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Thesis advisor: Martin Scanlan / Many district and school leaders have leveraged instructional leadership or social justice leadership to advance student achievement for minoritized students. While research has examined these approaches separately, we identify a potential gap at the nexus between instructional and social justice leadership. In particular, we find a need for further research that examines how leaders bridge instructional and social justice leadership practices, to disrupt educational inequities. Our study examines how educational leaders weave instructional and social justice leadership skills to cultivate others' social justice pedagogical knowledge and skill. Employing a collective case study framework, this study explores how a mid-sized urban district’s superintendent and school leaders cultivated and promoted the social justice pedagogical knowledge and skill of others. Data was collected through interviews, surveys, and document reviews. The primary research participants included one superintendent, two assistant superintendents, three central office leaders, five school leaders, and six teachers. Our findings highlight four themes: the importance of leaders’ critical self-reflection perceptions of district-level infrastructure and strategic planning, school-level instructional infrastructure and capacity building, and gaps in social justice pedagogical skill. This research has implications for practice, policy, and existing literature related to the cultivation and enactment of social justice pedagogical knowledge and skill across diverse contexts. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of Jamaica's Aspiring Principals Program, APP, administered by the National College for Educational Leadership, NCEL. The study is conceptually grounded in the Marzano School Leadership Model and the Tannenbaum Model of Training Effectiveness using a mixed-methods analysis of survey responses from 108 principals who are both APP and non-APP graduates in the seven administrative educational regions across the country. The study reveals that APP graduates demonstrate significantly higher confidence levels in principalship roles in navigating conflict management and decision-making than non-APP graduates. A regression analysis shows that APP participation positively influences job satisfaction, while extensive administrative responsibilities tend to decrease it. Overall, the findings emphasize the transformative impact of the APP on enhancing leadership confidence, conflict management skills, and job satisfaction, underscoring the importance of continued investment in principal preparation in Jamaica. The study underscores the critical need for policy reforms that integrate crisis management and adaptive leadership into the training of aspiring principals, ensuring that school leaders are well-prepared to navigate especially systems-altering occurrences like the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also encourages a licensing regime for principals, complemented by continuous professional development, to maintain high leadership standards and accountability. The findings emphasize the value of context-sensitive leadership preparation, advocating for a leadership preparation curriculum that blends theoretical knowledge with practical experiences tailored to the unique challenges faced by Jamaican school principals. / Educational Leadership

The role of an assistant principal is both challenging and multifaceted. The role of an assistant principal who is both Black and female is compounded as this demographic of leaders must navigate both the present demands of the position and racial stressors that often cause low self-confidence and feelings of inadequacy (Robinson, 2014). Cited research indicates that mentoring is effective in developing both leadership capacity and self-confidence or self-efficacy for new school leaders (Allen et al., 1995; Barnett et al., 2017; Calabrese and Tucker-Ladd, 1991; Craft et al., 2016; Gurley et al., 2015; Harris, 2020; Hausman et al., 2002; Lester et al, 2011; Liang and Augustine-Shaw, 2016; Marshall and Phelps, 2016; Parfitt and Rose, 2020; Ryan, 2011; Searby et al., 2017; Spillane and Lee, 2014). The purpose of this study was to identify the perspectives of mentoring on Black female assistant principals' self-confidence and leadership capacity development. A secondary purpose was to learn if participants perceived that race had any impact on their ability to serve successfully in the role. Data analysis revealed that relationship, not race was the primary driver needed for a successful mentoring relationship. Data also supports a positive perceived relationship between mentoring and improved leadership capacity and self-confidence for Black female assistant principals. Findings and implications could aid school districts, policymakers, and principal preparation program leaders with establishing and diversifying practices and/or programs to strengthen the leadership capacity and confidence of Black female assistant principals. / Doctor of Education / The role of an assistant principal is both challenging and multifaceted. The role of an assistant principal who is both Black and female is compounded as this demographic of leaders must navigate both the present demands of the position and racial stressors that often cause low self-confidence and feelings of inadequacy (Robinson, 2014). This study investigated the perspectives of mentoring on Black female assistant principals' self-confidence and leadership capacity development. Additionally, the researcher aimed to learn if participants perceived that race had any impact on their ability to serve successfully in the role. Data analysis revealed that relationship, not race, was the primary driver needed for a successful mentoring relationship. Data also supported a positive perceived relationship between mentoring and improved leadership capacity and self-confidence for Black female assistant principals. Findings and implications could aid school districts, policymakers, and principal preparation program leaders with establishing and diversifying practices and/or programs to strengthen the leadership capacity and confidence of Black female assistant principals.

Data shows that there is an overall dearth of Asian Americans in the role of the principalship in K-12 public schools. According to the Department of Education (2019), Asian Americans made up 5% of the national student population, but less than two percent of all K-12 public school principals identified as Asian. This mixed methods study is designed to provide insight into why there is an underrepresentation of Asian Americans in roles of the principalship in K-12 public schools. Through the theoretical framework, Asian Critical Race Theory, the aim of this dissertation study is to a) examine the factors that may hinder or encourage Asian Americans from embarking on the journey towards the principalship and b) make recommendations and observations on how to break through the existing barriers that may inhibit Asian Americans from pursuing the role. The dissertation studied 92 principals and assistant principals in K-12 public schools and utilized a quantitative methodology with a questionnaire and a qualitative methodology with semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and field notes as data sources. Findings indicate that it is still difficult to be viewed as a competent, Asian American principal. Additionally, women experienced an added layer of challenges related to their gender; and first- and second-generation participants experienced greater difficulty in navigating the system. The findings hope to be the catalyst for promoting more Asian American principals in ways that their voices and stories may be heard. Moreover, this emancipatory research can serve as a liberating experience and contribute to the greater Asian American community, specifically our students. As we continue to make strides towards a more equitable and diverse society, we must prioritize our efforts to truly diversify our educational systems, which include understanding biases and breaking through the bamboo ceiling.

Teachers' perceptions of their school leaders influence student achievement in their schools. The extent of this influence is examined in this study. This quantitative study examined teachers' perceptions of the leadership style of their principals as transformational, transactional or passive-avoidant in improving and non-improving schools in relation to student achievement. The study population was a purposeful sample of 143 teachers in 16 schools in one school district. Leadership behaviors, as perceived by the teachers, were measured using the Multi-factor Leadership Questionnaire. Student achievement was measured with the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test results for each school using three years of results. Independent t-test, multiple regressions, and an open-ended question were used to analyze the research questions. The study found that teachers in improving and non-improving schools had minimal differences in how they perceived their principals' leadership styles. All three leadership styles were statistically significant predictors of student achievement. School status was not significant in predicting student achievement indicating no difference in student achievement between improving and non-improving schools. Transactional leadership had a negative relationship while transformational and passive-avoidant leadership style had a positive relationship with student achievement. Regression analysis of the MLQ subscales for each leadership style as perceived by the teachers and the school status with student achievement found that transformational subscale intellectual stimulation and school status had a statistically significant positive relationship with student achievement. Likewise, the transactional subscale management by exception-active was a significant predictor with student achievement but had a negative relationship. Passive avoidant style also had a positive relationship with student achievement. Teacher demographics of gender, age, years as a teacher, years at current school, and level of school (elementary, middle, high) were examined in relation to perceived leadership style and school status. Multiple regression analysis found that only years at current school that was significant in how they perceived their principal's transformational or passive avoidant leadership style. No demographic variables were significant for transactional style or school status. Overall, teachers were satisfied with the principal's leadership style and effectiveness. Teachers most often cited school culture as having an influence on student achievement in both improving and non-improving schools. Limitations of the study included self-reported teacher perceptions of principal leadership style from 16 schools in one school district which limits generalizability; no controls for teacher classroom performance and no verification of respondents actually observing principal behaviors; time of year survey was given; and, the use of one instrument to measure leadership style may not reflect the actual leadership style of the principal.

Previous research by Vitton & Wasonga (2009) and Strenth (2013) found public school K-12 principals struggling in the moral reasoning and decision-making measures of the second Defining Issues Test ("DIT-2"). In response to these studies, this research sought to collect, to examine, and to compare DIT-2 data for educational leaders at various stages of the principalship track in an effort to determine and/or to isolate the locus of principals' reported underperformance. The moral reasoning and decision-making of regular-education K-12 public school principals and assistant principals in Florida, and current master's degree students in educational leadership programs at a large public Florida university were measured and compared. Research questions were posed: 1) to find the levels of moral reasoning and decision-making reached by acting principals, acting assistant principals, and current master's students in educational leadership programs; 2) to determine if there was a difference between these principals, assistant principals, and master's students in moral reasoning and decision-making; and 3) to see if there was a difference in moral reasoning and decision-making between principals across various years of experience. The DIT-2 was administered anonymously to participants through an online link, and was scored by the University of Alabama's Office for the Study of Ethical Development. Data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistical methods principally to determine the degree to which participants reasoned and made decisions based upon personal interests, upon the maintenance of norms, or upon the basis of more sophisticated principles. Results showed master's students in educational leadership outperforming active principals and assistant principals in moral reasoning and decision-making by more often employing sophisticated principles and by more often avoiding choices associated with personal interests. With regard to principals, the difference was statistically significant on DIT-2 N-2 scores (based on ANOVA and t-test results) and P-scores (based on t-test results, but not based on ANOVA results). Principals not only underperformed master's students in educational leadership statistically significantly, but also underperformed active assistant principals in comparisons of group means on DIT-2 sub-scores. This research confirms the prior works of Strenth (2013) and Vitton & Wasonga (2009), where principals had been found to struggle in measures of moral reasoning and decision-making. These consecutive and consistent findings now require consideration, discussion, and action by the array of K-12 public school stakeholders. In response to the startling findings that K-12 principals are significantly underperforming those still aspiring for the principalship, a substantial, alarmed, and sober re-examination must take place as to what has happened to principals in K-12 public schools, and as to what can and must be done about it.

From the wave of policy reforms of the new Minister of Education and Human Resources for a "World Class Quality Education", stakeholders have been ascribing the poor quality of learner performance to a lack of motivated teachers. This study focuses on the factors that impact on teacher motivation in the Flacq district of Mauritius and on the role of the principal in enhancing teacher motivation. An empirical investigation based on qualitative research was conducted following the literature study on these two themes. Motivational factors pertain to the school-based personal and professional needs of the teacher. Due to centralised school governance and instructional leadership tasks being delegated to the School Management Team, principals are not effective teacher motivators. Recommendations relate to transformational, distributive and participatory leadership strategies for optimal instructional principalship. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Educational management)

From the wave of policy reforms of the new Minister of Education and Human Resources for a "World Class Quality Education", stakeholders have been ascribing the poor quality of learner performance to a lack of motivated teachers. This study focuses on the factors that impact on teacher motivation in the Flacq district of Mauritius and on the role of the principal in enhancing teacher motivation. An empirical investigation based on qualitative research was conducted following the literature study on these two themes. Motivational factors pertain to the school-based personal and professional needs of the teacher. Due to centralised school governance and instructional leadership tasks being delegated to the School Management Team, principals are not effective teacher motivators. Recommendations relate to transformational, distributive and participatory leadership strategies for optimal instructional principalship. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Educational management)