Schools in poor working class communities in South Africa face a myriad of equity challenges that impact negatively on their ability to achieve basic school functionality. Yet, within such communities, there exists a wealth of valuable local knowledge and support that can be mobilised to assist school leaders, not only to bring about school…

For decades, reform has been a persistent issue in urban schools. Research suggests that urban school reforms that are connected to equitable community development efforts are more sustainable, and that principals play a pivot role in leading such efforts. Yet, limited research has explored how urban school principals connect school reform with…

This case was written to help prepare teacher-leaders, principals, and central office administrators, particularly those in rural and economically marginalized settings, who are expected to lead teachers and stakeholders in their community through increasingly stressed economic conditions. The intent of the case study is for educators to examine…

Purpose: Improving urban schools of color and the communities where they are located requires leadership that spans school and community boundaries. The purpose of this study is to understand how principal and community leader actions support urban school reform along with community development at two community schools in the urban Midwest and…

This article explores leadership of place in the context of three urban middle schools in Morocco. School reform means that principals are changing from agents of authority to leaders with school improvement responsibilities. This shift in mission can be stressful for principals who are called to lead, but are often constrained by bureaucratic and…

This case involves a small town in the southwestern United States. Background descriptions of the community and school are provided, including historical and demographic information. As the community and school transition from a small ranching town into a bedroom community for the large city nearby, tensions related to race and wealth erupt in a…

The purpose of this article is to argue for a social activist stance in educational leadership that fundamentally addresses social change and human emancipation. This call for social activism is framed within neoliberal, neoconservative, and authoritarian populist discourses in the USA, which to social justice educators and leaders had devastating…

The Alberta SuperNet, a very high speed, broadband network, was built to bring high-speed connectivity to every school, library, and municipal office in Alberta. This CDN $294 million investment was made based on the perceived need for high-speed connectivity to stimulate economic and community development and to enhance government services,…

Critics of education tend to view the schools that we now have as the schools that we will always have. The authors in this article project "images of the future" based on the concept of reintegrating the community into all aspects of the educational process. (Editor)

This study began as an attempt to establish a baseline to evaluate a project to build school community. A School Community Survey was administered to parents and teachers in seven demonstration schools (six elementary and one middle school), and the principals of these schools completed a needs assessment. A total of 168 teachers and 945 parents…

During action research projects a great deal of written material is produced. Some of this is data generated about the project, some about the process of the research and some is reflective writing about the researcher(s). In this article I propose that a deliberate focus on the tracking of texts might be helpful in action research, particularly…

Several key federal and state initiatives are currently moving in the direction of requiring more and better comprehensive service delivery in education. In an effort to avoid duplicating services, better utilize federal dollars, and improve educational opportunities and outcomes, federal legislation promotes aligning and integrating programs and…

The perspectives of three rural middle school principals as they implement Georgia's A Plus Education Reform Act of 2000 were investigated in this study. A case study approach was used, employing both within case and cross case analyses. Three interviews were conducted with each of the three participants, resulting in a total of nine interviews.…

Concurrent with a needs assessment and community input study, a research team undertook two behavioral science research efforts. The first was an identification and examination of the influence network through which local leadership was organized. The second was an examination of how those who constituted the network of policy-making influentials…

Provides some ideas for involving schools in community revitalization developed in a 1987 conference for 20 educators and community representatives of the Chicago (Illinois) Innovations Forum. Projects center on the following topics: (1) students and teachers; (2) teachers; (3) courses; (4) in-school venture; (5) facilities; and (6) purchasing.…