This case focuses on an urban middle school that has recently seen much improvement in the academic performance of its students and its reputation within the community. These positive changes, however, have come about largely because of what might be perceived as a narrow focus on standardized curricula, pedagogy, and assessment techniques.…

As instructional leaders, principals often make curriculum decisions that balance their community's need for knowledge with the nation's need for knowledge workers. Across the country, school administrators are searching for funding and effective means of infusing more technology, foreign language learning, and global perspectives instruction into…

This case chronicles some of the problems a corporate executive encountered on his transition from the private sector to the deanship of the College of Business in a university of higher education. His deanship, which resulted from the recent reorganization at State University, gave him significant responsibility for undergraduate and graduate…

Currently in his second year as assistant principal, Jack Andrews is facing conflicting pressures of leadership related to his perception of career mobility and the tensions caused by a pervasively heterosexist, sexist, and homophobic culture in his school. This case raises questions regarding the purpose of school in terms of social justice,…

This article is a case study designed to challenge the beliefs, values, and ideology of graduate students in educational leadership preparation programs regarding social justice and democratic education. This case is designed to assist students in developing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to navigate the micropolitical environments that…

A case developed for courses in leadership education--particularly for those centered in social justice and ethical leadership--is described. Students test their own assumptions about "difference" and are called on to make leadership responses that are grounded in ethical frameworks. This case highlights tensions that surround lesbian, gay,…

This case study focuses on the moral and ethical issues surrounding changing an athlete's grade to make him eligible to play in a championship game. Jerome, a senior attending Woodrow Wilson High School, earned a D in his typing class, which made him ineligible to play in the basketball championship games. The principal and basketball coach made…

This case is centered on the term "aestheticism", the discrimination or bias against those who do not possess the most desired physical qualities. In this particular case, the authors have chosen to highlight how African American administrators might be selected, assigned, or appointed based on their physical attributes and characteristics. The…

This article profiles Pearl Buck, an advocate for women's rights and minority children, an author of Chinese history, and a pioneer in many ways. Buck established the Welcome House in 1949 in order to help unadoptable children find families (Conn, 1996). In 1964, Buck founded the Pearl S. Buck Foundation, now Pearl S. Buck International, which…

This article profiles Leta Steller Hollingworth, who gave what she had to human beings through her life as a poet, a scholar, a researcher, a feminist, an educational psychologist, and a powerful advocate for gifted children. Hollingworth's research during her graduate studies focused on the psychology of women. At a time when women's professional…

This study addressed the perceptions of isolation among high school principals in Georgia. The data collection process, in which interviews were conducted, provided insight into the lived experiences of 10 principals. One of the findings was that high school principals were relieved, in a sense, to discuss their perceptions of the "loneliness"…

Women superintendents in one Midwestern state participated in this study of their personal demographics, professional qualifications and career paths, and demographics of districts and boards of education that hired them. Participants identified characteristics, skills, and barriers to women seeking superintendencies. Thirty-one of 36 women…

This research explored how 15 female superintendents from a southwestern state experienced issues of gender bias. Participants came from a mix of urban, rural, and suburban districts that varied in size from 150 to 25,000 students. Using in-depth interviews and a transcendental phenomenological qualitative approach, the researchers examined how…

Where does leadership begin and where did leaders ever get the idea that someone would follow them? This author has been reflecting on this question a great deal lately, in light of the mountains of books and articles she has accumulated. Apparently, there are many people asking questions about leadership and many more who want to know the…

In this article, the author shares Elizabeth Ann Seton's story as a woman's story. Seton was born in 1774 to a New York family. Through her work in Maryland, Seton was credited with being the founder of the parochial Catholic school system in the U.S. Seton formed a group of sisters known as the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph. The sisters…