The need for more effective engagement between universities and business has been receiving more attention in recent years. Government policy aspirations are placing growing expectations that the higher education sector will play its part in economic growth. At the same time, funding restrictions are imposing more pressure on universities to find different income streams, including funding from industry. However, the relationship between universities and business is often problematic, and engagement between the two is frequently not done well. Meanwhile, the role that business schools are expected to play in that engagement is contentious, which appears to put them squarely on the fault-line of these policy shifts. This study explores employer/HE provider engagement within the context of the recent policy landscape, responding with a proposed conceptual model of engagement. A business school relationship with three employer organisations forms the basis of an embedded case study, which employs an interpretive stance to help better understand the relationship between employer and HE provider. The study found that a demand-led provision of skills with employers is a more nuanced context than the narrow demand-led focus of the Leitch Review, which primarily frames the issue as a problem of supply. This study confirms that employers needs are indeed complex and often unclear, and that employers expect providers to help identify their needs. Therefore the study questions the assumption, implicit in recent policy, that it is possible to generate generic needs from employers. From the evidence addressed, it proposes that employers are seeking HE providers who can both identify their needs, and help address them with the challenge implicit in latest thinking. The study thus proposes a distinctive, dual-role for business schools, namely, a responsiveness to demand balanced by the creation and dissemination of a latest thinking which leads demand. In order to do this, the study proposes a conceptual model of relationship engagement, where the quality and importance of relationships were found to be critical for effective engagement. Therefore the study concludes that a distinctive, mutually beneficial relationship between business schools and business is unlikely to be realized without understanding and fostering effective relational engagement.

Research has shown that LGBTQI youth are four to six times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. Many schools across the nation have focused their efforts on creating safer climates for diverse populations, including LGBTQI youth and staff. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which school leaders practice culturally proficient school leadership in order to build and foster positive relationships with students and staff who are members of the LGBTQI community. The overarching research question was: To what extent do school leaders identify and practice culturally proficient leadership in relation to LGBTQI students and staff? A sequential mixed-methods explanatory research design was utilized to examine the perceptions of secondary school leaders and staff in one mid-sized urban school district regarding culturally proficient school leadership. For the quantitative portion of the study, a School Climate Questionnaire and a School-Wide Cultural Competence Observation Checklist was employed. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative responses. For the qualitative portion of the study, data pertaining to the experiences and perceptions of secondary school leaders, obtained through focus group interviews, were examined. A two-part data analysis process, including both deductive and inductive coding, was used. Evidence from this study found six school leadership behaviors that impacted cultural proficiency. These behaviors emerged into themes including (a) awareness, (b) training, (c) discussion, (d) resources, (e) safety, and (f) proactive solutions. Findings from this study suggest as school leaders' behaviors align more closely with the six themes at their campuses, they will be better able to build and foster relationships with LGBTQI youth and staff.

This study explored the role of the principal in managing teaching and learning in the two Kwa-Thema secondary schools. Managing teaching and learning is regarded as the core duty and responsibility for South African principals, and it is clearly reflected in the South African Standard for Principalship Bush, Joubert, Kiggundu and Van Rooyen (2010). The assumption underpinning the study was that the principals of the two schools did not focus on managing teaching and learning, thus the high failure rate of the learners. The study was a qualitative case study and it used various data collecting methods. The data collecting methods used were interviews, data analysis, observation and focus group discussion. The use of various data collection methods allowed for triangulation could be validated against all participants or respondents. The study found that the principals of the two schools manage teaching and learning. In fact, the schools have systems in place to ensure that management of teaching and learning is taking place. However, there are contextual factors that challenge the running of the schools and as a result, the schools are underperforming due to the challenges.

Abstract The perceptions of school leaders on the effectiveness of the school leadership preparation program (SLPP) in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI) public school system have not been examined. Highly qualified teachers are selected and trained for administrative and leadership roles through the SLPP. This qualitative case study was conducted to evaluate the level of effectiveness of the SLPP in the CNMI public school system. The conceptual framework was the Seven Habits of Effective Principal Preparation Programs by Davis and Jazzar. The theoretical frameworks were transformational leadership as articulated by Burns and instructional leadership. The research questions involved how aspiring leaders and their mentors described the effectiveness of the SLPP in the CNMI public school system and how aspiring leaders' field experience helped them learn essential skills associated with transformational and instructional leadership. A purposeful sampling of 4 participants was used, consisting of current school administrators who had completed the SLPP. Interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data. Interview data were transcribed, and transcripts were examined, organized, and synthesized to develop codes and themes. Member checking was used to validate transcriptions and findings. Findings from this study show that relevant courses, knowledge and experience in curriculum and instruction, internship and mentoring, leadership skills gained by participants, and relationship and collaboration are among the components that must be included in the SLPP. The social change can be derived from this study is that the findings from this qualitative case study are meaningful for policymakers, district leaders, and school leaders in the CNMI public school system.

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This thesis examined what means a group of elementary school principals in multicultural communities used to support and imporve the language learning of English Language Learning (ELL)students. In this thesis, multicultural communities are defined as urban schools which have a majority of students whose mother tongue is not English. Although they are challenged to value and honour the diversity of their school communities, these principals must also ensure that their teachers meet the mandated rigors of the Ontario curriculum, and that the students attain desired levels of achievement as defined by the Ontario Ministry of Education. In an increasing number of schools in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) ELL students form a majority of the student population; yet this reality is barely acknowledged in provincial educational policy or in the professional education of Ontario's school principals. Nor has the educational research adequately addressed the challenges of educating ELL students over the past thirty-five years. The research literature on the characteristics, activities, and behaviour of effective school principals rarely mention their knowledge of other cultures and languages or their expertise related to ethnic and racial diversity. Semi-structured interviews were used to capture the responses of ten elementary school principals of multicultural school communities. The findings indicate that principals who were successful in leading multicultural school communities and improving the literacy achievement of ELL students had a deep understanding of literacy development; cultural needs of the community; and ESL issues. Although much of the leadership framework is similar to principalship in non-multicultural school communities, principals identified a number of leadership competencies that are particular to a diverse community. The findings have implications for the courses which prepare principals for these schools; the professional development of senior administrators; and the choice of personnel suitable for leadership roles in multicultural communities.

This PhD study investigates distributed school leadership through small-scale empirical research using interpretative enquiry with aspects of a grounded approach, reaching a depth of understanding. More specifically, it explores the experiences and perceptions of early career primary headteachers as they take forward a distributed perspective on school leadership and management through three headteacher case studies. Each headteacher’s voice is heard through a sequence of in-depth, semistructured and narrative style interviews. The study extends beyond self-reporting as staff perceptions of school leadership and management are elicited through a 360° analysis, a semi-structured questionnaire incorporating a sociometric analysis of leadership relationships, used also to explore the extent to which leadership is distributed within each school. Definitions of leadership and of distributed leadership are contested. The problematic nature of each is discussed in relation to competing educational rhetoric, school leadership literature and policy discourses. Various complexities are found to exist in defining and identifying distributed leadership, acknowledged as multi-faceted, involving those in both formal and informal leadership positions, teaching and support staff. Distributed leadership is context specific, socially constructed, negotiated and hierarchical in nature. It is found to be ‘in the gift of the headteacher’ with each head showing a commitment to and central concern for developing effective processes for staff engagement in meaningful school improvement efforts. Regardless, a distributed perspective was not found to develop naturally nor easily. It was purposefully planned for and continuously supported. It involved the development of teacher professional identity. It required the balancing of multiple and competing accountabilities. Tension was found to relate to the headteachers’ intentions to engage staff, when they bordered on perceived ‘new managerialist’ strategies or manipulation. This study contributes to understandings of the problematic nature of a distributed perspective on leadership by surfacing a range of conceptual confusions. The main conclusion, that distributed leadership is still ‘in the gift of the headteacher’, contributes to a limited empirical knowledge base. How the headteachers made sense of a distributed perspective, along with their motivations to do so, adds to limited empirical data for which the role of headteachers is not well understood. There exists a dearth of studies into the experiences and perceptions of headteachers within a distributed perspective, even more so in terms of those within their early years of headship. The need for further empirical research is recommended to better conceptualise leadership generally and distributed leadership specifically, leading to a more sophisticated understanding of how agency and structure work in practice. Further studies could challenge five generally held assumptions identified within the distributed leadership paradigm: that every member of staff is able to lead; that every member of staff wishes to lead; that the leadership role of staff is legitimized simply by the headteacher’s endorsement; that a distributed perspective occurs naturally; and that a distributed perspective is unproblematic. This research is timely as the teacher role is nationally reviewed (Donaldson, 2010; McCormac, 2011) and the GTCS redevelops the suite of national professional standards, constituting workforce reform. The conclusion to this study argues for a re-examination of the teacher role to reach consensus in defining what is required of teachers at each level of the school hierarchy, recognising formal and informal leadership roles based on conceptual clarity and role definition. It calls for openness and transparency in relation to principles for practice. Key recommendations are offered for policy makers, school leaders at all levels, leadership development programmes, theoretical development and future research.

This critical case study examines elementary school principals' perceptions of language and how those perceptions influence educational opportunities (i.e. curriculum and instruction) provided for English language learners in Southern Arizona elementary schools in two school districts. These schools have an above state average population of second language learners, high levels of student achievement according to the state letter grade and the four-hour English Language Development (ELD) block. This study draws heavily on the notion of language orientations as a conceptual model as proposed by Richard Ruiz (1984, 1994) to better comprehend the complexity of the bilingual education debate, however in this study, the focus is the four-hour ELD block from Arizona’s law ARS 15-752—English Language Education Law. Implications from the research indicate that there is limited principal mediation and inconsistent curriculum and instruction for English Language Learners in the four-hour ELD block. Recommendations for school leadership call for continued professional development on effective second language acquisition practices that are research based and not district initiated, resistance to the alternative language program and advocacy for ELLs.

All school systems throughout the country serve students referred to as at risk. Research documents that these students are at a greater risk of dropping out of school due to characteristics that contribute to school disengagement. By exploring the perspectives of male inmates aged 18-30 regarding their educational experiences, this study's data illuminated how school personnel and the schooling process may theoretically contribute to negative outcomes such as incarceration. The focus of the study was to identify commonalities and phenomena in relation to educational experiences, school engagement levels, deviant behavior, and school staff-student interactions as related to the at-risk student population. Interviews of a sample group of prisoners were utilized to gather rich data from their experiences. A qualitative/phenomenological research method was employed. This study introduced a revised and expanded term to replace the at-risk term when describing students who are at risk of school failure. This new term is COPE (Children Of Promise in Education). The acronym COPEr will be used when referring to the individual student who is at promise for academic success. COPErs will be used when referring to multiple students of promise for academic success. Six themes emerged from the data analysis. The six themes were as follows: characteristics of the respondents as k-12 students, student-staff interaction, engagement, disengagement, negative outcomes, and reflection and advice. An analysis of the themes is represented by quotes from the study's participants. This analysis allowed for the emergence of data that substantively contributes to the gap in the literature pertaining to a continued need for qualitative research examining the schooling experiences of at-risk youth, juvenile delinquents, high school dropouts, and, as in this study, inmates. Few studies have examined the perspectives of inmates regarding their schooling experiences. Most research regarding inmates has examined correctional education within the prison system. After the findings of the study are revealed, the implications of the study are presented. Implications for school staff and student development through communication and positive interaction are addressed. Suggestions for future research related to positive academic and social development of COPErs in the educational system are suggested.

This study explored successful leadership practices in challenging circumstances within the context of two case study schools. It was a qualitative case study of two secondary schools that have consistently performed above national average over a period of five years for matric pass rate. These township schools are headed by a female and a male principal. The study provides greater insights into leadership practices in the schools. The study showed that shared leadership was not practiced in the case schools. Shared (distributive) leadership implied that principals in the case schools would be practicing collective forms of leadership. However, delegation, which was about authority and accountability residing with the principal, seemed more prevalent. The findings revealed that both principals saw themselves as delegating most of the tasks to their subordinates, even though these tasks belonged to the subordinates by virtue of their formal appointments. The case schools have two deputies who share administrative and curriculum responsibilities. The deputy principals are there to deputise and assist the principal - duties that are lawfully theirs. The same applies to the HoDs whose duties are to oversee curriculum delivery in the classroom. These are not a delegated function but an execution of their responsibilities. In both case schools, evidence shows that the schools are successful because of the initiative of individual teachers who exert themselves in the classroom.