Class size reduction (CSR) has emerged as a very popular, if not highly controversial, policy approach for reducing the achievement gap. This article reports on findings from an implementation study of class size reduction policy in Wisconsin entitled the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE). Drawing on case studies of nine schools,…

Concerns about the effectiveness of traditional preparation programs have yielded a wide-ranging debate about new approaches to recruiting and preparing leaders. The resulting policy debate features two general camps: those who wish to refine and bolster the existing system of preparation and licensure and those who advocate a move away from…

Traditional leadership preparation programs and licensure requirements give only token consideration to social justice concerns. This article examines the emerging social justice discourse in the educational administration field and discusses several challenges that must be considered as universities and others attempt to prepare school leaders…

Although some factors seem to be moving to allow greater decertification of the school principal profession, other factors, moving in the opposite direction, call for greater oversight by government. Four factors - perceived shortage of principals, accountability and the changing role of principals, growing influence of the state over school…

New accountability requirements contain provisions that mandate the participation of students with disabilities in large-scale assessments and the public reporting of these students' performance along with other important educational outcomes. Discusses the technical, legal, and practical challenges to implementing the new accountability mandates.…

States that central to any efforts to improve urban schools is the relationship between the school managers and the teachers' union. Recommendations include creating learner-centered schools; focusing on improving the knowledge and skills of teachers; negotiating "Living Contracts"; and expanding school choice by making public schools more like…

This article aims to examine the predictive relationships of self-evaluation capacity and staff competency on the effect of strategic planning in aided secondary schools in Hong Kong. A quantitative questionnaire survey was compiled to collect data from principals of the participating schools. Confirmatory factor analysis and reliability tests…

This paper reports on an interpretive study in which 25 elementary principals were asked about their assessment knowledge, the use of large-scale assessments in their schools, and principals' perceptions on their roles with respect to large-scale assessments. Principals in this study suggested that the current context of large-scale assessment and…

The discussion about the meaning and intended results of education is a conversation that must be undertaken frequently by all stakeholders in the educational process. One of these conversation partners is the Catholic school system. As in the public school sector, the question of school mission is taking place among leaders in the parochial…

Using a naturalistic inquiry approach and thematic analysis, this paper outlines the findings of a research study that examined 12 Manitoba principals' conceptions of professional learning communities. The study found that these principals consider the development of professional learning communities to be a normative imperative within the…

Attracting and retaining highly qualified school leaders is becoming increasingly important in our nation. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that motivate or inhibit practicing teachers from seeking administrative positions. Using exploratory factor analysis, survey responses of 329 students enrolled in Master of School…

"El Escalafon" is the process for appointing school directors and "el Doble Turno" is the double shift of morning and afternoon session in Mexican schools. These two concepts open the door to examine more general issues in the appointment of school directors and the structure of the school day. Director appointment and school time are rooted in…

Although claiming leadership to be critical to school improvement, few studies seek the informative voice of principals regarding their understandings of roles and sources of leadership. Using a distributed perspective as a theoretical lens to reconceptualize leadership, this article explores principals' perspectives of leadership in relation to…

This study examined factors at the school, district, and provincial level that influenced school administrators' responses to large-scale assessment. To understand administrators' perspectives, 5 secondary and 4 elementary administrators from a suburban school district in southern Ontario, Canada were interviewed. Key factors noted by…

The social relevance of trust and the principals' obligation to foster trust in schools have been strongly advocated. This paper describes an in-depth, qualitative study that engaged a group of twenty-five Canadian school principals over a period of seven months, exploring the issues of trust as it affects principals' roles and responsibilities.…