In 2009, the federal government committed over $3 billion nationwide to help states and districts turn around their worst-performing schools. The U.S. Department of Education intended for the School Improvement Grants (SIGs) to spur dramatic change.This report looks at the results of a field study of the first-year implementation of those grants…

In this article we describe a graduate program for practicing teachers at the University of Florida. Offered in a blended format (mostly online but supported by a local faculty member), the program embeds graduate work within school reform efforts in hard to staff schools in partner school districts up to 350 miles away from campus in order to…

This case study uses the work of Michel Foucault to challenge the normalization of the principal's role and to examine the complex power relations of a rural school and community in the midst of a closure/consolidation and subsequent reopening as a charter school. In so doing, we move beyond analysis of best practices and toward a more…

Improving principal leadership is a vital component to the success of educational reform initiatives that seek to improve whole-school performance, as principal leadership often exercises positive but indirect effects on student learning. Because of the importance of principals within the field of school improvement, this article focuses on…

This article examines the essential role of school principals in China's "Quality-Oriented Education" national reform movement. Keeping China's cultural and historical context in mind, and taking into consideration the impact of political and societal forces on the nation, we discuss the major challenges faced by Chinese schools, specifically the…

William Boyd's contributions to the education field's understanding of the political nature of school leadership are formidable. In this article, I describe the growth and development, over a roughly 30-year time span, of his key insight that successful school leaders should have the capabilities of a "political strategist" and that the…

This article examines the use of interim assessments in elementary schools in the School District of Philadelphia. The article reports on the qualitative component of a multimethod study about the use of interim assessments in Philadelphia. The study used an organizational learning framework to explore how schools can best develop the capacity to…

This article offers a review of the existing historiography of the American school principal. Although a small and incomplete body of research, scholarship on the history of the principalship demonstrates that it has always been a complex and multifaceted role and that principals have historically drawn on shifting sources of authority to assert…

How do principals adjust to new standards and measurement rulers of school performance when they are coupled with high-stakes consequences? Adopting a contingent view of leadership and a multiple accountabilities framework, this qualitative study explores how high school principals enacted their accountability in New York City, by comparing two…

University-based leadership preparation programs no longer enjoy a near monopoly on the right to prepare school principals and other administrative leaders, and now compete with a growing number of alternative providers. This article utilizes the new institutionalism literature to analyze this shift. Practitioners and policymakers demanded reforms…

The media play a major role in the construction of popular cultural "texts," such as films and television programs. These media forms are conceptualized as "public pedagogies"--i.e., as texts that have great potential to teach the public about a wide range of educational issues. This article focuses attention on the representation of teachers and…

Much is left to be known regarding the impact of school principals on student achievement. This is because much of the research on school leadership focuses not on actual student outcomes but rather on other peripheral results of principal practices. In the research that has been done in this area, significant relationships have been identified…

Surveyed North Carolina high school principals to explore their views on schoolhouse commercialism (both the propriety and the utility of having a commercial presence at school). Principals viewed commercialism as a way to improve their schools, and thus, their students' education. Although businesses, principals, and students appeared to be…

Introduces a theme issue that explores the perceptions of teachers toward African American school leaders as they seek to create inclusive school environments; the capacity of teachers and school leaders to negotiate intergroup conflict so they can work collaboratively on matters of race; and leaders' interpretation and implementation of policies…

Examined the perceptions of teachers of color and European American teachers regarding their African American principals' ability to lead successful urban schools. Survey and interview data indicated that in the areas of image management and relationship development, the two groups perceived their principals' leadership differently.(SM)