The author argues that despite demonstrable successes of public education, school leaders have not framed an effective defense against decades-long charges of school failure. Drawing on leadership literature from Aristotle through today's airport best-sellers, the author suggests that school superintendents have an obligation to make a case for…

Sixteen superintendents from the Southern Gulf Coast area were interviewed regarding their perceptions of the connection of ISLLC Standard One to practice. A comprehensive analysis of superintendent responses to questions related to five research questions suggests 11 major themes. Superintendents discussed the importance of vision, data-driven…

Collaborative learning teams have emerged as an effective tool for teachers to steadily and continuously improve their instruction. Evidence also suggests that a learning teams model can affect school leadership as well. We explored the impact of learning teams on leadership roles of principals and teachers in secondary schools and found that…

Principal preparation programs are designed to create and prepare effective school leaders. These programs pursue many pathways to achieve this goal. This study highlighted the significance of framing this pursuit around the Educational Leadership Council Standards (ELCC; Wilmore, 2002) and Malcolm Knowles' (1970) adult learning theory. In…

Although women comprise about 65% of the educational workforce, they occupy only about 14% of the superintendent positions nationwide. In the past, some theorists accounted for the underrepresentation of women by claiming that women were not assertive enough, didn't want the power, lacked self-confidence, didn't aspire to line positions, were…

Looking at medical care administration, 14 assistant principals noted that the hospital administrator managed the business of health care, while the chief of staff provided leadership to the doctors and nurses. The assistant principals then posited: Can the organization model found in many hospitals offer any insight into ways that school…

The power of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) lies in the rights of students with disabilities to a free, appropriate public education. For individuals exercising their rights under this legislation, the reality is that services are sometimes hampered and limited even with legislated rights. In spite of evidence that in…