Whitney H. Sherman

Facilitating High Achievement: High School Principals' Reflections on Their Successful Leadership Practices.

Purpose – The burden for school improvement in a time of accountability falls squarely on the shoulders of principals as new requirements demand that they act as instructional leaders. The purpose of this study is to discover the common themes of school leadership and instructional practices of high school principals at successful schools in Virginia.Design/methodology/approach – An inductive exploratory study was designed to provide insight into how successful high school principals facilitate high levels of student achievement. The research was grounded by allowing principals to talk about their actual practices as leaders.Findings – The principals provided valuable insights into their daily practices that foster an environment which is supportive of high‐student achievement. These practices are categorized in the following themes: developing personnel and facilitating leadership, responsible delegation and empowering the team, recognizing ultimate accountability, communicating and rapport, facilitating...

Leadership Practices of Successful Middle School Principals.

– This study aims to be one in a series examining the leadership best practices of school principals as they lead in an accountability‐ and standards‐driven school environment. The lack of research and necessity to find successful practices to improve student achievement highlight the need for this study., – An inductive exploratory study was designed to provide insight into how successful middle school principals facilitate high levels of student achievement., – Common themes of practices enabling the principals to serve effectively in their schools emerged from the conversations and were grouped in the following categories: sharing leadership; facilitating professional development; leading with an instructional orientation; and acting openly and honestly., – This research contributes to the field by providing insights into the practices of leaders of successful schools in a high‐stakes testing environment. The study provides a framework on which leaders should model their own practices, as well as informing leadership preparation programs areas around which to focus their instructional content.

Best Practices of Successful Elementary School Leaders.

Purpose – This study is one in a series which aims to examine the theories of actions developed and internalized by school principals that help them serve as successful leaders in the tumultuous accountability climate. The dearth of recent empirical research focusing on best practices of successful school principals in a post‐NCLB nation sets the tone for and drives the study.Design/methodology/approach – An inductive exploratory study was designed to provide insight into how successful elementary school principals facilitate high levels of student achievement. The research was grounded by allowing principals to talk about what their actual practices as leaders.Findings – The principals provided a wealth of information that helped to identify common themes of practice across all 12 participants. The following categories represent the central themes: leadership with data; honesty and relationships; fostering ownership and collaboration; recognizing and developing leadership; and instructional awareness and...

Women secondary school principals: multicultural voices from the field

Women, in general, are underrepresented at the secondary leadership level. Numbers of women in leadership become dismal when considering both gender and ethnicity. The lack of women’s voice in the literature on educational leadership, particularly those of minority women, grounded this qualitative research project that collected personal narratives of lived experience. The intent for this project was to illuminate differences and commonalities of women leaders from different ethnic backgrounds through their own voices and to listen for strategies used to overcome obstacles that have led to their current success as secondary principals. African‐American, Asian, Caucasian, and Hispanic women leaders were interviewed and understood from a feminist post‐structural lens to create a vision of what the leadership experience is like at the secondary level.

No Child Left Behind: A Legislative Catalyst for Superintendent Action to Eliminate Test-Score Gaps?

Proponents of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) hail it as vital legislation that supports a civil rights agenda because of explicit recognition that achievement gaps are unacceptable. One way to make sense of NCLBs impact on school divisions and to understand whether NCLB recognizes the complexity of why minority and low-socioeconomic-background students often struggle in schools is to look through the lens of superintendents. District leaders, as moral agents, are tone setters for change in schools and negotiators and enactors of state and federal policies. This study explores how NCLB has affected achievement gaps in Virginia and not only investigates how superintendents have made sense of the federal legislation but also seeks out strategies employed by district leaders that target minority groups and the elimination of the achievement gap. Critical race theory allows consideration of superintendent perspectives across issues such as race, racism, poverty, class, power, test scores, and dominant assumptions.

Perspectives on Distance Technology in Leadership Education: Transfer, Meaning, and Change

While the use of distance technology has been touted as having the potential to reform leadership preparation, there is little to no research on students’ experiences or outcomes in educational leadership. The authors sought to understand, through a descriptive survey design, whether or not distance technology is a viable competitor to face-to-face instruction. The purpose of the study was to gain perspectives from students in leadership preparation programs as consumers of instructional distance technology and to understand perceptions of the impact of distance technology on transfer of knowledge to practice. Findings provide readers with insider knowledge from consumers who utilize distance technology and indicate that while students feel online course experiences have been equally successful as compared to face-to-face instruction, they do not find that online courses have an advantage over face-to-face instruction.

Unwritten: Young Women Faculty in Educational Leadership.

Purpose – As women professors of educational leadership who are involved with feminist research and the preparation of k‐12 women leaders, the authors came to the realization that while they have dedicated their professional lives to advancing women leaders in the k‐12 environment, they have neglected women like themselves, particularly young women, in the academy.Design/methodology/approach – The authors utilized biographical narrative inquiry to allow readers a window into their lives as young women faculty in departments of educational leadership and extended this to advocate for changes in university climates for women.Findings – The authors analyzed their narrative data to develop strategies for young women faculty in educational leadership that include: action‐oriented mentoring; the valuing of home and person; living within gender, age, and skin; and celebration of youth and womanhood.Originality/value – This paper is an emergent approach to understanding and facilitating social justice and diversi...

Using Feminist Phase Theory to Portray Women in the Principalship across Generations in the USA.

The literature provides insufficient data on women’s experiences of the principalship across generations in the USA and thus provides little understanding as to how the writing of women into the history of educational leadership has changed or maintained the social order. Research that addresses biases experienced by women who wish to advance in educational leadership frame this study, together with Joan Scott’s groundbreaking article ‘Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis’ that posed the question ‘How does gender give meaning to the organization and perception of historical knowledge?’ The purpose of this study was to seek out women’s experiences in the principalship across generations to understand how gender interacts with history and societal expectations during certain periods of time to better understand why women are still missing in top leadership roles.

Silence Is Not Golden

A case developed for courses in leadership education—particularly for those centered in social justice and ethical leadership—is described. Students test their own assumptions about “difference” and are called on to make leadership responses that are grounded in ethical frameworks. This case highlights tensions that surround lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students in increasingly diverse school settings. The story is revealed through the eyes of a principal who must turn a negative response to a Gay—Straight Alliance event to one that fosters school and community discussion on inclusiveness and demonstrates the power of advocacy.