Leadership and Technology Integration: An Investigation into Preparation, Experiences, and Roles
Authors: Schrum Lynne , Galizio Lyndsie M. , Ledesma Patrick
Published: January 2019

This research, looking through the lens of Fullan (1991) regarding the complexity of implementing school wide change, sought to explore preparation and requirements of new administrators with respect to the integration of technology by first gathering data regarding licensure and course requirements from state departments of education and educational institutions. Overall, most states and institutions do not require any formal preparation in understanding or implementing technology for instructional purposes, and likely their graduates are not prepared to implement technology systemically in their school. Given that these data were remarkably uniform and next researchers sought to gather experiences, training, and perspectives of technology-savvy administrators as to how they learned what they know and how they lead their schools in the 21st century. We learned that administrators do learn on their own, have a dedication to these changes, and promote their staff members’ implementation through professional development, by modeling its use, and purposefully setting goals for their school.