The issue of low math performance, particularly in schools serving historically marginalized communities, requires immediate attention. Despite implementing various interventions, including leadership changes, curriculum updates, and hiring consultants, student achievement in math has remained stagnant at Ida B. Wells Academy (Wells). This case…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine if, or to what extent, the soft skills of a principal, as perceived by their teachers, can predict a positive school climate at the middle school level in a large Independent School District (ISD) in southeast Texas. The theoretical constructs of attribution and emotional…

Recent studies of caring school leadership have focused on the way that caring leaders support teachers and influence the school environment. Though caring is understood improve educational outcomes, questions about the interpersonal and organizational enactment can lead to significant disagreements--micropolitical contests. Using case study data,…

"Solution-Focused Strategies for K-12 Leaders" provides K-12 principals, administrators, and district-level professionals with powerful, flexible strategies to build and sustain a school climate in which teachers and students co-construct solutions together. School leaders today face an intimidating variety of challenges, from teacher…

In this paper, the authors introduce a research instrument (Draw a STEM Learning Environment: D-STEM) and its accompanying rubric (the D-STEM Rubric), both of which were developed based upon relevant research studies. The authors describe their usefulness to school principals in commencing conversations with their school's STEM [Science,…

The purpose of this study is to determine the ways primary education administrators solve events of violence as a problem. To this end, sample cases of violence were derived from the school violence news appearing on media organs in the last four years. They were categorized based on the type of violence. Data were collected via a semi-structured…

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to determine if specific interpersonal skills (trustworthiness, communication, empathy, and problem-solving) possessed by principals, as perceived by teachers, are important characteristics in creating and maintaining a positive school climate, increasing student learning, and retaining teachers in the…

This qualitative case study examined school leaders' roles, perceptions, and challenges leading a one-to-one (1:1) laptop initiative in a coeducational, independent middle, and high school in the United States. The findings revealed how the school leaders led the school's 1:1 laptop initiative through collaborative, yet differentiated roles and…

What is important for citizens to know and be able to do? The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) seeks to answer that question through the most comprehensive and rigorous international assessment of student knowledge and skills. The PISA 2015 Assessment and Analytical Framework presents the conceptual foundations of the…

What is important for citizens to know and be able to do? The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) seeks to answer that question through the most comprehensive and rigorous international assessment of student knowledge and skills. The PISA 2015 Assessment and Analytical Framework presents the conceptual foundations of the…

School Climate has been identified by a large body of literature as having a direct relationship on student achievement (Johnson, & Stevens, 2000; Kezar & Eckel, 2007; West, 1985), and) and numerous other components used to determine the success and safety of both students and teachers in schools (Finnan, Schnepel, & Anderson, 2003;…

An activity for eliciting student involvement in collaborative decision-making and problem-solving with adults--the student listening circle workshop--is examined for the first time through an experimental study of its effects on participating students. A student listening circle is a facilitated focus group in which students articulate to adults…

This project was an alternative capstone dissertation conducted by a team of three doctoral students. The project focused on systematic and long-term underachievement of the English Language Learner (ELL) population of a single school, Sunshine Elementary, using the gap analysis model (Clark and Estes, 2008). More specifically, the purpose of the…

Communication and professional dialogue are essential elements of a high-quality education environment in which all students can succeed. Such an environment is especially important for the success of students with special needs. Unfortunately, collaboration between special educators, general educators, and other professionals is often hindered by…

This study aims to explore how collaborative teacher interaction is contingent upon teachers' immediate classroom and school-organizational contexts as well as broader societal and policy environments. Notwithstanding the widely acknowledged connection between teacher collegiality in schools and its beneficial effects, little systematic effort has…