<p> For decades, accountability for student results has been at the forefront of school reform. While many school-based factors have influence, teacher quality has consistently been identified as the most important school-based factor related to student achievement (Rivkin, Hanushek, &amp; Kain, 2000; Stronge, 2007). Research also suggests that a quality teacher can substantially minimize the challenges faced by at risk students (Hanushek, Kain, &amp; Rivkin, 1998). However, defining a quality teacher and determining the factors related to teacher effectiveness are not easy tasks. This research study answers the overarching question What are the primary criteria utilized by school leaders to ensure the hiring of high quality teachers? by examining school leaders&rsquo; and novice teachers&rsquo; perceptions of the important factors related to teacher quality (teacher inputs, system inputs, and comprehensive hiring practices). </p><p>

<p> The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to examine how educators lead with passion. The study identified key characteristics in school administrators and teachers who lead effective schools. This research study analyzed whether there were any significant differences in the leadership styles of administrators and teachers. Five research questions served to guide the investigation of leadership characteristics: (1) Is there a difference between the average reported scores for each of the three frequently used leadership styles? (2) Is there a difference between the administrators and the teachers on the three leadership styles? (3) Is there a significant difference between the schools on each of the three measures of leadership styles? (4) Which leadership characteristics do administrators and teachers perceive to have the most influence on creating successful schools? (5) Does the use of empowerment leadership theories such as transformational, servant, visionary, cultural, moral/ethical, and invitational affect the Academic Performance Index (API) scores at elementary magnet schools? </p><p> Fifty-two administrators and teachers from three elementary magnet schools participated in the study employing a customized version of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and semistructured interview questions. There was a significant difference in the preference of leadership style by the participants. Research participants preferred the transformational leadership style. There was no significant difference in the perceptions by the administrators and the teachers in the responses to the leadership styles at the three elementary schools.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to investigate principal turnover to determine the perceived reasons why principals leave their positions, or why they stay. My study addressed the experiences of those individuals, telling their stories of why they leave their assigned schools, including their needs and stressors, or describing their external supports they perceive causing them to stay. The qualitative study borrowed elements of a narrative study through the interview process. Nine current or former administrators, in two Piedmont North Carolina school districts, were selected for interviews, lasting approximately 90 minutes to two hours in length. All interviews were conducted at the convenience of the school employee in relation to time and location. The participants represented a cross section of experience, levels of schooling, gender and ethnicity. </p><p> The significance of their experiences as it relates to principal retention and turnover were examined. The major stressors identified were raising achievement scores and lack of support from supervisors. The supports of having effective mentors and instructional coaches, being able to distribute leadership and having valuable college coursework were common among participants. Other major themes included the importance of finding balance in the principalship, the impact of health issues, the rewards of being a school leader and advice they would give to new administrators. Current and future principals, policy makers and school districts can benefit from the data gathered as it relates to the needed skill sets, supports and stressors to promote less turnover in the principalship.</p><p>

<p> Many districts and schools are having difficulty implementing Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) in school settings. This quantitative study set out to examine the stage of MTSS implementation schools are at and identify factors from the implementation science framework that account for the different reported student outcomes related to MTSS implementation. The results of the responses from 135 school principals in California revealed, most schools were in the initial implementation stage. While implementation drivers of competency and organization were significant predictors of MTSS student outcomes, the leadership driver was found not to be a significant predictor of student outcomes. Very few schools are using a formal evaluation of implementation of MTSS practices or involving parents in the planning and evaluation of MTSS. Additionally, the results revealed that schools have most elements of evidence based practices (EBPs) for academic difficulties, but less EBPs are in place for students who are either at-risk or have emotional behavioral difficulties. A majority of the respondents indicated that there is majority buy-in among the school staff regarding implementation of MTSS. Based on the results of this study, recommendations for Policy, Practice and Research were thematically presented, in the areas of 1) Family engagement, 2) Program evaluation, 3) Budget allocation, and 4) Technical assistance to effectively implement MTSS for sustainability and student outcomes.</p><p>

<p> Purpose. The purpose of this single-case study was to explore principals&rsquo; perceptions of self-efficacy beliefs as effective instructional leaders during a period of educational transition in a semiurban, unified school district in Southern California. </p><p> Methodology. The researcher used exploratory case study, conducting semistructured, open-ended, interviews in private settings, eliciting principals&rsquo; self-efficacy perceptions. The researcher interviewed eight principals, elementary through high school, using a social constructivist interpretive framework. </p><p> Findings. The theoretical framework was Bandura&rsquo;s theories of agency, efficacy, and alignment to The Wallace Foundation&rsquo;s research of effective leadership practices. The following eight broad areas indicate how principals&rsquo; self-efficacy impacts student achievement and how environment influences principals&rsquo; self-efficacy: This is significant change, having a process will help, collaborate to get the best ideas, data informs and has many formats, everything is new, principals need support too, principals maintain a vision, and determining meaningful feedback. </p><p> Conclusions. This study led to recommendations supporting principal efficacy and aligning to The Wallace Foundation&rsquo;s research on effective leadership practices, revealing the need for improving data-informed decision making, defining evidence-based classroom practices with monitoring and support, establishing external-internal teams to build leadership around effective practices, creating intradistrict principal networks fostering collaboration and growth, and developing multisource feedback instruments for evaluation and leadership development. </p><p> Recommendations. Principal efficacy remains important based on the conclusions. Future research should explore structured principal learning networks&rsquo; impact on efficacy, relationships between new accountability models and principals&rsquo; self-efficacy, longitudinal impact on professional standards for educational leaders on efficacy, and relationships between efficacy and multisource evaluative feedback assessments.</p><p>

<p> Instructional leadership for school leaders is a complex, multifaceted task. Central office leaders can and must support the instructional leadership of school leaders. Yet the central office can sometimes present roadblocks that make it challenging for principals to be effective instructional leaders. Complicating matters is the impact of context, which can influence the ways that the central office supports or hinders the instructional leadership of school administrators. </p><p> This exploratory study examined the ways that the central office supported or hindered the instructional leadership of school administrators. It also examined the way that school district size, type and access to resources may have impacted those interactions. Participants included central office staff involved in teaching and learning as well as school principals and assistant principals in six public school districts in Pennsylvania. A qualitative design was employed. Fifty-one participants were interviewed and asked to provide documents related to curriculum, instruction, professional development, and/or assessment. </p><p> Central office administrators played a role in managing curriculum, assessment, professional development, and expectations in school districts. Supportive practices included fostering connections between and among school administrators, skill-building/mentoring, and shielding school administrators from community issues and state mandates. Practices that created roadblocks included lack of expertise and quality work products, failure to bring school administrators together around collaborative work, lack of trusting relationships, and failure to shield school administrators from community issues and state mandates. Tension around the balance between school autonomy and coherence to district mandates/needs, the process of change, feedback and accountability, and philosophical differences created additional roadblocks. Context was a relevant factor in the areas of trust and relationships, the amount of autonomy granted to school administrators, and the role of resources. </p><p> Four main conclusions were drawn. In the districts studied, there was little work on the part of central office around instructional strategies. The central office played a more direct role as instructional leaders in schools housed in smaller districts. When the central office engaged in supportive practices, fewer tensions were reported by participants within districts. Finally, the central office provided the &ldquo;glue&rdquo; that held schools together within a district.</p>

<p> Teacher leaders have been acknowledged for playing a significant role in supporting student learning. The impact of these key individuals often centers upon influencing the professional work of colleagues and having the capacity to make important leadership decisions that shape aspects of the school beyond their classrooms. </p><p> Currently, the body of research on teacher leadership in international schools is limited. The purpose of the study was to contribute to the body of knowledge related to teacher leadership in the context of international schools and is motivated by the following three research questions: (1) What types of teacher leadership roles (formal and informal) exist in international schools? (2) What are the most important attributes for teacher leaders? (3) What programs and/or activities do teacher leaders identify as valuable in developing the attributes of a successful teacher leader? </p><p> All Principals and Teacher Leaders (formal and informal) served as the accessible population for the study. Principals and Teacher Leaders completed surveys in accordance with their roles in order to gather data for the study. </p><p> The significance of the study was based upon the practical implications of possible findings. With a broader understanding of how teacher leadership is being enacted, the most important attributes of teacher leaders, and how teacher leaders are developed, international school leaders was able to use the findings for strategic efforts to support teacher leadership. Knowledge of the most important attributes may help with developing criteria for selection and evaluation of teacher leaders, while an understanding of how teacher leaders are developed may provide insight into the type of professional development or experiences necessary to cultivate this category of leaders.</p>

<p> The socio-economic achievement gap is prevalent in schools across the country. There are many high-poverty, high-performing schools that have been successful in closing this achievement gap. This study investigated 30 Illinois elementary school principals from high-poverty, high-achieving schools. Principals were given the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and data was collected about school location, number of administrative jobs previously held, gender, race, and ethnicity of the principal. The personality types of the principals were compared to historical data on personality types of school principals. There were three findings in the study. Principals with the sensing-thinking-judging (STJ) type were most prevalent in the sample of high-poverty, high-performing schools. The rate of STJ and specifically ESTJ in the sample was higher than the historical data for principal personality type. Principals in their third or more administrative job in the sample had higher scores for extravert than those in their first or second job. More research is recommended including larger samples, samples including high schools, and comparison research with principals of high-poverty, low-performing schools.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to identify best practices perceived and used by principals in low-SES high schools to achieve high annual attendance rates. </p><p> The study was an applied qualitative design, which used interviews for data collection and an emergent approach to data analysis. It involved a combination of criterion and extreme sampling to identify and interview eight principals from low-SES high schools (grades 9&ndash;12) in West Virginia with an annual attendance rate over 90%. Coding and data analysis processes involved in vitro and structural protocols. </p><p> The following best practices emerged from the research in order of most to least used: offering incentives and student recognition; establishing a positive school culture with high expectations for students to come to school; holding meetings with parents, students and an administrator; having personalized communication between students and an adult within the school; telephoning families of absent students; consistently following established district and state policies for attendance; and picking up absent students at their homes. </p><p> All the approaches revealed could be characterized as aspects of one overall best practice: developing a positive culture within the school. The ensuing specific best practices were actions and policies consistently applied and enforced. </p><p> Improved attendance results in improved performance and college- and career-readiness. Approaches similar to those revealed in this study of high-attendance, low-SES West Virginia high schools may help to improve attendance and achievement in other high schools, not just in West Virginia, but throughout the United States. </p><p>

As the number of students entering college declines, or levels off, and competition for these students intensifies, retaining the students they recruit will be the path to survival for many schools. When the retention effort is not successful with individual students, they withdraw from college and become an attrition statistic. This represents a cost to the institution (resources allocated to recruit that student) and lost revenue (tuition and fees). Many withdrawing students, maybe because of the emotional stress of the situation, cite reasons that will make the exit interview process as short and painless as possible. This leaves the institution in possession of withdrawal data that may not be entirely accurate or complete. Many decisions are made by institutions, particularly operational changes, relying on this data. There are two main avenues to sustaining adequate enrollments: recruit a larger class every year to compensate for those who leave; or, concentrate on retaining those recruited. At four-year institutions, retention activities benefit three classes of students, whereas recruitment efforts affect only one (Astin, 1975). Given the reality of declining enrollments and increasing competition, the greatest influence colleges and universities have over enrollment patterns is internal in nature. If the admissions effort has failed to accurately portray the institution's educational and social environment, those responsible for retaining students--in many cases, all non-admissions personnel--start from a negative position. This study will involve five phases. Phase One, already completed and presented in chapter Two, involved reviewing relevant dropout and retention literature. Phase Two will involve the proposal of an enrollment enhancement plan designed to increase retention. Phase Three will involve an interview with the Dean of Students at each institution to obtain an institutional perspective on the reasons they feel students leave their institution, establish a profile of the type(s) of student(s) they feel their institution serves best, and review current retention practices. This information will be used to frame an additional question to be asked each group of interviewees. Phase Four will involve the interviews mentioned above. Phase Five will involve the analysis of the data.