Educational leaders' effectiveness in solving problems is vital to school and system-level efforts to address macrosystem problems of educational inequity and social injustice. Leaders' problem-solving conversation attempts are typically influenced by three types of beliefs--beliefs about the nature of the problem, about what causes it, and about…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how a school leadership team in a rural, high-poverty elementary school learned to lead continuous school improvement in a research-practice partnership. Design/methodology/approach: This case study draws on qualitative research methods, improvement science and Deming's notion of a system of…

Creating continuously improving education systems could be the antidote to one-off education reforms that come and go with little to show for the effort. What distinguishes continuous improvement from other reform strategies is its focus on the underlying architecture of the system that is producing undesirable outcomes (e.g., low graduation…

The current research explores how using collaborative twenty-first century digital tools developed the collective leadership capacity among participants in an educational leadership course. A qualitative interpretive approach was used. The data show how learning within the digital collaborative spaces was multidirectional and enhanced the…

Diffusing inquiry-based pedagogy in schools for deep and lasting change requires teacher transformation and capacity building. This study characterizes the professional identity of three elementary school teachers who have productively engaged in inquiry-based classroom practice using knowledge building pedagogy and Knowledge Forum, a…

Most states require that schools engage in school improvement programs to meet accountability mandates which necessitates that teachers develop the skills necessary to accomplish school improvement efforts. The problem is that classroom practitioners lack the skills necessary to achieve effective school improvement. Limited research exists with…