This article investigates how school principals in Sierra Leone interpret and enact a national education reform program. Through a sense-making lens, this qualitative study explores how the principals perceive and enact a reform program while maintaining their leadership role within the schools and communities they serve. In this study, we collect…

This paper examined leadership practices which supported the diffusion of an innovation in a cluster of schools in Singapore, through the lenses of complexity leadership theory (CLT) and ecological leadership. The approach is a qualitative case study, with the unit of analysis bounded by the innovation and a cluster of schools involved in the…

The tsunami of global educational reform in the past decade has led to national, regional and school-based policy redevelopment to elevate teaching standards, enrich student learning and improve results. Consequently, principals are frequently charged with leading mandated pedagogical reform in their schools. Building on earlier research…

This qualitative study of U.S. international schools overseas explores the implementation of the Common Core State Standards in six U.S. international schools overseas (The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Kuwait). The Common Core was introduced in 2009 in the U.S. as a national (not federal) 'standards-based reform'. Such…

The purpose of this study was to investigate leadership practice of school principals and cluster supervisors in implementing continuous professional development (CPD) program. School principals (14) and cluster supervisors (4) were included in the study using comprehensive sampling techniques. A total of 305 teachers were selected from 14…

Effective implementation of educational reforms requires collaboration between stakeholders. The current paper describes and analyzes the findings of a qualitative research, which examined the perceptions of the three hierarchic levels of stakeholders, assigned by the Israeli Ministry of Education in 2010 to introduce and implement a new policy…

In the face of the dynamic tension between internal goals and external reform demands, school principals' role has become increasingly more complex and their sense-making more crucial. Yet, research has paid little attention to the significant role principals perform as sense makers in local reform implementation processes. This study explores…

The aim of this study is to explore the role of K-12 school principals' self-efficacy as an attribute for their leadership effectiveness in Lebanon. The Norwegian principal self-efficacy scale (NPSES) instrument was translated into Arabic and used to collect quantitative data from participants. Internal consistency of factors within this study was…

We sought to provide a holistic view of education of the Syrians under temporary protection by exploring two schooling models in terms of policy and practice for integration. Relying on social justice (SJ) framework as redistribution, recognition and representation, and on ecological framework, we adopted qualitative phenomenological approach with…

This paper is a case study of an English Learner (EL) summer enrichment program that supported English language fluency and comprehension of middle and high school students, many of whom were refugees, immigrants, or newcomers from U.S. territories. In this case, we share how a program can successfully provide an equitable education for newcomer…

This paper reviews data from 27 final reports of action research projects in the area of instructional coaching undertaken as part of Cycle 4 (2008-2010) of the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI). AISI was an Alberta government programme that provided funding to every school district to allow teachers to create site-based, action…

This study examines the effects of schools' implementation of a new system for testing on student reading. Data on seven Norwegian primary schools were obtained through participant journals and interviews conducted throughout a period of five years. The analyses draw upon Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, especially the framework for expansive…

In the unfolding Maltese education scenario of decentralization and school networking, I explore distributed leadership as it occurs at the college level through the leaders' narrative and performance in an investigation of the power relations among the different-tiered leaders. This article uses data from the case study of a Maltese college…

The article examines the scope for initiative and independent action that lies with school principals in Kazakhstan, with a particular focus on capacity-building approaches. The study is situated within a large collaborative project between three institutions: the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education, Nazarbayev University Graduate School…

Effective school leadership in supporting outcomes for all students is critical. This study focuses on six New Zealand principals as they endeavour to make a difference to reading outcomes for 11 to 13 year-old students. In New Zealand, there are approximately 20% of students who are underachieving in reading. Once they reach the final years of…