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Journal of School Leadership, Ahead of Print. COVID-19 resulted in political backlash, public dissatisfaction, and the need for principals to create spaces to foster communication, implement change, monitor dissatisfaction, and foster wellness. Using the concept of the third space, we explore the dialogic and linguistic spaces K-12 leaders created while navigating this crisis. Employing a phenomenological approach, we interviewed 17 principals from 2021–22 who found themselves creating third spaces for collaboration around issues of academics, mental-health, political backlash, and community d ..read more

Journal of School Leadership, Ahead of Print. This study aimed to identify the factors that foster a collaborative culture in the school improvement process. Estonian schools are characterized by a high degree of autonomy in developing the school curriculum and choosing the appropriate methods for its implementation. As a result, some schools are more successful, while others face difficulties in improving their pedagogical processes. Six Estonian schools with lower performance indicators participated in the School Improvement Program in 2021–2022. In each school, leaders and teachers formed a ..read more

Journal of School Leadership, Ahead of Print. The principal internship is a crucial component of principal preparation programs (PPP) in the U.S. and, increasingly, in other countries. The purpose of this study was to compare the experiences and work of principal candidates enrolled in one principal residency program (PRP) to candidates enrolled in a traditional principal preparation program at the same university. Using an embedded case study design, we collected survey, log, and interview data from interns enrolled in two different programs at one university across two semesters. We analyzed ..read more

Journal of School Leadership, Ahead of Print. Educational leaders are increasingly expected to use school climate data to improve outcomes and promote equity for all learners, including in California where school climate is included in state accountability policy. In this study, beliefs towards school climate assessment were explored in a sample (n=298) of California superintendents using a 37-item Likert-style instrument. Data were analyzed using an item response approach and latent class analysis. Findings showed variation in beliefs including three subgroups labeled “true believers” “still ..read more

Journal of School Leadership, Ahead of Print. As institutions, schools hold a place of significant value for their stakeholders. Selznick (1957/1984) recognised that institutions require a particular type of leadership that is concerned with the promotion and protection of values. Although not a new theory, institutional leadership has not received much attention by both researchers and practitioners since its formation, which has given way to the more familiar concepts of transactional and transformational leadership. A systematic literature review was carried out to survey what enactments of ..read more

Journal of School Leadership, Ahead of Print. Despite impacting almost three million students annually, and disproportionately impacting Black students, little is known about district policy and central office staff in the use of in-school suspension. The purpose of this study was to understand how districts use in-school suspension over time, with attention to racial disparities, programmatic changes, and central office perspectives. Case study methods were used to examine in-school suspension in one large school district in the Western United States. Data included two district board school d ..read more

Journal of School Leadership, Ahead of Print. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of shared instructional leadership and social capital on school effectiveness according to teacher perceptions. The study was designed in a descriptive relational survey model. The sample of the study consists of 403 teachers working in schools in the Odunpazarı and Tepebaşı districts located in the city center of Eskişehir, Turkey in the 2021-2022 academic year. In the study, “Shared instructional leadership scale,” “Social capital scale” and “School effectiveness scale” were used. In the study, it ..read more

Journal of School Leadership, Ahead of Print ..read more

Journal of School Leadership, Ahead of Print. In this article, I examine how a sample of principals in Texas and West Virginia made sense of the learning experiences of kindergarteners and how such sensemaking appeared to affect them as instructional leaders. Examining these issues creates the opportunity to consider the types of support school leaders might need to address the changing kindergarten as well as how they might work with teachers, children, and their families so that all students are on a trajectory for school success. I employed case study methodology using sensemaking theory to ..read more