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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 on the American superintendency informed need for changes in school-district leadership. This article provides a scholarly and objective analysis of issues surrounding five roles superintendents assume and the emergent need for district-level team leadership to address successfully diverse and complex challenges in contemporary education.

During recent decades, the notion of team leadership has emerged as a central theme in the international discourse on systemic education reform. This issue of "Research in Educational Administration and Leadership" not only captures a collective sense of commitment to education as means for advancing national social, economic, and political wellbeing but also reflects a changing nature of leadership across a wide spectrum of educational organizations and contexts. Given the increasing complexity of 21st century education, effective leaders at all levels tend to rely less on bureaucratic, hierarchical structures and more on relational approaches to accomplish tasks. In this regard, teamwork has become an indispensable characteristic of organizational life, and depending on the task, teams may involve a wide array of stakeholders (e.g., superintendents, school board members, district support staff, principals, teachers, parents, students) or a select few representing specific constituencies to address specific issues.

The rise of globalization compelled national governments to examine how they would adapt widespread social, economic, and political changes to advance their nation's future wellbeing. Most recognized the pivotal role of education in facilitating adaptation to changes unfolding in society and expressed concern about the quality of their education systems and student academic performance. During the last three decades, nations engaged in what is generally regarded as one of the most intense and protracted attempts at educational reform in recent history. National educational reform initiatives initiated in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) and in the United States of America. In many instances, shifts in national education policy altered how school districts were organized, managed, and governed which in turn reconfigured superintendents' roles. An examination of findings from recent nationwide studies on superintendents suggests that decentralization and devolution of decision-making authority to municipal governments, local schools, and parents may have heightened the importance their micropolitical roles in the provision of education.

Based on multiple sources, this article concludes that, when learner-centered instructional strategies are used with doctoral students, these adult learners take charge of their individual and collective learning, become accountable for both, and enhance their ability to transfer learning to practice. The students studied skills of developed teams in advance of their group-conducted dissertation research first by engaging in team-development activities, then by conducting group-constructed pilot studies, and finally by collaboratively authoring related conference papers. These student-centered activities sought to ensure that the doctoral students could work together to conduct and complete their degree ending, team-conducted dissertation research.

This article shares findings from an exploratory case study about an advanced school leadership development program designed specifically for practicing principals and administrator-trained teachers. The program was designed to help a high-need rural district transform its principalship from school management into learner-center leadership while at the same time and expand its candidate pool to fill projected vacancies. Thus, socialization into the community of administrative practice was the theory of change for the project. Theories of actions include situated learning, leadership mentoring, community building, and succession planning. Findings from this qualitative study support recommendations for continued professional development of principals beyond initial certification and induction year. (Contains 1 table and 1 endnote.)

The Principals Excellence Program (PEP), a cohort-based professional development project for administrator-certified practitioners, is one of 24 projects across the United States supported by federal funds from the No Child Left Behind legislation. The three-year program is conducted through a partnership between Pike County School District, a high-need rural system in Central Appalachia, and the University of Kentucky, located 150 miles away. A major goal for PEP is improved school leadership focused on enhanced student learning. Findings in this paper include in progress evaluations of program impact toward (a) preparing school leaders to promote learning success for all, (b) engaging cohort members in authentic practice with mentor principals, (c) addressing high-stakes accountability issues, and (d) delivering effective leadership preparation. Perspectives from all stakeholder groups (i.e., cohort participants, mentor principals, district leaders, program instructors) are integrated to provide holistic assessment of PEP.

The goal of this comparative study was to explore the online interactions among members of two learning communities. The two cases examined two different cohorts in the same professional preparation program for school principals and administrators: a distance-learning cohort and an onsite university-district partnership cohort in which online activities supported face-to-face instructional delivery. Of interest here was how students wrestled together to interpret, understand, and support their learning process within the online environment. Because the content and instructor remained consistent in both sample cohorts, the differing modes of instructional delivery offered a unique opportunity for a comparative study. This paper reports preliminary analyses of the content of online exchanges among cohort members of the two learning communities, generated during the first semester (leadership domain) of the program. (Contains 2 tables.)

Cohorts are increasingly popular management tools for recruiting students into professional education programs, for organizing their learning experiences, for promoting performance-based outcomes, and for developing and using innovative teaching-learning practices. This article explores the role of a cohort leader in ensuring that the curriculum is integrated throughout the life of the cohort, that program coherence is developed and maintained, and that students, faculty, and the program assume appropriate responsibilities for learning. Reviews of literature about learning in cohorts and designing programs serve as the basis for defining three cohort leader responsibilities: curriculum integration, program coherence, and shared responsibility. The article closes with recommendations from the authors who are experienced cohort instructors and cohort leaders.

This article reports findings from a study investigating the capacity of assistant principals to be instructional leaders. Analyses of survey responses yielded four interesting findings: (a) years of experience as a teacher and age had no significance on assistant principals' perceived readiness as an instructional leader; (b) those completing redesigned programs focused on instructional leadership reported feeling less prepared that those completing programs before the mandated redesign (c) although instructional leadership was a work responsibility, 63% did not know what portion of their performance evaluation assessed that performance; and (d) mentoring for instructional leadership most often occurred through informal meetings with their principal.

This article contains a response to three manuscripts that are part of the "JRLE" special issue entitled Developing and Empowering Teacher Leaders for Collective Leadership. Discussion of the articles, lessons learned, and implications for teacher leadership development are discussed.

During the past three decades, the rise of the global economy stimulated a wide array of social, economic, and political changes in nations throughout the world. Heightened concern about the quality of schools launched what is arguably one of the most pervasive, intense, and protracted attempts at educational reform in recent history. A discussion of findings from recent nationwide studies of educational reform policies in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark) provides insight into the impact of globalization on changes in national political ideology, educational reform policies, and efforts to enhance parent-school involvement. Findings suggest that decentralization and the devolution of decision-making authority to local schools may have been only marginally successful.

During the last two decades the intensity and complexity of educational reform in the United States of America have heightened interest among policymakers, practitioners, and professors in large-scale, systemic change. As a consequence, superintendents are being viewed as pivotal actors in the complex algorithm for managing districts and leading policy implementation efforts. The challenges--both perceived and real--have provided grist for national debates on superintendent roles, expectations, and effectiveness as school system leaders. This article presents an analysis of discursive stages in the evolution of the American superintendency in response to external and internal change forces within school systems.

In our reflective essay from our multiple perspectives as journal editors, peer reviewers, and published authors, we present ideas about editorial support, democracy, and innovation in the publishing process. As four tenured professors who work in universities in the states of Illinois, Virginia, Texas, and Kentucky, we are a community of editors who are committed to a transparent, service-oriented support process. Our collective experience has allowed us to shape numerous academic bodies of work, culminating in an experiential point of view that reflects a political take on the support role of editors. We include lengthy, databased statements from journal editors in the form of vignettes that underscore the importance of community-based, democratic editorial practices that are themselves simultaneously personal testimonials and political statements. Our call is intended to foster large-scale social change within the academic editorial culture through global understanding about the sensibilities of editors and reviewers as well as authors and publishers engaged in the complex work of publication review. Our academic goal is to enhance fair practices and inclusive opportunities, worldwide, through more relational, equitable, and supportive editorial practices.

This case study presents a chronicle of events spanning a decade in Kentucky that led to state policy changes for principal preparation and details the response to those mandated changes by professors at the University of Kentucky. Professors' collaborative efforts resulted in a new teacher leadership program and redesigned principal certification program that reflect characteristics of effective preparation programs described in literature. The article closes with lessons learned including a reflection by the author who was an active participant throughout the statewide and university redesign efforts. (Contains 3 tables.)

Untold numbers of professional educators hold administrative certificates or licenses but do not use them, never taking formal administrative roles in schools. Why do so many of the graduates of our principal-preparation programs forego taking school-leadership positions and simply stick with teaching or assume other, nonadministrative-leadership positions in schools? Is the time and effort spent preparing potential administrators with such small success and great cost worth it? Informal discussions with those who pursue formal leadership positions--and with some who do not--suggest that some graduates who start their program with school-leadership experience were more likely to seek and accept formal leadership obligations. To examine this anecdotal evidence more rigorously, we undertook a three-university analysis of past graduates' preprogram school-leadership activities. Through exploratory, secondary analyses of existing data at three institutions as well as postprogram-position information, we generally found that program participants who (1) expressed commitment to becoming formal leaders, (2) had already held responsible leadership roles in their schools working with adults, or (3) had earned an advanced degree before entering a preparation program were more likely to take administrative posts. These tentative findings have implications for the recruitment and selection of participants for principal-preparation programs, potential for raising the quality of these programs, and possibilities for decreasing costs while increasing benefits of preparation programs.

In this article we present an overview of a recently launched cohort-based Ed.D. program that prepares participants to conduct group dissertations. The program, a hybrid model of online learning activities and monthly face-to-face class sessions, is delivered through a partnership between a university's college of education and the administrative office of a statewide system of community and technical colleges. Discussion begins with a review of the pedagogical rationale that informed program design and instructional practices, followed by a presentation of key program elements tracing the development of the cohort through an innovative, collaborative dissertation process still in progress.

This article examines the relationship between schools and society in the United States and uses human, social, and cultural capital theories to reframe the discussion of the role of schools in nurturing parent engagement. We argue that the ramifications of parent engagement in schools transcend functionalist ideas of complying with state and school district regulations, stimulating higher levels of academic achievement, and cultivating better classroom behavior. Rather, we posit that when parents have voice and agency in educating their children, these experiences shape expectations for interactions within the broad community and, indeed, society.

Research on leadership preparation programs in our field typically focuses on program design and delivery mode (e.g., closed cohorts, internships, distance learning, partnerships), curriculum and pedagogy (e.g., learning theories, syllabi content, learning outcomes), and occasionally program faculty. A critically missing component of research is about those actively engaged in learning--the candidates--and their lived and learned experiences. This call for research on program participants emerged from a review of research literature conducted by the authors. (Contains 2 tables.)

This article provides insight into the nature and scope of home-school cooperation in Finland. Situating the study is a brief overview of the Finnish education system and a discussion of the Programme for International Student Assessment reports that place Finnish student outcomes at the top of rankings among industrialized nations for the past decade. Legislation and research findings about principals' work at the school level and municipal levels of government frame a discussion of parents' roles in a rapidly changing Finnish society and in the local provision of education. (Contains 4 figures.)

University-district partnerships for preparing school leaders typically have well-defined organizational structures, established practices and procedures, and parity among partners--all of which can take considerable time and effort to achieve. Thus, is it realistic to expect that university-district partnerships will emerge simply through legislative mandate? The response to this question is embedded in perspectives shared by professors of educational leadership about new Kentucky policy requiring redesign of principal preparation programs. The mandate brings a new dynamic to partnership building, a process usually constructed by mutual need and perceived advantage, and raises concerns among those who must implement it to retain program accreditation. (Contains 2 tables.)

This article explores parent involvement in decision making in the United States and in postapartheid South Africa and highlights similarities and differences in how parents in these two countries participate in public school governance and decision making. Parents' role in public school governance in South Africa is significant and entrenched in the country's South African Schools Act of 1996. In contrast, parent participation in U.S. school governance and meaningful school-level decision making is more limited. The article concludes with a discussion of challenges, progress, and lessons learned in both countries.

In preschool settings, the majority of interventions are individualized for children at high risk for challenging behavior. However, a few early childhood sites have begun to conceptualize and implement prevention and intervention initiatives modeled after the principles and key features associated with school-wide positive behavior support. In preschool settings, these efforts are referred to as program-wide positive behavior support (PWPBS). This article presents the findings of a descriptive evaluation in which 62 key stakeholders participated in focus group interviews to assess the social validity of a PWPBS initiative in the 1st year of implementation and to provide recommendations for how to improve the implementation effort. Other data sources included teacher surveys and classroom observations related to PWPBS goals and procedures, conducted intentionally to contextualize the social validity data gathered through the interviews. Results suggest that key stakeholders enthusiastically support the goals of the approach; perspectives about the procedures and outcomes varied considerably. Classroom observation and teacher survey data augment the qualitative data. Implications for model conceptualization and technical assistance efforts are discussed. (Contains 1 figure, 4 tables and 2 notes.)

Educational reform initiated by policymakers to improve public schools often fails to achieve desired results for diverse reasons. This article describes how Kentucky aligned externally mandated school reform with internally determined school renewal through implementation of its Standards and Indicators for School Improvement. Results of biennial studies by the state department of education using the model indicate eleven common variance points between successful and underperforming schools. (Contains 1 table.)

This discussion focuses on the intersection of two dissonant concepts of importance in today's educational scene--democracy and accountability. In this article, we describe how these conflicting ideologies might be resolved, theoretically and practically, through democratically accountable leadership--that is, the dual necessity of educational leaders to successfully function as change agents working for social justice. Understanding how educational leaders conceive of these phenomena is an important starting place toward preparing future educational leaders to deal more effectively with them. Hence, we investigated the idea of rethinking accountability around democratic principles and incorporating it into leadership preparation. Specifically, we present results from a study involving doctoral students (i.e., educational leaders) who were asked to link the principles of democracy and accountability to the application of social justice. As such, the article contains suggestions for implementing democratically accountable leadership into practice. (Contains 1 note.)

Leadership mentoring and situated learning are important components in the effective preparation of candidates for school principalships. This study examined this assertion through responses to reflective writing prompts and to interview questions by students enrolled in three different closed cohorts in the same university-based preparation program. Readiness to assume a principalship appears to be linked to an individual's (a) encouragement and support from leadership mentors; (b) opportunities to engage in authentic leadership activities; and (c) perceptions of personal competence to assume school-leadership responsibilities. To develop these elements, especially as pools of principals shrink, preparers should carefully select leadership mentors for aspiring administrators and organize authentic problems of practice in schools, which expand opportunities for aspirants to apply knowledge in practice. In this vein, three models of leadership mentoring during full-time authentic school-leadership practice are described. (Contains 4 tables.)

This article presents district administrators' reflections about (a) the contextual challenges they face in leading a high-need rural school system in Central Appalachia and (b) the change initiatives they implemented to transform the principalship from school management to instructional leadership. After several years of reform efforts, the district superintendent sought external support to deliver intensive professional development to further the district's efforts. A land-grant research university and the rural district partnered to develop the Principals Excellence Program (PEP) and, in turn, submitted a proposal for funding to support training for two cohorts of practicing principals and administrator-certified teachers who aspire to become principals. The article presents perspectives by the district administrators and leadership educators involved in the district-initiated activities to change the culture of administrative practice.

This article shares findings from an exploratory case study about an advanced leadership development program for administrator-certified practitioners in a Central Appalachian school district. The goal of the Principals Excellence Program, one of 24 projects supported by federal funds through the No Child Left Behind School Leadership Development Program, is to transform the principalship by developing visionary instructional leaders able to increase student learning in high-need rural schools. In this article, the authors first talk about the contextual conditions that define the district as high need and provide an overview of the program and research design. The authors then present findings about: (a) preparing school leaders to promote learning success for all students; (b) addressing equity and social justice issues; and (c) providing adequate learning opportunities. Perspectives from representatives of all stakeholder groups are integrated to provide a holistic assessment of the program. The article closes with a discussion about lessons learned thus far about effective leadership preparation. (Contains 34 endnotes.)

Cohorts are increasingly popular management tools for recruiting students into professional education programs, for organizing their learning experiences, for promoting performance-based outcomes, and for developing and using innovative teaching-learning practices. This article examines issues about the effects of learning in cohorts by focusing on existing research and posing rhetorical questions about what happens both inside and outside cohorts. The purpose of the article is to stimulate dialogue about the impact of cohort participation on learning outcomes, professorial roles, and professional practice. The authors pose a series of unanswered questions about learning in cohorts as a beginning strategy for developing a nationwide longitudinal study to explore transference of learning in cohorts by aspiring school administrators to their professional practice.

Exploratory case study of the professional growth of 18 educational practitioners in principal preparation cohort program. Analysis of the data suggests that four major themes influence practitioners' growth: Role conceptualization of principalship, initial socialization into new community of practice, role-identity transformation, and purposeful engagement based on career aspirations. (Contains 4 tables and 93 references.)(Author/PKP)