With the need for rapid school reform amid changes in socioeconomic and political situations, evidence abounds that today's school principals operate in a stress-strained environment. Participants of this study identified at least a form of stress on the job. More than 96% claimed to have experienced work-related stress at a level they believed…

This article outlines an analytical framework that enables analysis of degrees of democracy in a school or other organizational setting. It is founded in a holistic conception of democracy, which is a model of working together that aspires to truth, goodness, and meaning and the participation of all. We suggest that the analytical framework can be…

This article grew out of an extensive piece of grounded theory research that explored students' experiences of democratic education. A small democratic school in the south of England is used as a case study. Students in this school experienced a strong sense of belonging--to the school itself, with teachers, and with peers. This appeared to make a…

This article presents findings from a qualitative study describing how a cohort of teachers pursuing their master's degree in teacher leadership developed critical consciousness through coursework and the cohort structure. The findings--collected via observations, interviews, and document review--indicate the struggles and conflicts that teachers…

Much of the earlier research on women in leadership has told the stories of White women. Since there are very low numbers of superintendents of color both male and female nationwide, there have been very few stories reported of women leaders of color (Brunner & Grogan, 2007). This article describes the leadership issues involved when one Black…

Sustainability is the integration of ecological, social, and economic approaches to ensuring healthy local and global communities for present and future generations. Although environmental science and social studies teachers have assumed primary responsibility for sustainability related programs and initiatives, whole school approaches to teaching…

This study investigates how a small group of teacher leaders and their principals, participating in a teacher leadership program called the teacher connector (TC), understand teacher leadership and its impact on their practice. TCs' responsibilities were typical of teacher leaders; thus, their experiences can provide insights into teacher leaders'…

The legal freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures is guaranteed to all adult citizens under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. These same legal protections from unreasonable searches and seizures are not guaranteed to today's k-12 student population. School officials are not subject to the same warrant and probable cause…

Leader succession is often the result of a broken system, resulting in the loss of leadership gains from the exiting leader and leaving the incoming leader without proper support for success. This system needs replacing, with a system of dynamic succession planning that is carefully planned and an integral part of a school's improvement plan. To…

Schools are institutions in which students' course taking creates series of linked learning opportunities continually shaped by not only curricular structures but demographic and academic backgrounds. In contrast to a seven-step normative course sequence reflecting the conventional hierarchical structure of mathematics, analysis of more than…

In the city setting in which this article's investigation took place, high school dropout rates have remained above 50% for better than three decades. This article reports on a photographic inquiry into urban youth's perceptions of the very institution of school, revealing reasons behind the multigenerational school disengagement represented by…

A cross-case analysis of five case studies of team-based technology leadership in middle schools with laptop programs identifies systems of practice that organize teams' distributed leadership. These cases suggest that successfully implementing a complex improvement effort warrants a team-based leadership approach, especially for an improvement…

Beginning in the 1990s, national educational policies around the world have mandated massive investments in information and communications technologies (ICT) to transform teaching and learning in ways appropriate for developing "21st-century skills." Recent research indicates significant success in bringing teachers and students into contact with…

This study focused on understanding the extent to which technology leadership is discussed, framed, and given voice in the fields of educational leadership and educational administration. To do this, we collected data and conducted content analyses on conference programs from three leading professional organizations in the field and on a selection…

This research, looking through the lens of Fullan (1991) regarding the complexity of implementing school wide change, sought to explore preparation and requirements of new administrators with respect to the integration of technology by first gathering data regarding licensure and course requirements from state departments of education and…