Finland's education system is regarded as one of the most effective in the world. Shared values of the Finnish welfare society continue to influence national education policies that determine how education is organized, governed, and led. Findings from a national study of the superintendency, however, suggest recent demographic and financial…

During recent decades, the rise of the global economy launched a wide array of social, economic, and political changes in nations throughout the world. Heightened concern about the quality of schools launched what is arguably the most pervasive, intense, and protracted attempts at educational reform in recent history. Examinations of the…

A recent study of scholarship on educational leadership and management in East Asia identified a rapidly growing corpus of published studies focusing on educational leadership and management in Hong Kong. This article undertakes a "topographical analysis" of this literature with the aim of describing the nature of topics and research…

Educational leadership practice is embedded and shaped in its own context. However, contemporary policy makers are keen to use research findings from multiple educational systems to produce overall, generic models of best leadership practice. Therefore, research needs to encompass analyses of the political, societal, cultural, and institutional…

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between superintendent leadership and the operational processes of school improvement. School district superintendents (N = 226) from six southeastern states were surveyed concerning their leadership authenticity and school improvement practices. Descriptive statistics, analyzes of…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was passed to ensure that 100 percent of students would be proficient by 2014. Progress toward that goal is measured annually and results suggest that while some schools improve, increasing numbers are identified as in need of improvement (INI) and are subject to sanctions. We examined perceived levels of threat…

This issue of "Leadership and Policy in Schools" outlines research into successful principal leadership from the perspective of four countries--New Zealand, Israel, Cyprus, and the USA (San Antonio). The research followed the methods and protocols established by the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP), which was…

This case study follows the work of principal Laura Martinez as moving from leading Stevens Elementary for 9 years, and now opening a new P-8th grade academy in the same south Texas urban, inner-city district. The purpose of this case study was to observe successful leadership and the principal's strategies both in her previous and present school,…

Elements of directed autonomy were visible in public education long before the concept had been defined in the scholarly literature on organizational management. Most notably, states established common curricula and adequacy standards and then held local school boards accountable for compliance. Civic engagement, a liberty-based process through…

This article arises from research in one school district (utilizing the Vanderbilt Assessment of Leadership in Education, VAL-ED) into the relationships among the perceptions of elementary school leaders of their learning-centered leadership, and student achievement on state-mandated tests of reading in Virginia. Beyond the percentage of students…

Recent studies have suggested that educational leaders enacting a balance of technical and adaptive leadership have an effect on increasing student achievement. Technical leadership focuses on problem-solving or first-order changes within existing structures and paradigms. Adaptive leadership involves deep or second-order changes that alter…

In this article, we review research from the organizational sciences to develop lessons for educators and policy makers. The approach is an integrative review of the literature. We employ a comprehensive process to unpack and make sense of the turnaround literature from the organizational sciences. We rely on strategies appropriate for document…

Using case studies of four schools in three districts, this article explores how leadership is distributed in districts and asks about the role of teacher leaders. It proposes that teacher leaders and districts can share three leadership tasks: procuring and distributing materials, monitoring improvement, and developing people. The district and…

Often viewed as a recruitment issue, the teacher shortage is better defined as a retention issue. This three-year study examines teacher retention through a professional learning communities framework. During the first year of data collection, 217 first- and second-year teachers in a small urban school district were surveyed to assess their…

This article sketches out a framework for inclusive leadership. As one of the constellation of approaches to leadership and social justice, inclusive leadership is concerned first and foremost with inclusion, both in its processes and the ends for which it strives. It provides another lens to help those concerned with social justice recognize…