<p> The New York City Public School System has experienced many education reforms over the decades. In 2002, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was granted mayoral control of the New York City Public School System. The continuous reform efforts affected superintendents&rsquo; roles. This change focused on systemic reform rather than local reform, which was one of the community district superintendents&rsquo; responsibilities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the evolving role of superintendents during frequent change efforts introduced in the New York City Public School System between 2002-2016. This study investigated the changing role of superintendents and how the various organizational changes and practices affected school leaders. It also investigated if any transition supports existed for superintendents during the frequent change efforts.</p><p> Research participants included thirteen New York City superintendents who first had experienced the various change efforts for at least five years or more in the role of superintendent. This study was guided by two research questions in which six themes emerged. The findings of the study suggest that all of the 13 participants agreed that frequent transitions affected how they approached their responsibilities. The results also revealed that superintendents that had developed trust in their districts, were able to maintain those relationships during all the change efforts. In addition, all of the participants concurred that their role was to build leaders. This study also found that all participants agreed that before policies are instituted, all educational stakeholders, including parents, must have input. Additionally, the participants acknowledged that the constant change of policy throughout the last decade resulted in lack of consistency and continuity and was not conducive to success. Eight out of the 13 participants agreed that the transition support over the last two years (2014-2016) was substantive. The participants agree that the current administration, seems to have a better approach in introducing and managing change efforts. One of such approaches is the ability for superintendents to provide ongoing support to their principals and monitor instructional changes enables superintendents to fairly evaluate outcomes.</p>

<p> Principals play a significant role in schools and impact many aspects of the educational experience. Principal turnover, especially in high-needs schools, has a detrimental effect on schools, specifically on student achievement. One type of educational experience that seeks to serve students of low-income backgrounds and from historically under-served populations are schools run by charter management organizations (CMOs). Previous research has reported that women hold positions of educational leadership far less in proportion to men given the high number of women in teaching positions. Therefore, in order to more fully understand the principals in CMOs, issues of gender must be explored. The purpose of this study was to use a feminist perspective to create a better understanding of principal stability in schools run by CMOs. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)</p>

<p> Cairo School District has a chronic truancy rate that far exceeds the State of Illinois&rsquo; average. The purpose of the study was to understand the reasons for truancy at Cairo School District. Through data review and semi-structured interviews, the researcher was able understand recent graduates attitudes and perceptions regarding school attendance. Based on the finding of this research study, implications for practice emerged, and will provide the foundation to establish the necessary structures to improve educational and social emotional practices to improve student attendance. </p>

<p> The number of female superintendents in Wisconsin public schools remains disproportionately low compared to males. With research supporting a connection between female leaders and transformational leadership, the question as to why more females do not enter the realm of leadership and how they see themselves as leaders remains unanswered. This quantitative research sought to find whether or not there was a statistically significant difference between female and male superintendents&rsquo; self-perceived transformational leadership behaviors in Wisconsin public school districts. Using the survey tool, Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), the finding was that female respondents self- assessed their transformational and transactional leadership behaviors and outcomes with greater statistical significance more often than males. While more research into the leadership of the superintendency needs to be done, these findings may be used to encourage school boards to consider leadership behaviors when hiring and to encourage current superintendent leaders to reflect on their own leadership styles.</p>

<p> School improvement plans and major reform initiatives most often target core academic competencies. They might include strategies to improve the physical safety of school campuses, but they rarely include discussions about creating psychologically safe environments. School safety has garnered national attention in the aftermath of violent high profile shootings on K through12 campuses across the country. The Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Education have offices dedicated to providing schools with funding, training and resources to improve security and develop strategic crisis plans. There are a variety of resources available about lessening physical vulnerabilities as related to school safety. There is however, far more to establishing a safe school culture than physical safety and secure facilities. It is equally imperative to ensure that schools are psychologically safe spaces for children. Very little work has been done to provide resources on practices for creating a culture of school safety related to student resiliency and well-being. This research examines best practices of K through 12 school leaders in establishing a culture of school safety - specifically targeting student resiliency and well-being.</p>

<p> Previous research illustrated how principals effectively facilitate the development of teachers&rsquo; instructional practice through actions such as differentiating professional development, providing continuous professional development, establishing learning communities and using supervision/evaluations to help modify instruction; however, what is missing from that research is how personal/professional experiences influence specific principal behavior and actions in regards to facilitating the development of teachers&rsquo; instructional practice. </p><p> The idea of school principal as teacher-educator is supported within the requirements to become a principal (ISSLC Standards, 2015) as well as within daily necessities of school leaders (Darling-Hammond, 2010; Fullan, 2012, 2014; Hargreaves &amp; Fullan, 2013). Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, believes the best way to get strong teachers is to adopt a &ldquo;fundamentally different way of looking at teachers, how we recruit, <i>train and support them and give them the latitude and tools and conditions to do their jobs&rdquo;</i> [emphasis added] (Layton, 2015). The question that remains is how specific experiences influence the actions of principals to focus on the development of teaches&rsquo; instructional practice. </p><p> Potential influential personal or professional practices might include: principals&rsquo; teacher and administrative training and experiences, mandates from central administration vs. local needs, the context and community of school and/or the personal life experiences of the principals. Hence, it is imperative to take a closer look into what experiences influence principal actions to facilitate the development of teachers&rsquo; instructional practices. </p><p> This study employed narrative inquiry methodology and analysis to examine personal and professional experiences of three selected principals who have been identified as outstanding in their field. Findings provide detailed insight into how personal and/or professional experiences influence their actions in regards to the development of teachers&rsquo; instructional practice. The results of this study unpack the journey these individuals took in becoming learning leaders of their school community. Additionally, the results are informative to the field of educational leadership.</p>

This study compared the findings from the literature review in the area of schools as professional learning communities, using specifically Toole and Louis’ (2002) definition of a professional learning community, with the perceptions of twelve Manitoba school principals of the normative imperative to develop their schools as professional learning communities and their perceptions of the reality of administrative practice. Toole and Louis propose that a professional learning community is a concept composed of three interdependent domains, namely a school culture that emphasizes professionalism is client centered and knowledge based, additionally it emphasizes learning by placing a high value on teacher inquiry and reflection, and finally it is communitarian insofar as it emphasizes personal connections. Furthermore, this definition is built on the notion that there are preconditions, structural supports and human and social resources, necessary for professional learning communities. Grounded theory served as both the theoretical structure and research design to gain an understanding of principals’ thinking (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). principals participated in this study in two focus groups (six principals in each focus group), and twelve interviews. Each focus group and interview was transcribed, and content analysis was employed to identify commonalities and differences in the data (Gall, Gall & Borg, 2003). Using open, axial, and selective coding eight themes were identified based on the responses to the research questions (Johnson & Christensen, 2004; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). This study revealed some consistency between the information cited in the literature, with specific focus on Toole and Louis’ (2002) definition, and principals’ perceptions of their schools as professional learning communities. The participants perceived of a professional learning community as being comprised of three interdependent domains, which are professional, learning and community, and as requiring necessary structural supports and human and social resources as preconditions. They identified time, teacher empowerment, interconnected teacher roles, school plans and institutional identity as structural supports. They also viewed trust and respect, and supportive principal leadership as human and social resource preconditions for schools striving to become professional learning communities. The study revealed conflict between the beliefs of the principals and conceptions of professional learning communities as theoretically constructed in the literature. The participants perceived that while a professional learning community is multidimensional, its effectiveness is not necessarily tied to measures of student achievement. There appeared to be few differences between the participants’ perceptions when separated by gender, school type (public or private) and school size (small, medium or large). The participants appeared to have limited notions of professional learning communities and as a result it is hard to make a case that professional learning communities exist in these schools. Additionally, they saw the duty to evaluate teachers as fostering the development of a professional learning community. Finally, while professional learning communities may hold the best promise for sustaining school improvement efforts (Hord, 2004), the efforts associated with nurturing one will lack results if principals do not possess the clarity of what is required for a school to become a professional learning community. / October 2007

Pupil control ideology

In this study, the researcher has attempted to ascertain what counts as legitimate restrictions by the employer on the free speech rights of Canadian public school teachers from the perspectives of employment law and constitutional law. In the employment context, school boards may restrict: dishonest speech which undermines trust, uncooperative speech which interferes with effectiveness and efficiency or which is abusive, disloyal speech which unjustifiably harms school boards' legitimate business interests, and disobedient speech which defies employers' authority. In other circumstances, however, employment law recognizes and protects teacher expression in spite of teachers' employment duties. Thus, employers are not allowed to interdict: speech solely because it is idiosyncratic or unconventional, appropriate banter with students, teachers who criticize their employers for illegal and negligent behaviour, and direct and forthright speech in the collective bargaining context. Under employment law, it is still unclear whether teachers can speak out responsibly on matters of public interest without violating their duty of loyalty or whether teachers can exercise some degree of academic freedom without undermining their duty of obedience. In both cases, the researcher argues for increased protection. First, as professionals, teachers possess expertise and a relevant insiders' perspective which have the potential to inform debate on issues of public concern. Second, as educators, teachers are called to prepare our students for citizenship in our democracy by teaching them how to think critically. Under constitutional law, and generally speaking, the Charter is unlikely to alter the employment law analysis and corresponding protection of teachers' expressive rights for three main reasons. First, adjudicators are likely to adopt a reasonableness-based approach to s.1 analysis based on the Supreme Court of Canada's landmark decision in Ross v. New Brunswick School District No. 15 (1996)--the leading judgment on teachers' free speech rights under the Charter. Second, when governments act as both employer and state agent, as opposed to state agent alone, adjudicators will be more inclined to accept employer arguments based on pragmatic and utilitarian considerations, like efficiency and effectiveness, as constituting reasonable grounds for restricting teachers' speech. Third, adjudicators will examine the nature of teacher expression to determine whether it advances the core values underlying s.2(b) expression: pursuit of truth, political participation, and self-fulfillment/autonomy. As a general rule, one can argue that dishonest, uncooperative, disloyal, and disobedient expression are unlikely to implicate core Charter values. Yet, the Charter does have the potential to enhance protection of teachers' free speech rights in two particular areas. First, the Charter may change the analysis when teachers speak out on issues of public concern in a reasonable and controlled way. Second, the Charter may make a difference when teachers attempt to exercise some measure of academic freedom in a professionally responsible manner. In the first scenario, political speech is at stake. In the second scenario, the search for truth (and to a diminished degree political participation self-fulfillment/autonomy) is involved. In both cases, fundamental core Charter values are at issue. Hence, adjudicators may require employers to demonstrate a higher standard of justification, in these specific circumstances, before they accept arguments limiting teachers' freedom of expression. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

<p> This qualitative study was conducted to identify whether or not a relationship exists between a leader&rsquo;s sense of life calling and the mission statement he or she creates for the organization he or she leads, in relation to life calling theory. Organizational leaders from Christian schools associated with the Council on Educational Standards and Accountability, who had participated in the creation of the school&rsquo;s mission statement, made up the sample for the study. Participants were interviewed utilizing open-ended questions and the data was analyzed employing the Consensual Qualitative Research method and in relation to the elements of the Life Calling Model and the Life Calling MAL-3D Rubric. The mission statement of the schools involved in the study were evaluated for the presence of organizational calling, in relation to the three components of the Life Calling Model, using content analysis. The two sets of data were evaluated to identify any relationship between the two. </p><p> The focus of this study attempted to understand three aspects of organizational leadership, specifically related to the organizational leader and the organization&rsquo;s mission statement. The first aspect of the study identified the leaders&rsquo; level of thought maturity on life calling. The second aspect of the study included an analysis of the organizational mission statement for the presence of organizational calling or purpose. The third aspect of this study attempted to identify whether or not a relationship existed between the two sets of data, and if so, what the nature of that relationship was.</p>