As attacks on critical race theory continue, anti-Black violence remains normalized, with schools often unwilling to transform toward racial healing. Sharing narratives from urban school-based practitioner projects, the authors conceptualize an applied critical race theory systems change model. After clarifying four tenets to guide teacher…

In this article, Jason Margolis draws from complexity theory to explore the twenty-year negotiation between formal and informal teacher leadership in research and practice, making the case that there has been a drift toward a conception of semiformal teacher leadership in the field. Through both theory and examples, he illustrates how semiformal…

The quality of educational leadership, and that of the school principal in particular, is an important factor in school reform. This essay addresses concerns that the teaching profession and, as a result, the prospect of school reform is under threat from forces that seek to transform the role of school principal to that of corporate executive. It…

It has been well established that controversial issue discussions are an integral component to a high-quality civic education. However, as the United States has become increasingly politically polarized, teachers have become more hesitant to engage students in discussions of controversial political issues. Two decades worth of literature on…

More students are learning online than ever before, and while researchers have demonstrated that learning online can be as or more effective than learning onsite, there are challenges for students in online courses, including feelings of isolation. Intentionally planning for and supporting community in online courses can help overcome these…

Existing distributed leadership (DL) theories tend to focus on distributing financial, material and human resources in order to enhance school performance. However, their impact appears controversial. Critical scholars assert that using DL to promote trust and democracy can be a self-fulfilling prophecy orchestrated by few formal leaders. When…

Anti-Black racism and White supremacy continue to have dire impact on the lives and educational outcomes of Black people and students in educational spaces. Examining ways in which this form of racism is disrupted, confronted, and challenged in education and schooling is important not only to Black students, scholars, practitioners, and staff, but…

Since its founding in 1979, one of the U.S. Department of Education's primary missions has been to promote civil debate about the condition of our schools and colleges. Our past secretaries of education -- 12 of them in all -- have recognized that they have important rhetorical responsibilities, not only to call attention to the urgent educational…

The complexity and intensity of reforms over several decades in the United States of America led to large-scale systemic reform and shifted superintendent roles from emphasis on management tasks to pivotal actions in the complex algorithm for managing and leading change initiatives. National commissions, task force reports, and nationwide research…

An academic, Peter Dinniss, discussed the then emerging issue of professionalism in the early childhood education sector in 1974. "There has been much debate over the term ['professional'] together with discussion as to whether teaching is a profession" (1974: 11). On the cusp of the 21st century, the Education Council (now renamed…

In this article, the authors describe how five institutions have employed the dynamic relationship between university-wide leadership efforts (the macro level); interactions and initiatives within the school, college, or department (the meso level); and efforts by individual instructors and activists (the micro level) to create change at their…

This paper advances our understanding of how schools can become change agents capable of transforming local practice to address the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. It presents a novel application of cultural-historical activity theory to reinterpret evidence on widespread learning loss and increasing educational inequities resulting…

What makes teachers effective in the classroom? Research indicates that teachers effectiveness is contingent upon the teacher knowing pedagogy, learn theory, knowledge of subject matter, experience as well as other qualifications such as classroom management skills. Teachers effectiveness are often determined by three indicators; teachers' scores…

This paper focuses on the importance of educational leadership in cultivating the conditions for a space for dialogue with teachers, which is linked more to working with teachers, to theorise and critically examine what they do. Such a dialogic teacher 'public space' is linked to teachers acting 'in concert' as respected partners in the…

The chapter examines school administrator responsibilities to special education students and their families from case scenarios based on conflicts between parents and districts regarding services provided by schools to special education students. From these case studies based on real case law, readers are exposed to situations intended to pose…